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Assessment of availability and
effectiveness of shotgun and
rifle ammunition
Reference to The Periodic Table of the Elements reveals that the
metal substitutes for lead shotgun and rifle ammunition have
already been identified and developed commercially, based on
the criteria non-toxicity, density, ballistic suitability, availability,
and price. Plastic-coating lead shot to resist dissolution is not a
practical option. Such shot are abraded in the avian gizzard (Irby
et al. 1967), and would not receive the unconditional approval
of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as non-toxic to waterfowl
and the environment. There are three leading lead gunshot
substitutes - iron, bismuth-tin alloy, and tungsten-based shot
- that are made in the UK and are already used for hunting
internationally. Lead-free rifle bullets may be made from pure
copper, or gilding metal, an alloy of approximately 95% copper
and 5% zinc.
Product availability of iron (steel) shot, bismuth-tin, shot,
and tungsten-based shot was assessed through an online
computer survey in autumn, 2014, using Google as the search
engine. Retail availability and the relative economic availability
was determined by an online survey of UK shotgun cartridge
distributors in autumn, 2014, using the search engine Google.
The retail availability and relative costs of lead-based and lead-
free rifle ammunition were based on an online computer survey,
and the papers of Knott et al. (2009) and Thomas (2013). The
assessment of the lethality of rifle ammunition was based on
published scientific papers comprising Spicher (2008), Knott
et al. (2009), Grund et al. (2010), Trinogga et al. (2013), Thomas
(2013), and Gremse et al. (2014).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Product availability of lead-free
ammunition in the UK
LEAD-FREE SHOTGUN CARTRIDGES
Tungsten-based shot is made in two available types, Tungsten
Matrix (a composite of 95% tungsten powder and 5% plastic
polymer) and Hevi Shot (an alloy of tungsten, 1% iron, and up
to 40% nickel). Tungsten Matrix shot cartridges are made and
distributed in the UK by the company Gamebore3. Hevi Shot
pellets are made in the USA and are imported, assembled into
cartridges, anddistributed in theUK. Bismuth-tin (approximately
95% bismuth, 5% tin) shot cartridges are made and distributed
in the UK by the company Eleyhawk4. Steel (> 99.5% soft
annealed iron) shot cartridges are made and distributed in the
UK by all the major UK cartridge makers. Additionally, steel shot
cartridges are imported and distributed throughout the UK
from the leading cartridge makers of the USA, Belgium, Czech
Republic, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Although the three types of lead-free shot cartridges (tungsten-
based, bismuth-tin and steel) are produced in the UK, their
level of manufacture falls far below that of traditional lead
shot. Thus the UK company Gamebore (a leading UK cartridge
manufacturer) indicated that for the year ending October 31,
2014, lead shot cartridges accounted for 94.38% of the total
volume of production (59.601 million cartridges) for the UK
market. Steel shot cartridges were 5.61% of total production
(3.54 million cartridges), while Tungsten Matrix cartridges were
only 0.005% of total production (3,000 cartridges)5. Comparable
data for bismuth-tin shot cartridges were not available, but one
would expect their production of lead-free shot cartridges to be
dwarfed by that of lead shot cartridges. The production of steel
shot cartridges by non-UK makers is not known. Neither is the
amount of steel shot cartridges imported for sale in the UK.
LEAD-FREE RIFLE AMMUNITION
Unlike shotgun ammunition, where lead-free shot is required
for shooting over wetlands and/or for shooting wildfowl, there
is no requirement that lead-free rifle bullets be used for hunting
mammals in the UK. This greatly influences the availability of
lead-free bullets. A search of online websites revealed very
few companies selling lead-free rifle ammunition. Only one
company, Midway UK6, as of November 2014, advertises a very
extensive line of lead-free bullets on its website. The company’s
products are from four USA makers (Barnes, Cutting Edge
Bullets, Hornady, and Nosler), and one European maker (Lapua),
and are listed in calibres and bullet weights corresponding to
the rifle calibres presented in Table 1. The leading European
makers of lead-free bullets and assembled rifle cartridges are:
Brenneke, Lapua, Norma, RWS, Sako, and Sellier and Bellot.
The volume of production of lead-free ammunition relative to
traditional lead-core ammunition by these companies is not
known. However, the lead-free products in different rifle calibres
3 Gamebore website: 4 Eleyhawk website:
5 Data provided by Mr. R. Cove, President and CEO of Kent Gamebore. 6 Midway UK
Availability and use of non-toxic ammunition: practicalities and regulations