I've been given the ultimatum...Barnes?

[bigngreen]

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! I've ran hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat through a grinder with a bone plate and if you cut animals correctly you won't have any lead in you meat, any lead issues will come from someone shooting it with bird shot which is quite common and you won't stop those issues with copper bullets.
How you take care of your meat and how you cut it determines if your going to have lead in you meat, simple as that but it's not worth causing unrest at home over, Cutting Edge bullets are bringing some nice BC copper bullets.

 

[TikkaShooters]

My furthest kill was With my 270 wsm at 721 yards. It was a muley buck and it didn't take another step.

True the bc is not as high as a Berger or other bullet, but the terminal performance is excellent.

 

[dogdinger]

OK....I refrained from making a comment on this post with my first reaction. I let it simmer a few days so I would not be accused of flying off the handle, and now I have read all that has been said and given it some thought. .......which brings me back to my first reaction, which is man-up and grow a pair.
This political correctness crap that everybody here is spouting, just to keep from offending someone's tender sensibilities is just getting out of hand.

I am not calling your wife an idiot, I am saying she is misinformed. Lead , after all is a naturally occurring substance. If it were that bad, we would all be dead.
There is not one single study anywhere that I have read that gives any credence or credibility to the fact that eating something that was shot with a lead bullet is gonna do any body any harm. Have her site the studies/statistics that she bases her assumptions on and refute them categorically.
This whole lead shot/lead bullet/lead sinker issue was an attempt by the looney anti's to take away our hunting rights by taking away our ammunition ...period. If you acquiesce to her demands you just as well sell all your guns and turn into a vegan. Take up lawn dart throwing as way to work out your hunting instincts. AJ

 

[Coues22]

AJ,
Believe me that is the first reaction I had. She has hunted her entire life and this whole thing came as a surprise. She has recently had a few health issues which may be playing a part in this. I suppose I shouldn't have mentioned the whole lead thing and just asked about bullet performance at longer ranges. The lead issue has taken this post in an unintended direction.

 

[desertbull]

Lead in Venison

Based on the results of the CDC blood lead level study and a Minnesota bullet study, the North Dakota Department of Health has developed the following recommendations to minimize the risk of harm to people who are most vulnerable to the effects of lead:

• Pregnant women and children younger than 6 should not eat any venison harvested with lead bullets.
• Older children and other adults should take steps to minimize their potential exposure to lead, and use their judgment about consuming game that was taken using lead-based ammunition.
• The most certain way of avoiding lead bullet fragments in wild game is to hunt with non-lead bullets.
• Hunters and processors should follow the processing recommendations developed by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

These are recommendations only; they are intended to help the citizens of North Dakota to make informed choices. Not every state will necessarily issue the same recommendations.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Just got back from a TX whitetail hunt. My hunting partner took a nice 8 point at 308 yards using Hornady GMX in his rifle. It penetrated the full length of the deer (head-on shot while it was bedded) and came out just in front of the right hip. Deer just slumped over when it was hit. It did a great job by our standards.

Just be careful of practical range with regard to expension. The "rule" is 2000fps at time of impact, which is over 500 yards with his rifle and probably similar for yours. Allegedly the monolithic bullets don't expand so well below that number.

 

[cfvickers]

I have two thoughts as far as the wife and then lead exposure. I am not married (divorced) but as long as the wife is aware of the significant difference in cost and it is not a hindrance to you or to her, then she has every right to make this demand. She believes it is in the best interest of the family and it is a good compromise as you still get to shoot and to hunt. If she was to demand you stop hunting, then I could see major issues, this is menial at worst and not worth a fight.

On lead, although I believe the risks of significant lead exposure from eating game taken with lead are small, the risk of exposure in the reloading room over time become significant. I hunt and load lead core bullets, but I also know that there is a risk of my body absorbing lead due to long term exposure. It too is a small risk that most of us never have a problem with, but it is far greater than that from eating game taken with lead. Considering you likely reload it very well may be in your best interest. Her request is out of care for both you and her family, even if some of us may believe it is misplaced. So In short, honor her wishes and your life will be made easier. It may be a little tedious but not completely unreasonable.

