There is a famous scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where Arthur battles the Black Knight and cuts off both his arms and both his legs, but the Black Knight still wants to fight on. I was reminded of this the other day when being harangued by a gun who was absolutely determined that the Countryside Alliance and game shooting should die in a ditch in defence of lead shot.
As I explained to the gentleman in question, this would be insane. If it was not persuasive enough that governments across the world have banned lead for most other uses because of its impact on human health, there is also ample evidence going back years of the damage lead shot does to wildfowl and more recently the GWCT has even shown grey partridge chick mortality associated with lead shot.
Several limbs had been cut off the argument for lead ammunition even before the ECHA/ HSE process which led the government to announce in July that lead ammunition for rifles of calibre .243 and above will be prohibited towards the beginning of 2028 and lead shot for game shooting will be banned in the summer of 2029. The argument is over. It is (to mix Monty Python metaphors) a dead parrot. The EU will follow with a similar ban and other countries and institutions like the International Olympic Committee will follow suit in the coming years. Even if you still do not think the prohibition of lead ammunition is justified, there is, and has been for some time, a political process which is unstoppable and the question is not whether lead will be banned, but how we ensure that the transition to non-lead ammunition is as smooth as possible.
That is why the Alliance, BASC, the GWCT and all the major shooting organisations called for voluntary transition five years ago. That may have caused controversy, but it also forced many in the sector to remove their heads from the sand and address the reality of the ban that was coming down the tracks. The availability of effective non-lead, mostly steel, cartridges for most guns in most game shooting scenarios is testament to the success of that process.
Personally, I have not shot with lead for years and whether shooting with a 20 bore, a modern 12 bore, or this season with a 2 ½ inch chambered vintage English gun, I have never felt that my shooting was limited by my cartridges. I would urge every shooting man or woman who thinks of themselves as a conservationist to get ahead of the game and make the switch to non-lead ammunition now. Standard steel is absolutely fine in all but the oldest guns and there is no need for re-proofing. Just check that your chokes are ½ or less and if necessary have them opened out, which is a simple process.
By taking a lead on non-lead ammunition you will be sending an important message about the sustainability of game shooting and showing fellow guns that the ban need have no effect on the future of their shooting.
First published in Fieldsports vol IX, issue I
Photo by Jonathan McGee