doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com MN DNR debating banning lead for ALL small game

Just heard a news report on a study that the DNR released today. They are studying the total ban of lead for small game hunting. I have not read the report and only heard the summary, but here is what the DNR released today:

-studying banning all lead for small game in the near future
-40% of hunters supported banning lead shells
-60% of hunters feel that the depositing of lead in the environment should be controlled by the government.

For all of those in the "that will never happen HERE" crowd, it's here. Just as Ted has repeatedly reported. The reporter said the DNR was talking about banning lead within the next two years, beginning with state land. The sate owns A LOT of the land in northern MN, as well as the federal and county governments. Banning lead just on government land would effectively dictate non-tox only for grouse hunting. The current study is to BEGIN with state land, followed by everything up to and including all private land, according to the report.

I will defintiely hold off on those two custom shotgun projects I was asking about on this forum. Living in the Land O' Whackjobs is too dicey on a lot of things, including building a pair of shotguns that are designed around lead.

As I reported here last month, the amount of money generated by hunting and fishing is trivial, yet it overwhelmingly eats up the DNR budget. Mining and forest products get th eDNR's attention, not a tiny, tiny handful of bird hutners who have non-tox unfriendly guns. And no one at the DNR wants to be bothered with logic about what is actually done to the environment by lead shells.

It's already here in Calif in certain areas.

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/552196.html

Ol'Tedworthy did sound the alarm alright, but the spirit world pointed him to my home state of Missouri as being in the fore front of banning all lead at all times.
(Maybe Ted had his ouija board upside down on that fearful night).
It hasn't helped that MN, didn't make the US Fish and Wildlife Service dean list of hunting states either.
In the future MN, may join CA as sister states - they have more in common than one thinks eh Ted!

Before we decide the sky is falling up there in MN . . . according to the report I read, which references statements from the MN DNR Chief of Wildlife Management, the ban would start with state-managed land--but only in agricultural areas. Aimed mostly at pheasant hunters. Could eventually include all land, including private, IN AGRICULTURAL AREAS.

But he added that it's unlikely it would apply to grouse or other hunting in the northern forested part of the state.

Looks like even in MN, smallbores shooting lead will remain good to go for grouse and woodcock hunters.

In NY the DEC is going to start experimenting with "green" ammunition for its officers. It's a trend I don't like to see.
Chris

Marc,

http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/13547106.html

http://www.gunthing.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/6394/

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=322863&z=15

I would love to see the actual survey questions and raw numbers.
In a state with no lead ban, 40% of pheasant hunters are using non-lead?
Why did a USGS researcher conduct this survey?

Pete

"We have a real split population out there," said David Fulton of the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Minnesota, who conducted the survey. He presented preliminary results to the roundtable..."

Above is from Minneapolis Star - Trib article.

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units were formerly a unit in the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Research Division. The Research Division was moved to US Geological Survey in about 1992.

The rules in adjacent states may have some impact on MN hunters using nontox for pheasants. SD has that requirement on most public areas, and quite a few WMA's in northern IA, where we get a fair number of MN hunters, are also nontox only.

At first I was also wondering what kind of whacked out question had to be asked to get that many hunters saying that lead was bad. I figured it a line of leading questioning designed to get that result.

But after a little thought I chencged my mind. The population of MN is in the greater Twin Cities are. I saw a distribution study a couple of years ago and it really surprised me. Something like 85% of the population lives in under 10% of the state. We see the hunters coming up here every year. As arule, they are pretty liberal folks, even though they are gun owners and hunters. When i got to thinking about the guys I have met from the Cities, I was surprised that not more hunters said they would be in favor of outlawing lead.

Not saying it will happen next season, but I rememebr back in the '80's when everyone said lead would never be outlawed for waterfowl. Look at how well that worked out. All i am saying is that I am not sinking a lot of money in a custom gun that will tough to feed. I will wait and see what shakes out before starting the projects

Marc,
Makes a lot of sense to wait a bit on the projects. If MN goes that way, you may still want to proceed with the same guns or types of guns with sleeved barrels capable of steel or other shot. It could be a neat way to go by finding a vintage gun that needs sleeving for cheap.