Ammunition

Iowa Governor Rescinds Ban on Lead Ammo for Dove Hunting

Sarah Smith — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:45:34 -0400

--Chad Love

It's been a long, strange and litigious trip, but it looks like Phil Bourjaily can finally go dove hunting in Iowa with whatever ammo he wants to use, thanks to an executive order from Iowa governor Terry Branstad

From this story in the Sioux City Journal:
Gov. Terry Branstad fired a shot at his executive-branch agencies by issuing an order Friday rescinding a ban on lead ammunition by dove hunters. Branstad said he would not let them trump actions of elected officials by using “administrative fiat” to set rules that go beyond a law’s intended effect. “We need to make sure that we stop this practice of agencies going beyond what’s been delegated to them and their responsibility,” Branstad said.

Branstad claims the Iowa Natural Resources Commission exceeded its authority when it banned lead shot for dove hunting last year. Unsurprisingly, the Humane Society of the United States, which first fought the dove season and then pushed for the lead ban, was disappointed.

From the story:

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, issued a statement condemning what he called a “power grab” by the Iowa governor. “It is the height of hypocrisy for Gov. Terry Branstad to overrule both the Legislature and the Natural Resources Commission by executive fiat and to thumb his nose at the people of Iowa," he said. "But Gov. Branstad apparently believes that politics should trump science, and that anything goes if the gun lobby demands it.”

Thoughts? Reaction? Now that you have a choice, will you use lead or steel this fall?

State Police to Shut Down PA Instant Check System, No Firearms Purchases for 3 Days

Sarah Smith — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:59:25 -0400

--Chad Love

Are you a Pennsylvania resident who plans on buying a gun sometime this month? You might want to check with your gun shop before making the drive...

From this story on examiner.com:
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) announced on Friday, that the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), used by the Pennsylvania State Police, will be taken out of service for three days later this month for a full system replacement. Consequently, this will temporarily restrict the purchase of firearms and negate the ability to obtain criminal history checks.

It's that last bit of news that has more than a few people a little ticked off. And it didn’t take long for them to express just how much...

From this follow-up story on examiner.com:

A complete shutdown of the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) for a period of 60 hours later this month for a system upgrade is "inexcusable," the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today. “Closing down the background check system, and thus suspending all firearms transactions and concealed carry license processing simply allows the [PSP] to obstruct the gun rights of law-abiding citizens,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb. “Access to the computers for background checks should not be suspended at all. Surely the [PSP] can find alternate means of processing firearms transactions and permit applications while the upgrade is in progress.”

The system will shut down at 10 p.m. Saturday, May 19 and will remain down until the following Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Thoughts? Reaction? Is it a mere inconvenience, or a de facto (albeit temporary) suspension of the Second Amendment?

Guns on Film: Can You Answer These 12 Movie Gun Trivia Questions?

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:33:34 -0400

Let's have a little fun. As is the case for many, the guns I grew up hunting with represent my first real world experience with firearms. But from an even earlier age, my interest in guns was definitely peaked by those I saw in movies. Whether it was to find out what kind of gun a hero or villain carried, or just a desire to know how the gun I saw on the screen really worked, movies provided that spark that made me want to find out more. In a way, guns made me a movie nut, and vice versa. I mean, how can you blame me with toys like this beckoning from the aisles of Kiddie City...yeah, I definitely had this one.

If you can relate, or just want to remember some awesome movie moments, click through this gallery of movie gun trivia questions. On the first slide for each movie, I pose a question about a film character that met his demise in front of a muzzle. It might be about the movie, the guns in the movie, or both. Click to the next slide to see if you're right and learn some fun movie gun facts along the way.

Every film in here is at least a decade old, so there shouldn't be any spoilers for anyone. And if you haven't seen the flicks in this gallery...you should probably turn in your man card anyway. Have fun! --Dave Maccar

Problems of Supersized Turkey Loads and Choosing The Right Alternative

Sarah Smith — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:08:43 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Braced for a jolt of recoil the first time I pulled the trigger of a .458 Winchester Magnum rifle, I thought: That wasn’t as bad as a turkey gun.

