One thing that has been on my mind for some time is the lead free bullets. Back in the 1980's the USFWS determined that the lead was killing the California Condor and not too long afterward introduced a ban on Lead shot .
What is Lead free ammo….. well checking out a few sites most would agree that bullets are made of lead but they are totally enclosed with a copper jacket which prevents the high temperature from vaporizing the exposed lead at the back of the bullet. A little deceiving if I say so myself.
Actually non-lead bullets of as good or better than lead are available now. "Without a doubt, the lead free bullets I use when hunting have performed better ballistically than the lead bullets I use to use, " says hunter Anthony Prieto , a founder of Project Gutpile, a volunteer organization the educates hunters about the impact of lead ammo. Actually, lead free ammo is now available now. If I am not mistaken Black Hills of South Dakota is making "Green Ammo" now. Also the US military is exploring a conversion to lead-free bullets, which promises to spur development of alternative ammo and lower the price.
Will we see Lead Free ammo in the Bench-Rest world? Hard to say. When I was a kid people looked down at their nose at re-loads and the hand loaded ammo was nowhere as good as Store bought. Well, things have changed since then. My belief is that because of hand made bullets and bench-rest reloaders the manufacturers are improving their ammo because sales are down and in the last 4 to 5 years finally realized the hand loaders and bullet makers knew what they were doing. Consequently you are seeing improved loads by all the larger manufacturers which are more "tuned" than the older ammo.
I would imagine if the "Tree Huggers" have they're way we will be using lead free bullets soon. This will trigger many other things depending on what material is used. One industry that will be affected will be the barrel makers . Also, primers will have to be lead free. I believe they are close to that now.
One thing for sure…… change is on the horizon.
Stan