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Ammo Education, Outreach, and Obstacles

Behavior change at scale for conservation.

Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Speaker: Kenny Flagg

LeadFreeWildlifeMN | Outreach Coordinator

@ballisticimpressions

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Brief Bio

K-8 Educator, Program Director
Competitive Pistol Shooter
Pistol Instructor / Coach
Aspiring Squirrel Hunter

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Driving Question

How can we scale lead-free hunting as conservation?

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Establish presentation purpose: How have minds in hunting and conservation? Broad.

How has leave-no-trace culture, identifying as a conservationist, and non-toxic stewardship become a norm for hunters already?

What has helped hunter compliance with regs (or exceed reg requirements) conservation?

TurkFederation, PheasantsForever, DuckUnlim., etc.

Set Smart Goals and Focus on the Processes to swaths of folks on board.

�We must consider the murky nature of learning.

It will be messy and lack proficiency at various points of development.

We need to identify failures, learn from them, and instill deliberate practice for what we can control now.

Shaming hunters or peoples’ character unlikely to help meet wildlife recovery goals.

Balancing the scales of litigation/lobbying effort on all sides of Lead issue

Compare to direct, dedicated efforts on education, investigating knowledge-gaps, and community building.

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Humans and Lead (Pb): A Love Story

Material Science

Known to be poisonous for over 2,500 years.

Lead pipes, paint, gas, and an all-time leader… Lead that has slung

Soft, dense, and behaves like sweet, poisonous glitter

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Ancient Greek: "ΔΕΞΑΙ" (Dexai) translates to "take that" or "catch"

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Considerations for Lead-Free Advocacy

Early Experiences

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Steel Shot transfers less energy at farther ranges compared to Lead.�
1^st Generation Copper “penciling” wounds.

Unexpected Performance Differences

Non-lead raw materials, tooling costs, fluctuating product supply
Less overall supply; harder to find locally

Availability & Costs

400+ Yard Shot

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Considerations for Lead-Free Advocacy

Early Experiences

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Steel Shot transfers less energy at farther ranges compared to Lead.�
1^st Generation Copper “penciling” wounds.

Unexpected Performance Differences

Non-lead raw materials, tooling costs, fluctuating product supply
Less overall supply; harder to find locally

Availability & Costs

Velocity too low for adequate expansion, wide wound channel, & energy transfer.

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Anticipating Common Concerns

Best Practices

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Understand effective range
Use lower weight projectile at faster velocity

Utilize fragmenting and powdered metallurgy projectiles.

Prepare for Performance Differences

Good performance can be found on a budget
Buying in bulk for savings
Group buying and online sales.

Availability & Costs

Velocity too low for adequate expansion, wide wound channel, & energy transfer.

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Anticipating Common Concerns

Best Practices

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Understand Steel Shot effective range
Bismuth/Tungsten demonstrably outperform 🔥
Use lower weight projectile at faster velocity

Utilize fragmenting and powdered metallurgy projectiles.

Prepare for Performance Differences

Good performance can be found on a budget
Buying in bulk for savings
Group buying and online sales.

Availability & Costs

Velocity too low for adequate expansion, wide wound channel, & energy transfer.

Cheaper, closer range

Incredibly deadly, costly

Bismuth/Tungsten demonstrably outperform any Pb shot🔥

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Some Copper Bullets Intentionally Fragment to Increase Stopping Power �(via secondary wound channels).

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Hunter Trust & Choice

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Efficacy & Experience

Cost

Availability

Confidence

HUNTER MISCONCEPTION TRIFECTA

- LEAD POISONING? CORRELATION/CAUSATION

- COST OF NON-TOXIC ROUNDS? IS IT AVAILABLE?

- ISN'T IT LESS GOOD??

Hunters need to Understand the Problem

Leading with human health risks can be difficult.

Many hunters will make the case that consuming game taken with lead is fine for them. Viable, though less so for food shelves serving people in need at higher risks of exposure. MN is the only state X-Ray all donations. SLF are helping accomplish this in other states.��Widespread, Conservation ethics is a viable path.

EDUCATION must be part of the solution.

Avoid buying bullets like eggs and milk
Dedicated practice gets and learning produces better results than gear.
Ammo for one specific hunt is a drop in the bucket for most excursions, camps, seasons, etc.

�

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Hunter Trust & Choice

“Are you sure the lead is coming from bullets?”

What about batteries?
Paint chips?

Does non-toxic stuff work?

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Efficacy & Experience

Cost

Availability

Confidence

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Hunter Trust & Choice

How expensive is it?
Where would I get it?
How to determine if a bullet�is lead-free?
How do I know it works with �current equipment?

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Efficacy & Experience

Cost

Availability

Confidence

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Hunter Trust & Choice

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Efficacy & Experience

Cost

Availability

Confidence

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Hunter Trust & Choice

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Efficacy & Experience

Cost

Availability

Confidence

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2022 Advocacy Map

Range Staff and Management are helpful and appreciate the bonus to their patrons.
Equipment and ammunition questions can be resolved in minutes.
Most hunters make toxicology connections quickly upon seeing:

Scavengers X-Rays
Gut Pile Game Camera Footage
Fragmentation in Gel-Blocks
Fragments in processed meat
Take-home resources to dig deeper

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2022 Advocacy Review

50+ Hunter Conversations per Shooting Range Visit!
Hunters can test ammo same-day with personal firearms.
Ballistics questions can be explored and solved quickly.

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Opportunities Abound

Expand tabling, education
Identify incentives for educators during the fall
Ease the switch with upstream incentives for hunters.
Ranges are staffed for safety, so “sample packs” can be administered and tested on site.

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DNR Range List

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It’s Hard to Judge a Bullet by its Jacket

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Same product line; different projectile makeup.

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Analysis Paralysis

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Thank you!

Slide Deck Available

LeadFreeWildlifeMN.com/learn

Get involved:�LeadFreeWildlifeMN@gmail.com

Follow on Instagram

@LeadFreeWildlife

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