A .458—an elephant gun—generates up to 65 foot-pounds of recoil that you feel as a shove. Meanwhile, a 12-gauge loaded with a high-velocity 31⁄2-inch magnum lead turkey load cracks you with up to 75 foot-pounds of recoil. Turkey guns are light to make them easy to carry long distances, and turkey loads contain lots of shot driven at high speed to ensure penetration of skull and vertebrae. The result is massive recoil. It offends my sense of proportion that guns for a 21-pound bird kick harder than rifles designed for the most dangerous game in the world, so I avoid the heaviest turkey loads on principle.

That said, in the excitement of shooting a turkey, no one feels the gun go off. Should we just accept brutal recoil as part of the price of a masochistic sport, along with sleep deprivation, mosquitoes, and chiggers?

The answer: It depends.

The Cost of Kick If you’re an experienced shooter and you want to use the heaviest, fastest 31⁄2-inch magnums in a 61⁄2-pound pump, who am I to tell you not to? I’ll even recommend one: Winchester’s Supreme High Velocity 31⁄2-inch, 2-ounce load of 5 shot at 1300 fps wallops your shoulder, but also kills distant turkeys dead.

If you shoot monster loads, though, you must take precautions at the range. A 20-shot patterning session with 31⁄2s rattles my head enough that I feel addled afterward, and that’s scary. Not only is recoil potentially harmful, it’s easy to pick up a nasty flinch at the range that follows you into the field. Shooting the heaviest payload does no good if you pull it off target. Test your gun from a weighted rest like a Lead Sled, or at least shoot with a padded gun case draped over your shoulder. Keep range sessions short.

Additionally, recoil can ruin turkey hunting for kids and newcomers. The light youth 20-gauge pumps many kids start with kick surprisingly hard with 3-inch, 11⁄4-ounce magnums. A beating at the range can make them too fearful of a gun to shoot well, and may even turn them off of hunting before they ever start.

Shooter-Friendly Ammo The first kids I took turkey hunting practiced extensively with 20-gauge, 1-ounce premium loads of lead 6s, and each killed toms with those loads at 25 yards. Since then, several 12- and 20-gauge alternatives have come on the market that have low recoil and are effective at long range. Heavier-than-lead tungsten-iron pellets retain enough energy so that you can use smaller shot sizes, lighter payloads, and lower velocities while retaining turkey-killing performance. They cost as much as $3 to $4 per shell as opposed to $1 to $2 for lead, but paying an extra $10–$20 to make a newcomer’s hunt successful and enjoyable is a smart investment.

Here are my favorites, in descending order of recoil. I have shot birds with a number of these and patterned them all. Recoil figures are approximate and based on a 7-pound 12-gauge and a 6-pound 20.

(7) Winchester Supreme Elite Xtended Range HD Turkey, 23⁄4-inch 12-gauge, 11⁄2 ounces of No. 6 shot, 1225-fps velocity, 36 foot-pounds of recoil. I have shot half a dozen birds with these to 40-plus yards. Recoil is about the same as a 1450-fps, 11⁄4-ounce steel duck load.

(6) Federal Premium Mag-Shok Heavyweight Turkey, 3-inch 20-gauge, 11⁄2 ounces of No. 6 shot, 1100 fps, 35 foot-pounds. Containing the densest commercially available pellets, these put a 20-gauge on a par with most 12s. I have killed turkeys with them to 50 steps. The 11⁄2-ounce payload is very heavy for a 20, but the low velocity keeps recoil reasonable even in a light gun.

(5) Federal Premium Mag-Shok Heavyweight Turkey, 23⁄4-inch 12-gauge, 11⁄4 ounces of No. 7 shot, 1300 fps, 30 foot-pounds. New from Federal, this is the perfect choice if you’re teaching a new shooter with a 12-gauge. In my gun it’s a 40-yard load, and the recoil is about the same as that of many pheasant loads.

