The Bill to restrict lead ammunition

[RDC]

I've just noticed it's supposed to take effect from July this year (unless its its for hunting and you acquired it prior to the ban)

WFT....

That will be pushed far to the right since it's not even had it's second reading in the lords yet.

[Pippin89]

Well this guy is an idiot.... Interestingly, he has included a provision for previously purchased ammo to be shot for hunting, but no such provision for target shooting. This shows his level of incompetence, as many competitive smallbore shooters batch test ammo and then buy 5000+ at a time.
The ramifications of this is insane. Match grade rifles will almost certainly need new barrels. And the barrels will last no where near as long. The cost of ammo would go through the roof. Eley and the like will be forced to move abroad. Next up they will be telling surgeons they're no longer allowed to use titanium....

[Sim G]

Cats. Cats kill more wildlife, birds, rodents, small mammals than anything else. Where’s the ban on those little WMDs?!!!

Environment? Have you seen how many wildfowl are killed with wind farms?!! And given the preference to site the “Turbines of Death” in such proximity of wildfowl habitats is frankly disturbing in itself when talking about bird protection.

Fvckers don’t have a clue…

[Triffid]

Like 450 Martini said, this is a private Members Bill introduced by a Labour Peer. It will quickly go down the toilet where it belongs.

However the 'real' threat will be published in April, a review of the use of lead ammunition of all types under the UK REACH Regulations (the same ones that banned the use of many propellants which contained carcinogens). The HSE & EA have been ask to provide evidence of the risk lead ammunition poses and to propose controls if those risks are deemed unacceptable. The report will then be subject to a six-month public consultation.

I'm not sure what the HSE/EA evidence will consist of, but often these things are based on ultra-conservative modelling, which greatly over estimates the actual risk. In my opinion actual monitoring of lead levels in the environment or the numbers of cases of Lead Poisoning would be a better way forward. Whether you like it or not, the work by BASC etc over the last couple of years to move hunters away from using lead shot/bullets will definitely have taken the sting out of the tail of this review.

Triffid

[1066]

Here are the results and conclusions of the NSRA investigation into using lead free ammunition for target shooting - Interesting reading.

Lead in Small-bore Target Shooting Final (1).pdf

(456.2 KiB) Downloaded 86 times

[Sim G]

I can’t download the NSRA document. Any chance of a précis?

[1066]

Try this, straight from the NSRA website - 10 pages of quite in depth investigation, accuracy/cost comparisons etc.
https://www.nsra.co.uk/index.php/home/d ... ammunition

[RDC]

It's quite a good report to be honest.

[Pippin89]

I can’t download the NSRA document. Any chance of a précis?

Basic synopsis...
- Non-lead alternatives are not accurate enough to allow skill to prevail in a competition, it would just come down to blind luck.
- Non-lead ammo is expensive.
- Lead ammo is basically 100% recoverable and recyclable with zero chance of ricochet with all currently used backstop media.

[artiglio]

Why is lead ammunition, most of which is contained to some extent within a copper case and ends up in a controlled backstop, any greater risk to the environment than the umpteen square miles of lead roofs and flashings that adorn a majority of the uk’s buildings? Or wheel balancing weights? Leaded light windows?