non-toxic deer hunting bullets

[firefly1957]

Tomo the only way i could see you getting a lead free expanding bullet would be though swaging them and dies and presses to do that are very expensive. Your next best choice would be to literally glue a composite of heavy pieces of something like bismuth together in a thin jacket* and i can not see getting consistency to shoot accurately. The big problem is you are going after a big deer and i did not see what range you need to shoot at either. You need a tough bullet possibility using tin in a large caliber like 45-70 with a flat tipped bullet letting a good solid hit do the job without expansion.
. Good luck with your search i do think the Barnes bullets may for now be your safest bet .
* this would not expand it would release many pieces at impact like a shotgun at very close range while effective you need large parts to be effective.

[MUSTANG]

Tomo:

Welcome too the board. I have nothing to add to the suggestions on lead alternatives, but remember Hokkaido fondly. I had the privilege of being an "USMC Exchange Officer" with the Japanese Self Defense force for three weeks at the Northern end of the island in the mid 1980's. The hospitality afforded by the JSDF and the residents of Hokkaido I met was superb. I have many cherished memories of that three weeks training with the JSDF. Many innovative training aides were used by the JSDF during that time, reminds me of the United States Marine Corps and it's affinity for making do with little funding.

If the vegetation remains the same in Hokkaido, a 150 yard shot would be considered long range (excluding farming areas). For this reason, bullet drop should not be a major consideration for lead replacement loads, or "Green" commercial rounds.

[tomo]

Thanks for welcoming me, GLynn41
We can hunt with valid hunting license here. To get license, it is needed to pass an exam.
And they are done in Japanese language.

Only non-lead bullet local gun shop has was Barnes. I want to try Sierra too if he carry.

[tomo]

goodsteel,
I saw AGFC.com. It is great that I can hunt if I buy a license in Arkansas.

[tomo]

runfiverun,
Lead shot is permitted even though bullet with lead is prohibited in the northern island in Japan.
But I should check about non-toxic shot to study.
I have no furnace to melt copper so far but I will remember your comment about Zinc when I do it.

[tomo]

lobowolf761, I have never seen Hornady's at local gun shop. But I will ask about it them and try if possible.

[tomo]

firefly1957, I shoot deer which range would be 50m to 300m.

It seems difficult for me to make good non-lead hunting bullet with my skill and instruments.

I am going to use Barnes for deer hunting this season. But I keep to research.

[tomo]

Hello, MUSTANG

I am happy to know you've had nice days in Hokkaido. And I have found a lot of serviceperson and veterans here.
Thank you for many aides. Especially, your Armed Forces, including Marine Corps of course,
helped the afflicted at 311 Tsunami disaster four years ago. And all people there are given encouragements.

Anyway, I won't have time to get there at the beginning of hunting season because of my work.
I will be off duty and available to hunt deer there in snowy season.

[tomo]

I might need to explain our circumstances even it doesn't corresponds to non-toxic blah-blah.

In the nature of things, old hunters have got their first license decades ago.
At that time, exam was not too hard. In Japan, to have hunting rifle needs more than 10 years continuous experience as a shotgun hunter.
Such old hunters always have rifles, not only shotgun.

Recently, new law obligates possessor must have not only written but shooting exam at renewal which is done every three years.
shooting exam of shotgun is easy. just shoot more than only 2 or 3 clays of 25 is required. But rifle shooting exam, it is difficult for old hunter.
That exam requires score more than 40 point with 20 kneeling shots at 50m to pass using their own rifle. outer circle of 1 point is about 7" diameter.
Old hunter tends to own rifles without scope if he hunt wild boar, most major game here. To archive 40 point is very difficult with such a rifle.
That's why a lot of old hunters gave up their license renewal.

Such hard regulation was terminated this year finally. Now only a few point is enough to pass if examinee don't make unsafe action while the exam.
But people who gave up their rifle already along with that hard exam, can not get rifle license back immediately.
Because once he gave up renewal, 10 continuous year experience, once more, needs to get rifle again.

[Whiterabbit]

Hello tomo-san,

your best bet is to stick with the barnes bullet. They are fine bullets. They cost about $1 a piece here too. Shoot near max loadings and you'll find your accuracy node faster. That should save you on some of your load development. That should get your load nailed down with 100 rounds or less. Add another 100 for practice, and you will be good to go in the field regardless of what you practice with.