 

[dogdinger]

"Based on the results of the CDC blood lead level study and a Minnesota bullet study"



these so called studies are nothing more than liberals hiring liberal college students to come up with something/anything to justify their accusations.

The study probably states something like "if you ate 500lbs of venison killed with lead bullets per year for 500 years you "might" become sick due to lead contamination. These are all CYA notices, just in case some out of work trial lawyer decides to sue the sh!t outta the ND DOW.
It is similar to the Kalifornia laws that closed down vast areas of the state to hunting with lead ammunition because one of SEVEN last remaining condors might eat something that gave him a bellyache. this had nothing to do with the BLEEPING condors....it was all about shutting down hunting......and it worked.
If we dont stop this political correctness and touchy feely dealing with these communists we are doomed to tepid existance. I say see it for what it is and stand up to it everytime you encounter it. AJ

 

[cfvickers]

Can one agree with both sides of this argument? I do at least in part. I completely disagree with her refusal to eat game taken with lead, I think it is ridiculous, but I also believe as I said that as his wife she has a right to draw her own conclusion. While it may be good to point out a few facts, this is NOT something worth risking a marriage over. Even if she is wrong, in a marriage you must compromise. The wife in this case does not have the goal of stopping his hunting.

 

[TikkaShooters]

Can we get past the issue with his wife and answer the man's question?

He asked about bullets, not our opinion of his wife's edict.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Do not go to the nosler e-tip. They are like the old Barnes x bullets with no accuracy. The new Barnes ttsx are as accurate as any bullet on the market including the target bullets and the most reliable on game performance. Some manufactures overinflate BC numbers and Barnes are very conservative. You will not notice any difference in the actual bc's shooting the barnes out to 800 yards. Also you do not need to weigh each bullet since Barnes ttsx are all exact with no sorting like all the lead bullets.

This is very simple. Get some Barnes ttsx bullets and everyone is happy. I have done the same thing shooting either barnes ttsx or Cutting Edge bullets in most of my big game rifles. In the past couple of years I have made numerous one shot kills between 800-1200 yards using these bullets. I do not have to worry about penetration to the vitals on any angle shot or fear that the bullet will blow up upon impact before reaching the vitals. With years of experience comes finally begginning to get things right and not fear any shot because of bullet concerns. My bullets pass through at any angle and wreak havoc internally while they do it.

 

[Coyboy]

I'm going back to the lead issue for just a moment.
When I was 20 I worked 3 months out of the year at a meat processor who did about 1200 whitails a season. You always got your own meat back, unless you were having a product made; ie, sausage, ring balongia, brats ect.

When we ground the meat for sausage we could do 1200 lbs at a crack, fitting 600 lbs on each rack, smoking them together. I ground up the meat and cleaned the grinder. on any given day you could count on 2-4 bullets or slugs being stuck on the plate when I pulled it apart. worn down from the cutter/plate, who knows how many went completly thru the plates. Part of this was due to the fact that When some one said "put the whole deer in sausage", the whole deer was ground, and bullets in the meat were left there as the grinder could take a boned out hind quarter withoutr a hick-up.

So guys who are lead sensitive be forewarned.

When my brother was 5 years old he was sucking on a 1 oz lead sinker, God knows for how long. He swalloed it by accident and crapped it out a few days later. Never been the same since. lol

 

[Buffalobob]

Lead poisoning in children is a serous problem and it only takes a small piece to affect a child for the rest of his or her life.

 

[gcamp54]

Main problem is too much liberal propaganda. You will not eat lead unless you mix lead into your meat. Shooting an animal with a lead bullet will not cause you or your family to eat lead unless you make sure you find the lead in the meat and include it in your meal. But if it makes your wife feel better and keeps you hunting, use what ever it takes to make her happy.
Gordon