Getting the lead out

As I paid the cashier, I thought I’d lost my marbles.

My new tungsten fishing jigs cost about triple what the nearly identical looking lead ones displayed nearby cost.

I’d just learned from fishing authority Noel Vick of Traditions Media that tungsten jigs cast farther, sink faster and are more sensitive than lead. Was he right or was I nuts to spend the money?

Hours later I oared my tiny boat toward a small pond’s bank and aimed a cast calculated to hit the water inches from shore where bass lurk. No dice. My new jig zoomed beyond my aim point to snag a mulberry bush.

Then I remembered Noel’s words and high school physics. A fishing lure is a projectile launched by a rod. If lures are the same size a heavier projectile will travel farther than a lighter one.

His observation was supported by Coe College physics professor Steve Feller.

“Tungsten is denser than lead,” he said. “If each has the same volume and shape then the tungsten one will be heavier and less affected by air resistance.”

It will go farther.

Tungsten costs more than lead. I first paid the higher tungsten price to buy jigs for health reasons. Lead’s toxic to people and wildlife. Then I learned about the performance advantage of tungsten and put all my lead lures in the trash.

  Buy Photo

I'd made the right health decision and the casting and sinking superiority of tungsten were bonuses. My first evening fishing with tungsten proved Noel and Feller right but it forced me to row to shore and unsnarl my jig from the tree. I learned.

The United States Government began the gradual elimination of tetraethyl (TEL) lead from gasoline in the 1970s after science proved it was toxic to the human brain. When the ban became complete on Jan. 1,1996, then EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner, called it, “One of the greatest environmental achievements of all time.”

Lead was banned from paint in 1978, but remains commonly used in fishing tackle and ammunition.

According to the EPA, lead builds up in the body over a period of years. Children are especially vulnerable because their growing bodies absorb more lead. Kids most frequently ingest lead from old household paint dust and chips, but it’s not the only poisoning source. I hold vivid memories of biting a lead split shot sinker over fishing line when I was still in grade school. Perhaps I’d have a higher IQ today if I’d not done that.

Lead’s toxicity is not limited to people. Spent lead shot is sometimes eaten by feeding ducks and geese and poisons them. Shotgun pellets made of it were banned for waterfowl hunting in 1991, but lead remains legal in most places for hunters pursuing other game.

Lead rifle bullets present two types of hazards. They can fragment when hitting a deer or other animal, leaving tiny pieces of the soft metal embedded in flesh. People can ingest it when eating venison.

Whether this is a human health hazard or not is controversial, but there is clear evidence that lead from bullets is toxic to eagles, condors and, likely, many other species. When these noble animals feed on unretrieved game killed by a lead bullet they can sicken and die.

Pieces of bullet sometimes lodge in internal organs. When hunters leave the “guts” in the woods scavenger animals eagerly devour them and ingest lead.

For hundreds of years lead was the main metal used in fishing lures and ammunition. It is relatively inexpensive and easy to form into various shapes. Only in recent years has lead’s impact on human and environmental health been understood.

When lead shot was banned for waterfowl hunting decades ago, ammunition manufacturers quickly began selling shells loaded with steel shot, which actually is made of iron. It had poor ballistics and soured hunters on steel.

Today many types of non-lead shotgun shells are on the market. Steel shot’s effectiveness has improved and newer alloys from bismuth, tungsten, steel, and, perhaps, other metals are on the market. All are deadly to game while eliminating lead’s hazards.

They also are effective. Tungsten shot, for example, increases a shotgun’s range and has become popular with turkey hunters, but it’s expensive.

“A box of five .410 turkey loads can cost as much as $40,” said Ernie Traugh of Cedar Valley Outfitters.

Most non lead ammunition is less expensive.

Although most bullets still are made of lead, copper has become a viable and much less toxic alternative. Years ago, I bought my first copper bullets made by Barnes. I now use them exclusively in my muzzleloader and modern rifle and find them deadly on deer. I no longer need to fret about ingesting lead particles when eating a venison steak. Should a scavenger find the entrails of a deer I’ve shot the copper won’t harm it.

For hunting and fishing I’ve gotten the lead out. I’ve only found two downsides.

One is cost. Like fishing lures, non-lead ammunition is usually more expensive than lead ones, but cost is relative. A fishing or hunting trip can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars and the added few bucks of using lead-free products adds only a trivial amount to the total cost.

The other downside, which can be turned to advantage, is learning the ballistics of a tungsten jig or steel or tungsten shotgun shells. They fly through the air differently than lead, requiring some relearning. For example, my tungsten jigs cast farther than my old lead ones. I’ve had to adjust my cast release, but the safer metal lets me position my boat farther from my target, making it less likely I’ll spook fish.

There are other benefits to switching to non-lead lures. Several states ban them. So do many Canadian and American national parks. Having only lead-free lures in the tackle box means they are legal everywhere.

The same goes for hunting projectiles. In Iowa and other states lead may be legal in one area but not in another. By using only non-toxic shells, I never have to worry about what’s legal where.

Many years ago, my late good friend and South Dakota outdoor personality Tony Dean invited me on a pheasant hunt.

“I only use #3 steel shot and an open choke for all my bird hunting. It’s effective and is legal everywhere,” he told me.

I’m now comfortable spending a little more to buy non-lead fishing and hunting supplies and I’ve tweaked my casting and shooting. For example, my rifle shoots to a slightly different spot with a copper than a lead bullet, so I re-zeroed my scope to account for it.

Getting rid of lead lures and ammunition presents a dilemma. What to do with the toxic stuff? I put my lead fishing jigs in the trash and asked Sporting Lead Free, a group devoted to discouraging lead, how to safely dispose of lead shotgun shells and bullets. They suggested using them for practice and assured me that lead projectiles are safe to use for target shooting at a range where the lead concentrates in backstops.

Buying non-lead can be challenging. The vast majority of stores that sell fishing tackle stock mostly lead lures, but some have a few tungsten equivalents. Non-lead shotgun or rifle shells are more generally available in stores. Many online merchants offer a wide diversity of non-lead items.

Want to learn more? Check out Sporting Lead Free’s website at sportingleadfree.org.

Rich and Marion Patterson have backgrounds in environmental science and forestry. They co-own Winding Pathways, a consulting business that encourages people to “Create Wondrous Yards.”