Up in the air
There is no doubt about it, the future of shooting game with (or without) lead shot is the big issue affecting our sport at the moment. Yet it seems that the game-, wildfowl- and vermin-shooting fraternities are the ones who appear to most concerned, while the clay-pigeon community doesn’t seem to be much fussed about the proposed phasing-out of lead shot. I would presume that the reason for this is that a clay pigeon only needs to be ‘chipped’ to record a kill, unlike live quarry that requires acceptable down-range pattern density and retained velocity in order to guarantee the clean kills that all responsible hunters demand.
I have had an interest in air rifles for longer than shotguns (well over 40 years now) and have noted the increasing accuracy and technological advancements in air rifles during that time. Long gone are the basic airguns we used for plinking at tin cans in the garden, with the leap from basic ‘springers’ to gas-ram and finally the high-performance pre-charged pneumatics used by today’s hunters, all in under four decades. Yet, the air-rifle community does not appear to be having the heated debates and concerns over a future without lead ammunition. I am yet to read an article about air-gunners considering switching to non-toxic slugs, nor any concerns about whether their modern (or vintage) air rifles would be suitable for the alternative ammo. Perhaps they are blissfully unaware of the proposals regarding the future use of lead – or has the matter been overlooked? It will be interesting to see how the next few years affects us, although I am confident all branches of our sport will overcome any inevitable changes.
Teresa Thompson, via email Ed
- Thanks for your email Teresa. At the moment there are no plans to phase out lead shot on clay grounds, so we are safe there. As you point out, it remains to be seen how effective steel shot is on live quarry. From what I hear, things are not as bad as we fear.