Solid Copper Bullets

[Singlepopper]

My brother just sent me a recent New York Times oped about hunting with copper bullets. The writer was a bit sanctimonious and pompous about the topic but it got me to wondering. I don't really care what my bullet is made out of as long as it works. A little research yielded some of the plusses and minuses but I walked away thinking there was still a lot of work yet to do before copper bullets will be as generally reliable as jacketed lead (accuracy, copper fouling and stopping power) but it's being worked on. Has anyone tried copper bullets and, if so, what were your results? You can find the NYT article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/opinion/16prieto.html?scp=1&sq=copper%20bullets&st=cse

[45-70.gov]

there  is not so much a drive to prohibit lead wheel weights

little talk of the impact of fishing sinkers

non-lead bullets is a politically driven  thing

also the few  copper bullet  i have tried  are really great....just not worth the extra money

many of the old folks....myself included...have bitten shot in a squirrel...we are  ok

there  are a lot more  other things to worry about  than  lead bullets
but the lead in the bullets  can  be  exaggerated for political reason
so there for.....any one that suggest... we should not shoot  lead
needs  to be slandered  and  shuned

this '' lead phobia'' has had more than a few  ranges  shut down

[Singlepopper]

Well, I'm with you on the politics thing. It may well be that we'll have them "inserted" (with or without the customary military lubricant) whether we like it or not. Let's not go there, though...

Right now I'm suffering from political "shell shock." While I was waiting for my head to clear and those bells to stop ringing, I was more interested in the the ballistics aspects....

[wookie76]

Something smells rotten in Denmark. 

I would be very interested to see where he gets his foundation funding from, and if it includes and big grants or donations from Cerberus or The Freedom Group (Barnes Bullets).

[dangerranger]

Ive tried a couple of solid copper bullits. I live in the lead ban area of CA. the copper bullits are better than the tin or zinc Ive tried, but they are the most expencive. for larger game [deer or larger] Im trying to cast my own tin now. mostly to keeps costs down. the best varmit bullits Ive found are Barnes Varmit Grenades. they are a copper jacket over a tin / copper core. they work well but cost twice as much. if I did not live in the lead ban area I would not use them at all. the type of lead in bullits is not the lead that is generaly found in blood of poisioned people or animals. that would be lead oxide. it is usaly found in paint, and chemicals. lead oxide= poison. Pe lead= soft metal that makes good bullits. DR

[dangerranger]

Anthony Preieto, is wrong on so many levals. He claimes to be a hunter but belongs to and is suported by so many of the anti orginazations. I dont belive anything He says.  He also claims to work for a animal resque operation. they claim to have saved many birds and animals from lead poisioning deaths. but no blood tests are ever made public. Mine and others opinion is that these animals are poisioned but most likely from other sources.  lead oxide is used in aviation gas, paint, and chemicals. its much more likely the cause of poisioning. just think back a few years when fishermen used to bite down on split shot, kids played with lead pellets, people regularly ate fowl shot with lead shot. how many were dieing of lead poisioning? those that were are usaly associated with lead oxide paint, or oxide chemicals, not bullits, pellets, fishing weights ,etc. this is an end run aruond the trouth. its aimed at stopping shooting . DR

[necchi]

To be the "devils advocate" here, lead shot does mess with water foul. Birds are different, we can eat a few pieces of lead shot without much affect, it'll pass through with the rest of the junk.
Birds got a gizzard, shot get's in there, sit's in there and gets ground up,,a direct metobolic link to the blood stream,,it messes'm up.

 We've been hunting waterfoul here in MN for 100yrs (more), and there have been some prime wintering ground near here for almost as long,(all the drainage we'er doing is/has changed that) so some of those marsh's have a pretty good covering in the muck of old shot. Had a drought situation here a few years back and one local marsh was really shallow. Trumpeter Swans had found the place and where feeding there for several weeks. Long story short the DNR found 6 of'm dead in the marsh and tested them, they died od lead poisning.
 Now before everyone get's all riled up, nothing happened. The was no state wide "up in arms" of the anti's, sure a few squacked, but there was no big tado. It just happened.

 I've loaded the Barnes TTSX for Dustins 7-08 with great success, nice moa groups at 200. Haven't had a chance to field/hunting test them, Dust had to work this season and didn't go hunting,,
 But anything from the NYT really is just for entertainment anyway's ain't it? Sure sounds like this Anthony feller is playing slut to someones tune don't it?