The Hog Blog

There’s a ton of stuff going on right now, and it’s all I can do to keep up.  Sometimes, having a real job is a pain… it sure gets in the way of the fun stuff, like blogging and hunting.

Anyway, here are a couple of quick releases I’ve just picked up.  One is from the CA Department of Fish and Game, and the other is from the Arizona Game and Fish Department.  Funny how they all use the same words, but change the order a bit.  Or maybe that’s just me…

First, the CA DFG is asking A-zone deer hunters in Monterey County, San Benito County, and San Luis Obispo County to bring in sections of the colon from the deer they harvest this season as part of an E.Coli research program.  Here’s the details:

Department of Fish and Game

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 7, 2008

Contacts: Dr. Andrew G. Gordus, Senior Environmental Scientist, (559)
243-4014 ext 239; Terry Palmisano, Senior Wildlife Biologist, (831) 649-2890; Harry Morse, Office of Communications, (916) 322-8962

DFG Hoping Hunters Can Help Start New Study on E. Coli and Wildlife

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is conducting a new study on how native wildlife affect E. coli presence in three coastal counties. The new study focuses on the bacteria, Escherichia coli 0157:H7 which can cause illness and death in humans. The study will help establish if the bacteria is found in wildlife in Monterey, San Benito and San Luis Obispo counties.

DFG is requesting A-zone deer hunters in those counties if they harvest a deer to take a six-inch segment of the deer’s colon to the special drop off locations listed below. Samples need to be kept cool and delivered to a drop off location within three days. There are no known health hazards to hunters collecting a small segment of deer colon when cleaning their deer.

“Hunter cooperation in this study is extremely important to the long term management of the deer herds moving between foothills and croplands,” said DFG Senior Environmental Scientist Dr. Andrew G. Gordus, who is heading up the study.

A special collection kit consisting of two latex gloves, two zip ties, two gallon-size ziplock bags, label and instructions are available to hunters upon request. For a description of how to collect the sample while cleaning a deer, go to www.dfg.ca.gov/news/docs/FieldSamplingProtocolForDeerHunters.pdf

Hunters normally clean their deer in the field. By taking the extra step of securing a small section of colon, the study will help biologists understand how native wildlife affect E. coli presence, enabling them to better manage deer herds in the vicinity of vegetable croplands.

The new study is designed to collect information over a three-year testing period. Plans are to collect a total of 2,400 colon or fecal samples over a three-year period for analysis from deer, wild pigs, elk, small mammals and birds across a variety of watersheds in the three coastal counties.

Specimen drop off locations and collection kits are available from:

● Bob Martin, Rio Farms, (831) 595-1554, King City;
● Kek Flores, Jackpot Harvesting, (831) 970-7073, Gonzales;
● Traci Roberts, Monterey County Farm Bureau,  (831) 750-5875,Salinas;
● Mike Silva, (831) 595-0102, Salinas;
● Monterey Fish and Game Office, (831) 649-2870, Monterey;
● On opening weekend Aug. 9-10, Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett Hunter Check Stations.

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Seems like a reasonable request.  Help ‘em out, hunters! 

Now, from the AZFGD…  In addition to the annual selection of leftover tags in AZ, they’ve got a bunch of javelina tags for youth hunters, all available on a first-come-first-served basis.  This is for a new fall hunting program that didn’t get a ton of promotion this summer, but it sure sounds like a great deal for the youngsters.  (I know, there are the anal retentives amongst you who are just dying to tell me that javelina aren’t really hogs, so this doesn’t really have anything to do with hog hunting, but just go with it, OK?) 

Anyway, here’s the press release:

Contact
Doug Burt, (623) 236-7215
Public Information Officer, AGFD

Arizona Game and Fish Department
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release July 31, 2008
5,000 Arizona hunting tags available by first-come, first-serve

PHOENIX – Sportsmen and sportswomen wishing to hunt big game in Arizona this fall can start applying for leftover hunt permit-tags beginning at 8 a.m. (MST) Monday, Aug. 11. For those who either missed the fall drawing or were unsuccessful in the draw, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has tags for deer, turkey and juniors-only javelina hunts, to be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends of the family can take advantage of the many available juniors-only permits. There are more than 2,000 fall juniors-only javelina tags and 106 juniors-only deer tags leftover from the draw. This is a great opportunity to take a youngster outdoors and introduce him or her to the American tradition of wildlife conservation through hunting. These juniors’ hunts are structured to assure a fun, safe and satisfying family hunting experience.

Also remaining are more than 2,500 tags for general deer, 27 tags for muzzleloader deer, and more than 700 tags for archery-only deer. The majority of these tags are for Coues whitetail deer in beautiful southern Arizona.

Turkey hunters also have a chance at 354 remaining permits for a fall hunt on the Kaibab. These tags will go very quickly.

To apply for a tag, a paper hunt permit-tag application must be submitted by U.S. mail only, for delivery no earlier than August 11 at 8 a.m. (MST), to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Drawing Section, P.O. Box 52002, Phoenix, Ariz., 85072-2002.

