Thread: Lead Contamination In Game Meat

Worry not fellow hunters. I am an alive and kicking seventy year experiment that proves that exposure to lead is not something you should be overly concerned by. I grew up in houses that were painted with lead based paint. I played with (and as a young fellah probably mouthed/sucked) toys that were made of lead and coated with lead based paint. I drank from taps that were served by lead plumbing. In my teenage years I melted lead for moulding and casting. I have consumed countless amounts of deer, duck and pig game meats (all of which died of lead poisoning). I have shot countless lead round nosed projectiles (CAS) and I have cleaned fuck knows how many rifle and pistol barrels across my life time. The list goes on but my point is that even though my exposure has been greater that the average citizen, I am still here above ground and breathing.

So Rushy, you should have plenty of lead in your pencil then.

Originally Posted by Gamehunter

So Rushy, you should have plenty of lead in your pencil then.

Ha ha ha ha, it still stands to attention and frequently watches me shave. By the way, how is my old home town?

I remember hearing the vast majority of lead used in the manufacturing of projectiles is recycled from batteries, whereas copper all has to be dug out of the ground. Good to know if you care about that kind of thing.

And as a side note, on one of my firearms related groups on farcebook posted about a supposed study in aussie that has measured levels of lead in hunting dogs that have eaten shot deer.
They are trying hard to make shit hard

That is the issue with lead studies. They are often used to the advantage of a manufacturer pushing its non lead products or anti hunting campaigners.
The results being that ultimately the first ones are helping the second one pushing their agenda.

How many dogs or people for that matter eat rabbit all the time that's copped a charge of #4s? It's never been a problem before.dont know about you lot but I can categorically state I shit out steel shot pellets eaten with duck.the huas roll around in bottom of toilet bowl for days at times lol.guess I did it with lead too.i haven't fished any out to check.eeeeeuuuw

Originally Posted by csmiffy

And as a side note, on one of my firearms related groups on farcebook posted about a supposed study in aussie that has measured levels of lead in hunting dogs that have eaten shot deer.
They are trying hard to make shit hard

Id call that BS

I perused a few studies online and sounded like shotgun pellets or solids had some of the lowest levels of meat lead contamination due to lower velocities. The higher speed centerfire projectiles were much more dispersive. Might be one reason so many of us have chewed on shot over their years with no apparent ill effects, though I do wonder if all those roast ducks at grandpas might have dropped a few IQ points out of us grandkids who used to compete to see who found the most pallets. Might explain a few things about some of my cuzzies!

After going through a few meat eater podcasts series, it seems that the ban on rifle projectiles with lead core started with the condor in California.
They were ingesting lead from carcasses of animals shot by hunters.

The lead poisoning or saturnisme ( in French ) is well known regarding water fowls that need to eat small stones in their stomach in order to crush and digest their food.
When the stones at the bottom of the pond are replaced by lead pellets, the bird eventually dies of lead poisoning.

It seems that only birds and among them ducks and raptors are affected by lead poisoning.
It seems that no other game animals, essentially mammals are affected by that problem.
You can listen to episode 373 of meat eater podcast at 1hr18 min.
And there was another podcast last year where they interviewed the guy who did all the research on the Californian condor and helped to implement the ban on lead core projectiles.