Waterfowl hunters have known for years that non-lead shot is effective on ducks and geese, so why is the department conducting a non-lead dove lethality study?
The ability to address questions concerning non-lead shot and its effectiveness was not available during the 1970’s for ducks. As a result, the biological community had little factual information on which to base a discussion as to the effectiveness of either early generation non-lead or lead loads in use at the time. Some still believe that non-lead shot when used properly is not as effective as lead despite studies to the contrary. Much of this can be traced back to the days when people were forming their beliefs based on misinformation and very poor quality shot. Without properly documented scientific evidence, any assumption that lead shot is more effective than non-lead shot would not withstand a legal challenge, much less in the court of public opinion. No “real world” tests comparing the effectiveness of lead versus non-lead loads for taking wild mourning doves in natural hunting conditions have ever been conducted.
