California Non-Lead Ammunition A

California Non-Lead Ammunition Awareness Program

In 2007, the Institute for Wildlife Studies received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to spearhead a program to make hunters aware of alternatives to lead ammunition. Lead ammunition has been shown to be an environmental hazard that causes poisoning of wildlife. Bald eagles and California Condors are vulnerable to lead poisoning as they feed on the remains of animals taken by sportspersons.

In partnership with the National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Ventana Wildlife Society, and the Pinnacles Partnership, IWS we have instituted an outreach program to offer hunters and landowners opportunities to evaluate non-lead ammunition. This is being accomplished through a series of demonstration events at various public and private shooting ranges. At these events, participants have the opportunity to shoot non-lead ammunition (provided free of cost) in a variety of calibers.

The demonstration events also feature comparisons between lead ammunition and non-lead alternatives. These illustrate the performance of the two types of bullet, and they also show the degree to which a lead bullet may break up after penetration.

The IWS Non-Lead Outreach Coordinator also gives informative talks to sporting clubs, to landowner associations, and at community events such as fairs.

Click on the bullets below to ...

Our Non-Lead Partners

	... get information about our next Non-Lead Ammunition Demonstration
	... see more information about non-lead ammunition
	... learn about Monitoring the California Condor
	... see a video that compares fragmentation of lead and non-lead bullets
	... learn about the Hazards of Lead
	... see photos taken at recent Non-Lead Ammunition Demonstrations
	... see a map of areas in California where lead ammunition is banned
	... return to the IWS Home Page