I'm stuck shooting copper as well for hunting. Iprefer the TTSX. They are more accurate for me than the E-tip, and the terminal performance has been verified.

The real trick is getting a good lead-free load for pistol hunting. And the real expense is finding an accurate lead free shotgun slug. It helps to get lucky when searching for an accurate slug.

[tomo]

Thanks, Whiterabbit

In the fact, only I can do is using Barnes TTSX, if non-lead bullets are needed, so far.
If they carry Nosler, I might try one next when my stock of Barnes runs out.
One of my friend said e-tip was good. I will try to compare.

Anyway, I am happy to know my local gun shop sells Barnes at the price is not so expensive.
I did't know it was almost same price as it in the states.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Thanks for your comments, Folks

I heard that the reason why lead bullets prohibited in Northern area is eagles, which population decreases, eat residue of deer that hunters leave after field dressing and its meat contains debris of lead and then eagle get poisoned and die. I don't know how many eagles are killed by such reason every year but anyway the law doesn't allow us to use lead bullets.

skeettx, bow hunting is prohibited here. And we are not allowed to use the caliber size smaller than .243 for hunting.

Ola, just I wanted to practice with exactly same bullet as hunting use. But I may not need it as you wrote.
And I don't want to make bullet with gold. Too expensive of course. And additionally, golden bullet (or ball) means "balls" in Japan. haha

That is exactly the same situation with the ban on lead in the range of the Californian condor. It seems a legitimate enough argument. Many a person does find a cast lead bullet in a deer, sometimes trapped against the skin on the far side, and even a jacketed bullet is liable to leave a snowflake effect of tiny lead fragments on an X-ray.

Swallowing particles or lead shot doesn't normally do a person or other predator any harm. They pass through the system in the course of nature. Neither, apparently, do lead bullets embedded in your person, unless they are in joints, where the lubricating sinovial fluid can leach it into your system. Col. La Garde successfully removed minie balls from ancient but sometimes untroubled Civil War veterans in the twentieth century, when X-rays became available. But birds have gizzards, in which stones and other solid objects are liable to be held and abraded for long periods.

In this situation I think I would go for a .303 or .375, with which I would use a lathe with a collet for really precise holding of standard diameter copper rod, and turn solid-point practice bullets of the same weight as the expensive ones.

[NavyVet1959]

That exam requires score more than 40 point with 20 kneeling shots at 50m to pass using their own rifle. outer circle of 1 point is about 7" diameter.

For many of us old farts, the *kneeling* part would be the difficult part. My old joints don't like that action anymore.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Only a very specific height of undergrowth can make the kneeling position better than sitting with both elbows and knees, and I am still up to that.

[OnHoPr]

This post is edited because all my other post were deleted, must of rubbed someone the wrong way with my opinion or their concepts.

[tomo]

I am sorry that some facts was not told about shooting test.
At that time there were hard regulation, examinee could take "one" from 3 positions, kneeling, prone and standing.
If kneeling position was taken, examinee must get 40 point or more. 25 for standing and 60 for prone. When I took that test, examiner recommended
kneeling if I had no idea and I did so.

But now government remembers that the safety is everything. Score is so much less important than safety.
That's why they drop score requirement at shooting test this year and after.

[Whiterabbit]

Thanks, Whiterabbit
.....
Anyway, I am happy to know my local gun shop sells Barnes at the price is not so expensive.
I did't know it was almost same price as it in the states.

Only gun the E-tip was more accurate in was the 338 lapua. Otherwise, the TTSX is my solid of choice. Beat out non expanding solids too.

As for price, my 7mm solids end up being about $40 for 50 pcs locally here. My 45 cals TTSX end up being $24 to $30 for fifteen. That makes load development really hard.

[bobob]

Japan, like Australia and most other countries are up s'creek. Americans have more than 300,000,000 firearms; lead, powder, primers, brass, reloading tools and liberty. Liberty to assure that anybody who tries to take those liberty protectors are in for a bad day.

Like Yamamoto said, "There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass."

Doc Burgess, boolit's friend.
A boolit - mostly lead, antimony and tin

[tomo]

There were one million legal guns 40 years ago in Japan but are only two hundred thousands now.
I have found only one copper bullet made in Japan but it is four times as expensive as Barnes.

[Whiterabbit]

And I am sure that Japanese bullet is great, but frankly, the Barnes bullet works, and well.