Lead Ban Chronicles - More testing on lead in venison
As recently announced in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune, the MN Department of Natural Resources, apparently not content with the surfeit of similar studies, just dropped $50k on another study in which lead ammo was fired into dead sheep. The study was meant to see how much lead fragmented, and how far the fragments permeated the meat.
Lead fragments were found up to 18 inches from the wound channel in a study on sheep conducted by the DNR in July, said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game manager.
“High-velocity bullets break apart almost instantly, throwing small pieces of metal all over the place,” Cornicelli said.
So it’s not really news. But hey, I didn’t really have anything else to post about today.
Seriously, we already know the lead particles are there. That’s been pretty thoroughly established. Now we’re Just waiting on the science to show that there is a health risk before taking any further action. Yes, it bears watching. No, it’s definitely no cause for panic or to discard your wild game, ammo, or rifles.
If you’re so inclined, there’s nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution. (Kinda makes me think of Josh’s recent post about the Precautionary Principle.) There are things you can do to minimize any risk of lead toxicity from your wild game meat… If it’s available for your caliber, and your rifle shoots it well, go ahead and try some non-lead ammo.
That’s one solution. Other solutions include switching to archery, or just put the guns away and go hunting with a camera. You can buy your meat at the store.
Yeah, that’s what I thought…
We now return you to your regularly scheduled rants and raves…
Personally, this lead scare doesn’t bother me. I’ll still eat any venison that is shot with a bullet.
I do like the archery idea though. Oh wait, I already do that anyway.
October 8th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I’ve got to say, Phillip, that your site has been the best for keeping up with the lead story. I picked up a copy of a major hunting magazing, partly because of its pitch on the cover about telling the truth about lead, and it was all flash and no substance. Thanks for keeping us abreast of this issue.
October 8th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
it’s all horse hockey, I have watched people 80 years old spit the birdshot out on their plate and nobody I have ever known from 9 to 92 has ever died from eating venison that was shot with a lead bullet.
This is another example of making a mountain out of a molehill for some group to get more money from the gov.
The old adage is- follow the money-
I rest my case.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:49 pm