At the end of April, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a memorandum to clarify approved nontoxic shot requirements for hunting migratory waterfowl. According to the agency, they had received frequent questions about the use of copper shot.
Within the memorandum, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said that in order for new nontoxic shot types to be approved, a shot material must show no significant toxicity risk to birds, wildlife, or habitats. The shot material must also be identifiable as non-lead in the field using portable testing devices and be formally approved through rulemaking and added to the federally approved nontoxic shot type list.
Since lead shot was banned nationwide for waterfowl hunting in 1991, the most common and popular nontoxic shot type used by waterfowl hunters has been steel. In recent years, however, there has been a growing trend amongst duck and goose hunters for using shot shells that incorporate loads with bismuth and tungsten shot. These metals have higher densities, offering waterfowl hunters a more powerful, harder hitting shot shell load option.
The cost of bismuth and tungsten has skyrocketed recently, largely due to political and military activities, and the use of these metals for military needs. Because of this, some ammunition manufacturers have begun exploring and producing copper shot shells. The recent memorandum from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service highlights some possible issues with these new copper loads.
“While thin copper coatings on other approved shot types have been allowed since 1986, pure copper shot is not approved because copper can be toxic to waterfowl and aquatic species,” the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service stated in their memorandum. “There are 4 shot variations contained or coated with copper that are authorized; however, only one copper-based shot type with greater than 44% copper, corrosion-inhibited copper (CIC) shot, is currently approved.”
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said CIC shot is a unique formulation, in which copper is allowed only because it is coated with benzotriazole and a fluorescent powder that prevents corrosion and exposure meeting all federally approved nontoxic shot requirements.
“Shot types that are not listed as meeting the specific requirements, or that lack required coatings or field-testing compatibility, may not be used for migratory bird hunting,” said the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. “The FWS will continue reviewing new shot and coating applications under the requirements, but no additional copper-based shot types are approved at this time.”
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service did say they are considering future rulemaking to update migratory bird hunting regulations in order to address several emerging issues and technological advances, including nontoxic shot types and their approval processes.
The full memorandum issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can be viewed and downloaded at fws.gov, along with the current approved list of nontoxic shot types.
