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I don’t often write about hunting issues; this is at its core a food blog, where I spend time sharing what happens after the hunt. But I am making an exception here because I am going through some frustration with California’s new law banning lead ammunition where California condors live.
Hunting to me is about self-sufficiency and being able to adapt to unexpected situations. I pride myself on being faced with a challenge in the field, overcoming it and still returning home with meat for the table. And I will perservere with this challenge, too. But let me tell you, I am not happy with the all-copper ammunuition that we must now use in the condor range.
Copper isn’t lead. It’s a lot lighter, and weight matters when it’s a bullet. Lead hits like a hammer, while steel-jacketed bullets cut like a knife. What’s the difference? Let me take you back a century. Steel was the common bullet until the British army came across a bunch of really pissed off Sudanese they called the Fuzzy-Wuzzies. Really. These warriors were so tough they’d get shot through with a steel bullet and keep charging, ultimately stabbing the English soldier with his spear before he died. Not so good for the soldier.
This issue is stopping power. You want to stop something in its tracks so it will not run off for a half-mile (or worse), only to die far away. If you think a half-mile isn’t far, try tracking an animal through serious shiggy first. The English “fixed” this problem with the now-infamous “Dum Dum” bullet, invented at an armory oustide Calcutta in the 1890s. If you don’t know what a dumdum bullet is, it’s the hollow-point shell rap stars love to rhapsodize. It will put a man — or a deer — down in a hurry.
Why is this good in hunting? Let’s bring it back to the table. In meat cookery, adrenaline is a very bad thing. It sours the meat. This is why Holly and I spend hundreds of dollars every year practicing our rifle shooting, so when we shoot an animal, it dies. Quickly. Animals that a), don’t see you coming and are thus unaware, and b), killed cleanly and humanely, will always taste better than a poor creature that runs for its life for a good two minutes before it dies.
That’s why I am unhappy with this new copper ammunition. On the plus side, it fragments less (a lot less) than lead ammo, so I am not ingesting any lead — and neither are the condors, which are so prehistoric they cannot expel lead the way other birds can. Incidentally, mammals (like us) process lead far better than birds, which is why you don’t see any lead-poisoned hunters wandering around; Larry the Cable Guy notwithstanding.
The downsides to copper ammo, in addition to its poor stopping power, are cost — $42 for a box of 20, compared to about $30 for my premium lead-core ammo — and accuracy.
Holly made the video above about us sighting in the copper ammo, complete with my (very tongue-in-cheek) rant about how wild the stuff shoots. Short version is this: At 100 yards, I could put five bullets into the diameter of a coffee mug with my lead ammo. Now, with copper ammo, that diameter has widened to a pie plate. There are all kinds of complicated ballistic reasons for this problem that I only half understand; Jason the Rangemaster in the video goes over some of it.
Will I still be able to kill cleanly? You bet. But I will no longer feel comfortable about shooting 250-300 yards, even with a rock-steady rest. And after I think about it a while, maybe this is not such a bad thing. One of my hunting heroes, Long Islander Tred Barta, urges hunters to use a weapon they feel comfortable with, but hunt — get close — to make yourself more of a hunter and less of a shooter.
I feel we’re like the duck and goose hunters in the 1970s, who were faced with the first generation of steel shotgun shot, which was so bad it caused tens of thousands of hunters to hang up their gear. You could no longer shoot ducks cleanly from 40 yards with this early steel, and 60 yards was out of the question. Things are better now in that arena, and waterfowlers happily use steel at 40-50 yards; it just took time to figure out the science. I suspect this copper ammo will be the same way.
In the meantime, I’ll be stalking close. Real close. Thanks for reading.
Excellent piece! Certainly relevant in a food blog as both flora and fauna require harvesting to make it to our table. I don’t rightly recall the last time I ever heard of a deer or pheasant that walked up and knocked on someone’s door asking to be turned into steaks and roast…
I am curious, do you make your own ammunition? Does making copper bullets require a more specialized process than lead ones?
Hey there, We cooked up your fish tonight. I posted about it: http://www.mydailydiner.com
Super yum! Thanks again.
I’ve had good luck with the Barnes X-Bullet (that you’re using) as far as accuracy goes. See: http://garfias.org/110gr_tsx.jpg for proof. That was 3 shots @ 100 yards from my new 6.8mm. I know its not a 5 shot (or more) group – I was working up some loads and getting an idea of what this thing wanted.
