End of the lead bullet? Regulations, bans force switch to 'green' ammo

foxnews.com ^ | 12/18/13 | Perry Chiaramonte/

[VerySadAmerican]

Has anyone ever shown one example of a lead bullet harming the environment? There are lead bullets all over civil war battlefields.

There are old barns all over the place with tin roofs held on by lead capped nails. The lead would soften when driven against the rafter and supposedly stop it from leaking.

[atomic_dog]

Is it illegal in CA to possess a lead bullet?

Not at all. For several years the only restriction was you had to use lead free bullets for hunting in the "Condor Zone"

This year they passed a law that bans lead hunting ammo statewide starting in 2019.

It has no effect on recreational shooting but I expect that sometime the anti's will seize on it to try and ban all lead ammunition.

[Organic Panic]

Hmm. DHS and law enforcement agencies have billions of rounds of lead ammo. Meanwhile, government regulators outright ban lead hunting ammo and slowly (under the radar) will phase out through lack of material, or outright bans, lead handgun ammunition.

There is no substitute for lead. It is heavy. It is cheap. But most importantly is extremely ductile. Despite what anyone claims steel, copper, brass, or any other substitutes will have minimal stopping power. Oh I know...Just oulaw any “unsafe” ammunition. That’ll keep us safe.

[Dutch Boy]

"So when the IRS hunts you down for non-compliance with Obamacare, they will shoot you with eco-friendly green bullets made from at least 85% post-consumer waste."

With this government they would probably make you watch Al Gore's movie until you shot yourself.

[Axenolith]

That smelter doesn’t produce bullets, it produces lead. And it’s a small amount of the total produced here, most is from recycling.

If you’re worried about having lead, walk the side of a freeway or go to a tire shop and get it for free in the form of wheel weights (granted, not at a shop in CA, cause it’s banned) or get a metal detector and find it.

[Axenolith]

It matters to the guns barrel...

[GeronL]

so I have been told, a lot. :p

[DaveA37]

The ba$tards can have mine one at a time, assuming they can catch them once they have been fired. Gonna be a lot of damage done in this country and pretty soon.

[DoughtyOne]

IMO yes. Lead is soft and expands. It’s a better stopper.

Perhaps someone else has a better take on it, but that’s my first take.

[GeronL]

I guess we are all going to have to buy FMJ’s with little brake parachutes on them soon.

[papertyger]

I does matter for ammunition that is intended to drop a person with one round. Steel or FMJ tends to go through the intended target, and can result in not stopping a perp from continuing on with their agenda. FMJ can also go through the target and hit bystanders.

This can be easily mitigated by intelligent bullet design, but not with current standard calibers.....

[DoughtyOne]

:^) Probably so...

[fieldmarshaldj]

Good ole Jocelyn Elders...

[familyop]

Con artists...crooks! Let the propaganda go down the toilet already.

It’s the end of the primary lead smelter in Herculaneum (and I feel fine)

bearingarms.com

November 8, 2013 at 9:10 am

by Bob Owens

 

In recent days various news outlets, blogs, and forums have gotten very worked up over the closure of the nation’s last primary lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri. Many are claiming that this is an attempt of the Obama Administration to implement “backdoor gun control” by destroying the lead used as the primary metal in most bullets and shot used by the ammunition industry.

 

This is simply untrue.

 

Despite the hysteria to the contrary, the primary smelter in Herculaneum has almost no direct impact on the U.S. ammunition market. Pure lead, in fact, is not desirable for the creation of ammunition as it is too soft. Pure lead is primarily used in the creation of low-contamination specialty products.

 

Where does all the lead in the U.S. go? The eggheads at the US. Geological Survey state:

 

 

By the early 2000s, the total demand for lead in all types of lead-acid storage batteries represented 88% of apparent U.S. lead consumption. Other significant uses included ammunition (3%), oxides in glass and ceramics (3%), casting metals (2%), and sheet lead (1%). The remainder was consumed in solders, bearing metals, brass and bronze billets, covering for cable, caulking lead, and extruded products.

 

 

According to Daniel Hill, Operations Manager at Mayco Industries—”the largest fabricator of lead based products, other than batteries, in the United States” including lead shot and the lead wire used by many bullet manufacturers— roughly validates these numbers. Hill said that least 80% of lead used in the United States secondary market comes from recycled batteries and another 7%-9% of lead on the market comes from other scrap sources. Only 10% of the lead in the U.S. comes from mining.

 

Translated into plain English, ammunition isn’t a primary lead consumer (3%) in the United States, and the majority of the lead used by ammunition manufacturers comes from secondary smelters that recycle lead from car batteries.

 

Sierra Bullets confirmed earlier this week that they have never used lead from a primary smelter.

 

Tim Brandt of ATK (Federal Premium, CCI, and Speer ammunition), noted that they had just added this to the top of their frequently asked questions (FAQ).

 

 

Q: Does the recent news regarding a major U.S. lead smelter shutting down mean you’ll have trouble obtaining lead for manufacturing conventional ammunition?

 

A: At this time we do not anticipate any additional strain on our ability to obtain lead.

 

 

Brad Alpert, President and Operations Manager of Missouri Bullet Company, was even more blunt, calling fears of a shortage a “tempest in a teapot,” stating that the closure of the primary smelter have “no impact” on their production.

 

David Hargett, CEO of new North Carolina-based ammunition manufacturer Cape Fear Arsenal considers the closure of the primary smelter a “non-issue.”

 

In summary, the closure of the Doe Run primary smelter will have little to no impact on the ability of ammunition companies to produce bullets, because they have no direct interest in the consumption of “pure lead” produced by a primary smelter.

 

The ammunition companies we were able to speak with obtain the lead wire they use in the creation of bullets from secondary smelters and foundries that create lead alloys made from recycled lead from batteries and other scrap sources.

 

It’s the end of the nation’s last operating primary lead smelter, but not close to seeing the end of lead ammunition manufactured in the United States, nor are we seeing an attempt at backdoor gun control.

[familyop]

By the way, that lie about lead for bullets going away was posted months ago for the sole purpose of stealing from customers.

[Terry L Smith]

Lead bullets are the best thing for home invasions!!

[familyop]

"does it really matter if its lead or steel that tears through the target?"

No, it doesn't. Some of those who replied might try some study of metalurgy. Steel can have good properties for making bullets. Steel does cost more, though.

Copper bullets are easier to make than steel, though, if castings need to made at home. They can be cut to fine tolerances and can be longer with the same weight as a given lead bullet in a given caliber, too, lending much more to accuracy, speed (lighter, longer) and even terminal ballistics, where shorter lead bullets were used for certain calibers (e.g., 6.8 SPC). Tests with copper bullets in those calibers have shown great results (e.g., end-to-end through large, wild hogs).

The latest lead scare (months old now) is yet another attempt to defraud customers, though. See comment #74.

[MasterGunner01]

Support the use of depleted uranium jacketed hollow points. If you “nuke a puke”, the puke will die of radiation poisoning if he lives through the initial encounter.

[Antoninus II]

Perhaps even steel cored ceramic ammunition.

Ceramics are used for machining of nickel alloys, stainless steels and hardened steels. Just think what it would do to the rifling? Just a few rounds would destroy the barrel...

[GeronL]

ceramic bowls seem so fragile too