Attention varmint and small game hunters:
New non-lead ammunition available this year
By Shelly Shepherd, information/education program manager and Kathy Sullivan, condor biologist/program coordinator, AGFD Flagstaff region

Want to do your part for wildlife conservation? Then try using non-lead ammunition on your next varmint or small game hunt to help reduce lead exposure in condors and other scavengers.

Varmint and small game hunters have had the most difficult time finding loaded non-lead ammunition because it just didn’t exist, until recently. Manufacturers have now answered the demand for a more environmentally friendly varmint bullet.

Starting in the spring of 2009, hunters will be able to purchase loaded non-lead .22 caliber rimfire rounds. Several ammunition manufacturers will also offer non-lead centerfire rifle ammunition for varmint hunters in .204, .222, .223, and .22-250 calibers. These non-lead cartridges will be loaded with either non-fragmenting solid copper bullets or frangible tin-copper composite bullets.

Arizona hunters have continued their proud heritage of wildlife conservation by embracing the use of non-lead ammunition. In the fall of 2008, 90 percent of big game hunters took lead reduction actions during their hunt by using non-lead or by removing gut piles of harvested animals from the field when in core bondaries of the condor range. Thanks to these efforts by hunters, no condors have died of lead poisoning in the last two years. And all this has been accomplished through voluntary measures.

Condors were added to the federal endangered species list in 1967. The condor is the largest flying land bird in North America. The birds can weigh up to 26 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 9 1/2 feet. Condors were first reintroduced into Arizona in 1996, and there are now 67 in the state. Visitors to the Grand Canyon area are often able to observe the birds during the spring and summer, and they can be seen at the Vermilion Cliffs during the winter.

Lead poisoning is the leading cause of death in condors and the main obstacle to a self-sustaining population in Arizona. Studies show that lead shot and bullet fragments found in game carcasses and gut piles are the main source of lead in condors.

Non-lead ammunition is also available for muzzleloaders, handguns, and shotguns.

For more information on non-lead ammunition and a detailed list of manufacturers and retailers, visit the department’s condor web page at:
www.azgfd.gov/condor.