Who's Afraid of the Lead Ammo Ban, Part 2

In the December issue of the W.U. Flyer, I talked about my experiences with shooting and hunting with all-copper non-toxic big-game bullets.

In this issue, I hope to provide you with more information about these products so that you can continue to hunt successfully in areas where the state of California will mandate the use of such starting on July 1, 2008.

As noted previously, the Barnes Bullet company is presently the undisputed leader in non-lead hunting bullets for virtually all big game and varmint hunting, save for rimfire ammunition. Currently, there are no lead free rimfire bullets available to the public, but you can bet that with over a billion rimfire rounds fired annually in the U.S., that research and development is underway!

Barnes Bullets has a number of product information vehicles available to the public that are great resources for you to learn from. These are:

• 2008 Catalogue: Listing of new products and entire existing product line, plus a listing of factory loaded ammunition options. The catalogue comes with a full-color poster quality 21" X 17" fold-out that depicts every bullet in the line along with corresponding ballistic data such as Sectional Density and Ballistic Coefficient.
• Reloading Manual #4 -- A must have if you are a handloader, the long anticipated and awaited new manual is due out any day with several hundred pages of load data for everything from the tiny-mite .223 Remington to big-bore dangerous game stoppers like the .577 Nitro Express. This new manuals looks certain to be a great read ... even if you are not a handloader. That's because the facts and figures found in loading manuals can help anyone learn more about shooting and accuracy. Who knows, you might even be motivated to try the wonderful and rewarding hobby of handloading.
• Free Informational DVD -- Free for the asking from Barnes, "Bullet Myths Busted" is an action-packed 20 minute DVD complete with spectacular footage and stunning graphics showing the terminal performance of the TSX all copper bullet and the explosive Varmint Grenade. Seeing is believing!
• Internet Info Clubs -Barnes offers two membership Web Clubs, the free "Club X" and the annual fee "Copper Club". Both offer information to new as well as experienced handloaders and hunters.

To find about more about these products and information, contact Barnes Bullets, Inc., P.O. Box 215, American Fork, Utah 84003 Phone: 1 (800) 574-9200 or on the Internet at: www.barnesbullets.com

In closing, in doing research on this topic, I have interviewed some hunter friends in order to get perspectives on the issue. At best, most were vaguely aware of the situation, and none had tried the all copper bullets from Barnes. Once we got past the "politics" of the issue, that is, the law and regulations have been passed --we either learn to live with it or take up golf -- I explained the situation to them, and shared my experience with the Barnes bullets.

When I asked them the 64 million dollar question "So, what would you do if faced with this regulation where you hunt?" to a man the response was, "I'd learn more about these all-copper bullets and continue to hunt."

One fellow had an interesting take. He reasoned that as some hunters might not make the effort to learn about lead-free bullets, that he might have less competition in the field, and therefore have more success.

I think the lesson here is clear: Learning to adjust to and overcome change is not easy. But in so doing, those who strive to progress are sure to be rewarded.