(4) Hevi-Shot Hevi-13, 23⁄4-inch 12-gauge, 11⁄2 ounces of No. 6 shot, 1090 fps, 29 foot-pounds. It has minimal recoil and patterns tightly, and its very dense pellets hit hard at all ranges.

(3) Hevi-Shot Hevi-13, 3-inch 20-gauge, 11⁄4 ounces of No. 7 shot, 1090 fps, 25 foot-pounds. Loaded with hard, dense, tiny pellets, it swarms a turkey target at 40 yards.

(2) Winchester Supreme Elite Xtended Range HD Turkey, 3-inch 20-gauge, 11⁄8 ounces of No. 5 shot, 1225 fps, 24.5 foot-pounds. I find the pellet count a little light and wish it came in 6 or 7 shot, but a friend has killed a pile of turkeys with these in a youth 870.

(1) Federal Premium Mag-Shok Heavyweight Turkey, 23⁄4-inch 20-gauge, 11⁄8 ounces of No. 7 shot, 1100 fps, 20 foot-pounds. This is as soft kicking as turkey loads get. It feels like a target load, but it will kill turkeys almost 40 yards away.

(B) And here’s a bonus lead choice: Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 23⁄4-inch 20-gauge, 1 ounce of No. 6 shot, 1245 fps, 20.5 foot-pounds. Containing beautifully round, nickel-plated lead shot, Golden Pheasant is a low-recoil, lower-cost alternative to tungsten-iron, with a killing range to nearly 35 yards. It proves that a shell doesn’t have to have a picture of a turkey on the box to kill a tom, nor does it have to kick you like an elephant gun.

Problems of Supersized Turkey Loads and Choosing The Right Alternative

Sarah Smith — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:08:43 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Braced for a jolt of recoil the first time I pulled the trigger of a .458 Winchester Magnum rifle, I thought: That wasn’t as bad as a turkey gun.

Here are my favorites, in descending order of recoil. I have shot birds with a number of these and patterned them all. Recoil figures are approximate and based on a 7-pound 12-gauge and a 6-pound 20.

(4) Hevi-Shot Hevi-13, 23⁄4-inch 12-gauge, 11⁄2 ounces of No. 6 shot, 1090 fps, 29 foot-pounds. It has minimal recoil and patterns tightly, and its very dense pellets hit hard at all ranges.

(3) Hevi-Shot Hevi-13, 3-inch 20-gauge, 11⁄4 ounces of No. 7 shot, 1090 fps, 25 foot-pounds. Loaded with hard, dense, tiny pellets, it swarms a turkey target at 40 yards.

EPA Rejects New Petition to Federally Ban Lead Ammo and Fishing Tackle

Online Editors — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:07:35 -0400

--Chad Love

Remember last month, when the EPA was petitioned (once again) to ban lead ammo and fishing tackle? Well, guess what? The EPA has (once again) rejected the petition...

From this story on infozine.com:

The Environmental Protection Agency today rejected a request for federal regulation of toxic lead in hunting ammunition, again abdicating its responsibility to protect the environment from toxic substances. Earlier this year, 150 organizations in 38 states petitioned the EPA for federal rules requiring use of nontoxic bullets and shot for hunting and shooting sports to protect public health and prevent the lead poisoning of millions of birds, including bald eagles and endangered condors.

“It’s shameful that the EPA refuses to save wildlife from senseless lead poisoning,” said Jeff Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The poisoning of bald eagles and other wildlife is a national tragedy the EPA can easily put an end to, since there are plenty of safe, available alternatives to lead ammo.”

Now keep in mind that this quote was pulled from a press release from the petition's backers, so don’t rake me over the coals for the obvious slant. I just thought it'd be interesting to see how the other side spins it. And just so you don't think the issue's dead, here's the last graf from the press release:

“We look forward to putting this issue before a court, since the law is very clear that EPA has the responsibility to protect wildlife and people from toxic lead exposure,” said Miller. “The EPA never evaluated the merits of regulating toxic lead ammo, nor has a court ruled on its authority to act under the federal toxics law — well, that will soon change.”

Which means, of course, that a lawsuit is on the way, so stay tuned...

