Hunting with coated bullets

[anothernewb]

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this. However, had this question asked of me the other day. Can you hunt with coated boolits.
And I honestly had to sit back and think about it. My initial answer was I wouldn't recommend it. On the off chance that I wouldn't want to eat paint or the plastic. But as I thought longer on it. what are the real percentages of that stuff coming off in the meat. No one thinks twice about eating meat that's had raw lead inside it. No one considers jacket material that might fragment either...and coated is supposedly easier on lead contamination when loading - so wouldn't that also translate to meat hunted with it?

But I would love to hear other thoughts.

[rototerrier]

My coating barely comes off in rocks and sand. I would have zero issue eating anything taken with a coated bullet. No more so than eating something with a non coated bullet. Is eating lead any better than plastic?

Of course, I've never eaten either since I butcher my own kills and I clean up any damage around the wound.

[Daekar]

I wouldn't hesitate to eat anything killed with coated boolits. Not only are the chances of contamination low in absolute terms, but the relative risk is low even if you did manage to eat some of the stuff.

[charlie b]

If you would eat meat from an animal killed with a lubed lead bullet, or jacketed soft point that expands and breaks up, or pure lead ball from muzzle loader, or shotgun shot, etc, then why not a PC bullet?

FWIW, it isn't the coating that will do you harm if eaten. It's the lead.

[dikman]

I can't speak for PC but I don't see any way that Hi-Tek coating is going to come off if shot into an animal. If hitting it with a hammer won't remove the coating then hunting certainly won't.

[cwlongshot]

I haven't given it a second thought. But its too late for me that ship sailed couple years ago...

CW

[fastdadio]

I've never seen so much as a spec of coating left in the water jugs I've shot. So there's that. Then, every deer I shot with my .44 or .30 cals zipped right through and kept going, and I never saw any residue in them either. I will continue to hunt with my coated boolits.

[nicholst55]

Seems like several years ago there was some group trying to scare hunters into not hunting any more. They circulated X-rays of animals that had been shot, showing bits of lead distributed throughout the meat from the fragmenting bullet. They tried to convince everyone that they were poisoning themselves with lead. I had never given it any consideration before that, but I also didn't lose any sleep over it. The vast majority of us certainly don't live on meat that we personally harvested, and I figure that the hormones and chemicals used in animal feed represent a much more serious hazard than any incidental lead ingestion does. Same thing with powder coating.

[Stephen Cohen]

I once watched a You Tube video where they x rayed a deer shot with cast bullet, and it was riddled with bits of lead way outside the wound area. If I hunt with lead i will be Hi-Tek coated just for the added protection. Regards Stephen

[oley55]

I once watched a You Tube video where they x rayed a deer shot with cast bullet, and it was riddled with bits of lead way outside the wound area. If I hunt with lead i will be Hi-Tek coated just for the added protection. Regards Stephen

Added protection!? I may be missing something, but I am having difficulty understanding how a coated bullet would provide added protection in the case of game flesh. Are you suggesting the coating will hold the bullet together or would encapsulate the lead and protect you as it passes through our digestive systems?

[Geezer in NH]

I don't eat bloodshot meat or the torn up meat from a projectile strike. I mean that's YUK Defined!!

I do my own butchering so there will be no chance of that happening.

[Leadmad]

Im with you on this one too Geezer, bloodshot meat is the first part of a animal to start getting bacteria, its just too easy to trim out and leave

[Stephen Cohen]

Added protection!? I may be missing something, but I am having difficulty understanding how a coated bullet would provide added protection in the case of game flesh. Are you suggesting the coating will hold the bullet together or would encapsulate the lead and protect you as it passes through our digestive systems?

I probably should have explained that the x ray I mentioned showed the lead had traveled further through the meat than one would have thought, and my experience with HI-Tek has shown the that the coating does in fact tend to hold the cast together to some degree, I would not be surprised to find that even in the event of bone being hit that the coating would prevent a considerable amount of lead traveling through out the animal, I agree this is speculation on my part and may in fact be wrong. I have in fact never shot an animal anywhere but head or neck so I guess it matters little. If my rifles shot better without Hi-Tek you can bet I would not use it and I in no way would belittle anyone who hunted with un coated cast. Regards Stephen

[cwlongshot]

People... lead bullet have been shot from firearms since there was firearms... This is NOT ANYTHING NEW. IF in fact it was a REAL ISSUE we wouldnt just discover it now. Also As I understand things the common human digestive system dosent have the lead in that sumystem long enough for it to be dangerous.

WE ARE NOT BIRDS with much slower different digest tracts.

CW

[edp2k]

There is a new, hi tech device for scientifically detecting lead particles in game meat.
Its called teeth, as in the teeth in your head.

Unless you never chew your food, of course ;)

[mehavey]

https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/content/articles/health-risks-of-lead-in-venison-gray-toxin-or-red-herring

Fairly balanced discussion of the facts...

[Grayone]

Hasn't killed me yet. And I have taken several deer with a coated bullet. Seriously I consider a coated bullet very low risk.

[pmer]

I think it's more about over driving the boolit / bullet. When the bullet more or less explodes on impact or exit. Elmer Keith said you can eat right up to the hole.

[Buck Shot]

Seems like several years ago there was some group trying to scare hunters into not hunting any more. They circulated X-rays of animals that had been shot, showing bits of lead distributed throughout the meat from the fragmenting bullet. They tried to convince everyone that they were poisoning themselves with lead. I had never given it any consideration before that, but I also didn't lose any sleep over it. The vast majority of us certainly don't live on meat that we personally harvested, and I figure that the hormones and chemicals used in animal feed represent a much more serious hazard than any incidental lead ingestion does. Same thing with powder coating.

These comments echo my thoughts almost exactly. Except here, we pretty much use deer to cover all our "red meat" needs. Even so, the threat of lead in venison, I believe, is vastly overblown -- as you said, to try to scare people, and to try to build up support for banning lead hunting ammunition as they've done in California if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway, as for PC coatings, I'd rather eat a pound of polyester than even a little bit of lead. I suspect polyester is gastronomically inert.

[stubshaft]

I've never seen any evidence of PC in ANY wound channel.

[Stephen Cohen]

Buck Shot, I believe you and nicholst55 have hit the nail on the head, I for one am willing to admit to stupidity for not seeing that you tube video for what it was. I would like to think I am at least average intelligence but failed to see the true purpose of the video. Regards Stephen

[Tonerboy]

If your concerned about a small PC'd bullet leaving enough contamination to worry about, you better throw away all your teflon coated frying pans. Most people ingest a good amount of that coating every day. Just look at how much is scratched off before you go buy another pan thats chock full of fresh teflon.