Lead ban proposals consultation ends tonight (10 December) at 11.59pm

[Conor O'Gorman]

Last chance folks if you have not had the time to have your say on the Health and Safety Executive's lead ammunition restriction proposals.

I think there will have been a few thousand response submitted by people that shoot (possibly as many as 5,000) as a result of receiving BASC emails and a few hundred from people getting Wild Justice emails and maybe a few hundred arising from places including a few dozen from PW. Relatively few of us make the effort to get involved so thanks to every PW member that took the time to respond!

For anyone left to do so, some quick advice as follows:

How to respond to the consultation

The survey response form contains mostly technical and confusing questions. However, there is a shortcut and it will take less than five minutes of your time. Just skip to the last section of the survey and in ‘general comments’ tell them, in your own words, what you think about a lead ban based on your own shooting interests and experience. There are no right or wrong views, so let’s give them thousands of reasons to rethink their proposals. 

Click the link below to start your response.

https://consultations.hse.gov.uk/crd-reach/lead-in-ammunition/consultation/

[enfieldspares]

I said this and at the very least I hope that people can share in their submission my comments on 9mm Rimfire and .22" Rimfire shotguns:

Transition Periods
There is no benefit to shorter transition period indeed a shorter period would be a de facto ban on practice on clay pigeons with 16 Bore shotguns. The proposals relating to non-lead ammunition need to be looked at in regard to 16 Bore shotguns being used for practice on clay pigeons.

It is important to know that many, indeed most, clay pigeon grounds only allow cartridges of a load containing 28 grams or less of shot. And that the size of that shot must be no larger than English #7 shot size.

It MUST be realised by DEFRA that there are no non-lead cartridges in 16 Bore that fit this requirement. There are non-lead cartridges, yes, in 16 Bore but NONE where the load is less than 28 grams and none where the size in non-lead is less than English #7.

Therefore practice on clay pigeons with 16 Bore shotguns would become unable to continue if non-lead cartridges were banned for clay pigeon shooting.

This also appears the same...non-lead shot in smaller than English #7...in 28 Bore and .410" Gauge. Practice on clay pigeons is a very necessary thing to ensure clean and humane kills on live quarry.
 

Humane dispatch derogation:
There are NO non-lead cartridges in 9mm Rimfire and .22" Rimfire shotgun cartridges. Used by some for vermin shooting rats and squirrels and for the humane despatch of vermin caught in cage traps.

If non-lead cartridges are banned for live quarry use or for humane despatch then de facto the use of 9mm Rimfire and .22" Rimfire shotguns will overnight become illegal. The consequences will be that these guns will be valueless and that the owner of such might then seek to replace such by buying a higher calibre more powerful shotgun to now carry on that role.

Therefore it is suggested that there be a total and permanent derogation from any lead shot ban for any purpose for 9mm Rimfire and .22" Rimfire shotguns.

There is also a danger with all other calibre shotguns used for humane despatch that the greater risk of ricochet danger from roads, stones, flints or other hard surfaces of steel shot will endanger the users of such larger calibre shotguns or assisting bystanders. 

Therefore there should be a permanent derogation for shotgun cartridges of any shot size in 12, 16, 20 Bore and .410" for humane despatch of wild or domestic animals and/or livestock or horses.

The Deer Act section 7 in England and Wales and similar legislation presently allows lettered shot such as AAA (or in Scotland lettered shot AAA or SSG)and/or a single non-spherical projectile of 22.68 grams (350 grains) aka a "shotgun slug" to be used to shoot deer.

Steel shot of AAA size or steel slug would cause serious and immediate risk of damage to any shotgun and also as it is non-expanding unlike lead AAA or lead slug would be illegal.

Again a de facto ending to such ability would likely result in persons that use shotguns for such then instead requesting being given s1 centrefire rifles on Firearms Certificates. Therefore there should be a permanent derogation for the use of lead shotgun cartridges of AAA, SSG and shotgun slug in 12 Bore where it is being used for shooting deer.

Edited December 10, 2023 by enfieldspares