Hunters with bonus points who are awarded a tag through the first-come, first-serve process will not lose their bonus points for the genus for which the tag is allocated per R12-4-107(G). Conversely, an unsuccessful applicant for a leftover tag is not awarded a bonus point.

Applicants must include their 2008 license number on the application request. However, a 2008 license may be purchased through the application request if needed. Additionally, junior hunters ages 10, 11, 12 and 13 are required to complete a certified hunter education class to participate in a big game hunt.

For a detailed listing of leftover permits, visit www.azgfd.gov/draw  or call (623) 236-7702. For those who qualify, there are military hunts available for Fort Huachuca. Call (520) 533-2549 for additional information.

For more information about the department’s hunter education course, visit www.azgfd.gov/education and click on “hunter education.”

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The Arizona Game and Fish Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, disability in its programs and activities. If anyone believes they have been discriminated against in any Game and Fish program or activity, including its employment practices, the individual may file a complaint alleging discrimination directly with the Game and Fish Deputy Director, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phx., AZ 85086, (602) 942-3000 or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr., Ste. 130, Arlington, VA 22203. If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact the Game and Fish Deputy Director as listed above or by calling TTY at 1-800-367-8939.
 

More stuff coming down the pike… with the rifle deer hunting season kicking off this weekend, I can just about guarantee there’ll be a lot more news and information coming up soon!

There’s a lot of great stuff out there that I’m dying to write about, but I’ve been a little too occupied of late.  Two big, and related topics, are the National Conference on Feral Swine (I may have the conference name screwed up… correction later) and a recent article about the phenomenal spread of feral hogs in the past few years.  It’s great stuff, and I think you folks will find it pretty interesting. 

What it all means though, is that the government has started paying closer attention to the growing pig population acoss the country, and they’re researching solutions to what is perceived as a major problem, both for agriculture and for the environment.  On of the newest tools is the National Feral Swine Mapping System (Firefox browser is recommended, but I saw it OK with IE).  This is a map showing the areas where feral pigs and wild hogs have been found across the continent.  With experts saying we’ll see feral hogs in all 50 states within a decade, this should be an interesting map to watch.

Stay tuned for more!

This just in from the DFG… no real news to regular Hog Blog readers, but I figured I’d pass it along.  The first rifle season for deer opens Saturday, August 9.  I don’t have a rifle tag for the zone this year, so I’ll stick with archery tackle until September. 

Department of Fish and Game

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 6, 2008

Contacts: Harry Morse, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8962
Craig Stowers, DFG Wildlife Management Branch, (916) 445-3553

First Deer Season with Nonlead Ammunition Requirements Opens Aug. 9

The first deer season requiring the use of nonlead ammunition in historic condor range opens Aug 9. The law requiring the use of nonlead ammunition in historic California condor range took effect July 1. The law covers major portions of the A-zone deer season from Santa Clara to Ventura counties.

“This is the first of several general deer hunting seasons where nonlead ammunition is required in this range,” said John Baker Assistant Chief of Enforcemnet of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). “We expect all hunters to understand the importance of this law and follow the regulations.”

Under the new law it is illegal to use or possess lead projectiles (bullets) while hunting big game and non game species in the range of the endangered California condor.

Lead poisoning is a serious threat to wild condors. Lead bullet fragments have been found to be a potential source of this risk to condors. To protect condors from lead poisoning as a result hunting activity, hunters can no longer use or possess lead projectiles while hunting in condor range.

A list of certified bullets, packaged ammunition and a map of the areas encompassed by the ban along with commonly asked questions about nonlead issuesn are available at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/condor.

Fire closures and restrictions may affect A-zone hunters on public lands. The U.S. Forest Service has implemented major fire restrictions on the Los Padres National Forest and is considering or implemented similar actions for the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino National Forests. In the Los Padres National Forest much of the Monterey Ranger District, including all forest roads and trails, are closed to the public for at least the next several weeks, according to District Ranger John Bradford. For more information on fire closures or fire restrictions go to: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/deer/fire.html.

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 Good luck to all the A-zone rifle hunters this weekend! Send me pix and stories of your success and I’ll make ya famous! 

OK, lame title… not a very exciting post… but some folks have asked why I never post up my horseback videos anymore.  Well, the main reason is because I haven’t made one in a while.  Been doing some trail riding, and getting out with the horses, but just don’t remember the video camera. 

But I did remember the camera last weekend, at Rancho Del Oso, out at the coast. 

Enjoy.

Wow. 

I just spent the last half-hour listening to KQED Forum, an hour-long NPR program here locally in which the host, Michael Krasny interviews a handful of “experts” and invites listeners to call or email their comments.  I wasn’t able to tune in for the first half of the show, but I heard enough in 30 minutes to get a pretty good feel for what I missed. 

The topic today was, “The Future of Hunting.”  On the panel were Doug Updike, a senior biologist from CA DFG, Jim Posowitz, Executive Director at Orion, The Hunters’ Institute, and Nicole Paquette, senior vice president and general counsel for Born Free USA (an animal rights/welfare organization).

