GREEN BAY (NBC26) - The gun-deer opener begins Saturday, and the local DNR is hoping hunters will change the way they hunt, by switching to copper bullets.
"I've never had anybody ask for copper bullets,” said Mike Shea, the general manager at Family Shooting Academy in Bellevue.
It's a debate that's had hunters on both sides of the fence for years.
"I moved to all copper a number of years ago, not just from the consideration of the toxicity of lead, but that it truly behaves better balistically,” said Jeff Pritzl, the Green Bay DNR wildlife supervisor.
But it's something not everyone trusts.
"It's going to be hard to convince people that now there's a problem with it when there wasn't a problem with it 50, 60, 70 years ago,” Shea said. “It's not to say that the problem wasn't there, it's just nobody paid attention to it."
Lead is the most common type of metal used for bullets, whether it’s a variation mixed with other metals, but it’s drawn a lot of attention in recent years for its impact on the environment.
"Those fragments can break off of a lead bullet, can end up in the gut pile that can then be taken in by a scavenger or in the meat that you end up processing for human consumption as well,” Pritzl said.
While Pritzl adds, it’s not having a negative impact on an animal population; it’s something that could be eliminated all together.
The price is also something stopping hunters from picking copper bullets up from the shelf; they’re more expensive than lead.
"If copper comes down in price and the performance is proven to be the same, I don't think it's going to be an issue in the future,” Shea said. “The problem is we're trying to force a technology on people that they aren't comfortable with yet."
But for this gun-deer season, the DNR is hoping hunters will give it a try.
The DNR is also reminding hunters to have their deer checked for CWD. To find a check-point near you, click here.