I’ve no idea why you’re having issues with them, other than to say your rifle simply doesn’t like how federal loaded them up (OAL, powder, something).
I’d suggest buying some reloading gear (ow $$), and spending some money to find a load that works.
Too bad you can’t use lead there, my rem 700 .270 REALLY liked the nosler 150gr ballistic tips (sub MOA with over 20+ shots into the same hole).
As far as hunting with the X-Bullet, I’ve not yet had a chance to shoot anything with it, but I’ve heard some very good things.
As far as reloading copper vs lead, its the same thing. You just have to work up the loads for the bullet you’re shooting, no matter copper jacketed lead, copper jacketed steel, or all copper.
Hey Sam: Nope, I buy my ammo. A lot of guys do their own reloading, but that is one obsession I lack.
Hank, with your ability to learn from scratch and your attention to detail, you should have no problem handloading for that .270. It’ll save you significant ducats in a very short time… especially if you spend some time to develop a good load for the rifle. It’s just putting together a recipe, and with experience there’s even room for creative inspiration if you choose to go that route.
It’s unfortunate that the factory ammo available in non-lead is pretty much a one-size-fits-all prospect, and if your rifle doesn’t like that “size”, then the only thing to do is find a better way… Build a better cartridge.
Technically, the Barnes TSX (as opposed to the old and properly maligned X bullet) is ballistically superior to many of the existing lead options. The ogive and extra length add stability over longer ranges, and the fact that it doesn’t fragment lends to better penetration and a more consistent wound channel (so if you have to trail something, you can).
As far as the myth of “stopping power”, never fear. My experience confirms that a well placed shot (both from my own rifle and those of others with whom I’ve hunted)… be it lead or copper… stops anything it hits. A poorly placed shot, on the other hand, doesn’t. However, copper tends to offer a little more leeway, since it will over-penetrate, which means a poor angle through heavy bone will still reach the important stuff, where a lead bullet will often fragment or stop.
True, there are others who’ve seen differently, but I’d be willing to bet that every animal that ran a significant distance was poorly hit to begin with, and the composition of the bullet made no real difference.
Once you find a powder and configuration that suit your .270, you should have a phenomenal rifle that is more than adequate for those long shots (although, for the most part, I don’t like shooting over 300 yards at anything with a heartbeat… unless it’s shooting back).
The lead ammo ban sucks. It’s a bad law, poorly implemented. But it is the law. Best to find a good way to live with it.
[...] than the old, lead ammunition. This, as evidenced on the blogs of my friends Hank and Holly, the HunterAnglerGardnerCook and the NorCal [...]
So far Hank, My Weatherby 300 Mag. Ultra Light with Fluted Barrel seems to be performing the same with the Fed. Premium, 180 Grain Barnes Triple Shock Copper, as it did with the Trophy Bonded 180 Grain Lead Ammo.
Although, like Phillip, I have a comfort range when out hunting and that is at the most, 200 yards.
I have shot (even Jackrabbits) out at 300 yards but still feel a little uneasy doing so.
Not much left of the meat when I shot at those long distances, I am not sure of the ballistic reasons why, but there seems to be more meat damage when shooting at more than 150 yards.
Just come to my house and you can kill our deer with a 9-iron. Hell, use a putter if you like a challenge.
Hank, you’re having more and more influence on me. It looks like I might be out hunting later on this month. Deer offal, here I come!
Copper, heh? We’ve been converted to steel shot for a few years now – maybe 3-5 years. The cost has moderated, and other than going up a shot size or two for birds, I can’t say I notice much difference. That said, I don’t shoot much either, and I don’t think those regs apply to rifle shells here.
Hi Hank,
I’m a big fan of your blog and books. I wonder if, eating as much game meat as you do, you’ve kept up with the recent (since the writing of this article) scientific work that’s come out on lead toxicity in frequent eaters of lead-shot game meat. Do you have any thoughts on the issue? I’m trying to judge if it’s worth thinking about switching to non-toxic shot for upland game birds, but the reporting on it seems so partisan (from both sides!) that it’s hard for me to judge if it would be a prudent or paranoid move.