The Gun Nut Nation Survey 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:42:59 -0400

Sound off, Gun Nuts. Tell us what you love about today’s rifles and shotguns. Tell us what you hate most about the perception of gun owners in the media. Tell us about your hopes and fears concerning a certain election this November. Tell us about what makes you a Gun Nut in the following survey—a collection of questions about the politics, economics, and state of Gun Nut Nation. The results will be published in the July 2012 issue of Field & Stream. Thank you for participating.

Round Two: Group Again Pushes for Federal Lead Ammo Ban, Restrictions

Sarah Smith — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:02:56 -0400

--Chad Love

For cryin' out loud, here we go again. After being defeated last year, serial lawsuit-filing anti-hunting organization the Center for Biological Diversity is back at it on lead ammo. If at first you don’t succeed...

From this story in the New York Times:

Citing risks to birds and to human health, roughly 100 environmental groups formally asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency this week to ban or at least impose limits on lead in the manufacturing of bullets and shotgun pellets for hunting or recreation. The use of such ammo by hunters puts about 3,000 pounds of lead into the environment annually and causes the death of 20 million birds each year from lead poisoning, said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate at one of the groups, the Center for Biological Diversity.

Consumption of meat from animals that are shot with lead bullets also contributes unacceptable levels of the metal into people’s diets, Mr. Miller said in a phone interview. The ban sought by environmental groups would not apply to ammunition used by law enforcement and the military. In addition to bullets and pellets used in hunting and recreational activity like range shooting, the petition seeks to limit the use of the metal in fishing tackle and weights. A similar request was denied by the E.P.A. in August 2010. But Mr. Miller said that the new petition includes a larger consortium of groups, including some made up of hunters, and cites recent research demonstrating that the toxic levels of lead in bullets and shot cause significant poisoning of birds nationwide.

And once again, the NSSF is taking the lead on opposing the proposed ban.

But Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, countered that a ban on lead would cause ammunition prices to skyrocket. Currently 95 percent of the ammunition used for recreation and hunting in the United States contains lead, he said, and there is no ready alternative at a similar price. Besides, he said, lead is useful for ballistic properties like its malleability. A bill that directly opposes the petition is already working its way through the House of Representatives.

Known as the Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act, it would specify that the Toxic Substances Control Act’s exemption on regulating ammunition also prevents the E.P.A. from regulating the components of bullets and pellets. It was recently approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources but has not yet come to a vote on the House floor. Mr. Keane said his group would not oppose regulation of ammunition components if a need for change were “conclusively demonstrated by science.” However, he maintains that any such rules should be issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service or state wildlife regulators, not by the E.P.A. “This is not the E.P.A.’s sandbox,” he said.

Twenty million birds a year from lead poisoning? Is there a peer-reviewed source for that number, or did they just grab it out of the air? Thoughts? Reaction?

45 Essential Gear Items Used on the ATV Canol Trail Adventure

Online Editors — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:58:54 -0400

Nine-hundred miles east of Anchorage, the World War II-era Canol Trail winds through the McKenzie Mountains of Canada's Northwest Territories and into some of the most wild landscape in North America. This defunct oil pipeline, turned dirt road, turned over-grown and washed away wilderness trail snakes from the Yukon border to the rich oil fields of Norman Wells. It's considered by many to be the most remote trail in the world.

Last year F&S Adventurer Jim Baird and Video Editor Mike Shea set off to ride the trail by ATV without helicopter or plane support. Others have completed Canol on ATV beginning to end, but none have done it without fuel and food drops along the way. Attempting this self-sustained adventure, Jim and Mike leaned hard on their ATVs, their gear, and most importantly, themselves.

This is the the gear they rode, carried and relied upon out in the bush.

Check out the video series documenting the Canol Trail ATV Adventure here!

Olympic Medalist Kim Rhode on Prep for London Games

Online Editors — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:40:43 -0500

Kim Rhode will be competing in the Olympic Skeet event in 2012, where she hopes to break an Olympic record by winning five medals in five different Olympic Games. She talks with Phil Bourjaily about her practice routine and prep work leading up to the London games.