In a nutshell, there wasn’t a lot of new stuff here.  Updike and Posowitz kept coming back to the conservation ethic and the fact that there’s more to hunting than wholesale slaughter of wildlife.  They addressed the facts that hunters are a necessary part of the ecological whole.   While most of the pro-hunting callers offered little earthshattering insight, there were several self-identified “liberals” who called in to announce that they, too, are hunters.  I suppose that’s a challenge to some stereotypes, and for that I’m grateful.  I was also grateful that while some pro-hunting callers fell back on standard rhetoric, all of them came across as even and logical.  Unless I missed something in the early part of the program, there was no mudslinging or name-calling. 

Meanwhile Paquette was somewhere off in a Utopian vision in which humans are somehow supposed to be spectators to nature, but not direct participants.  Her ideal is that wildlife should live in its “natural setting”, and hunters shouldn’t intrude on that.  Of course, it’s OK for predators to kill animals, or for them to die of old age and disease, but apparently in her world view, hunters are not predators… or even part of “nature”.  She even thinks it fine, or even preferable, that humans get our meat from supermarkets rather than going into the wild to kill our own. 

I mean, really, I wanted to keep an open mind and hear the arguments out, but she spoke from so far outside of reality that I simply couldn’t take anything she said seriously.  I mean, if this is what she truly believes, then her entire position totally ignores every other impact of human existance… not only hunting, but our very status as cohabitants in the ecosystem. 

Most of the anti-hunting callers were, like the pro-hunters, quite respectful on a personal level, but awfully reliant on generalizations and over-used rhetorical themes such as,  “Why can’t hunters enjoy nature without ‘assassinating it?”  or, “How can you call hunting a ’sport’?  It’s totally unfair!”

Only one caller, a hunter named, “Josh”, was willing to get down to the true sticking point that gives anti-hunters so much grief, and trips up the hunters as well… the fact of death.  Death is a part of hunting, but it is a part of life.  As he explained, the hunter does not generally enjoy causing death, but understands very clearly that it’s required… just as the hunter will be required to die at some point as well. 

Everyone else, particulary Posowitz, avoided the question that entangles hunters every time… “How can you enjoy killing things?” 

Posowitz glossed it over by rote, noting that “hunting isn’t just about killing…etc.,” and then quickly going back to the conservation ethic. 

Of course Paquette immediately pounced on the opening, saying something along the lines of, “you see how uncomfortable he is about it?  He changed the subject!”

I’ve mentioned this before, but why avoid answering that question?  Is it just too hard to put into words that enjoying hunting isn’t quite the same as enjoying killing, even though killing is a necessary part of hunting?  Is it a subconscious anthropomorphosis that we can’t get past equating killing an animal with killing a person?  Or is it the fear of our own deaths that makes it so difficult to explain giving death to something else? 

First of all, of course hunters are uncomfortable with the idea of killing.  It’s a complex mixture of emotions, and anyone who feels only  joy, or worse, who feels nothing when he kills is certainly an anomaly.  But there’s nothing wrong with expressing the conflicting feelings of the kill.. the joy, the excitement, the dread and the sorrow.

Do I enjoy killing things?  Yes, when I am hunting and I am successful, I enjoy it a great deal.  Do I enjoy it because I’ve caused death to a living thing?  No.  Of course not.  I enjoy it because, as a predator, this time I have prevailed.  I will eat fresh, healthy meat.  I enjoy it not because I don’t respect the sanctity of life, but because the life I have taken will now give me life.  Symbolically, I have ensured my own survival, and that of my family… and the fact that I could go to the store and buy meat that someone else has raised and killed for me is irrelevant.   

Anyway, I may have digressed a little… back to the show.  

I tried calling in once, but after a busy-signal, I realized that I have never been very good at that kind of extemporaneous speaking, and usually end up sounding quite foolish.  I decided instead to send an email to the program, expressing some of my thoughts.  Unfortunately, it probably arrived too late to be read on the air. 

At the end of the show, while I wasn’t especially impressed by the quality of the discussion (nothing particularly enlightening or opinion altering on either side), I was impressed that Krasny appeared actually benign… or even positive… toward the pro-hunting side of the discussion.  Of course, that couldn’t have been hard faced with Paquette’s fantasy-land vision of the human-nature relationship. 

As always, the show ended without anyone challenging the anti-hunters on what I think is the key question.  How is legal, sport-hunting harmful to the resource, the environment, or the participants?   Quantify your answer.

You can download an MP3 of the show now, at the KQED website.  It’s worth a listen, if you’ve got an hour to kill.

Coming soon, to a theater near you… or, maybe not so soon.  Maybe not ever.  But hey, it’s a movie called, “Pig Hunt”, so it can’t be all bad, can it?  I know the HogBlog movie reviewer (me) is waiting eagerly to screen this flick!

Here’s a short synopsis from the Internet Movie Database (IMDB):

When John takes his San Francisco friends to his deceased uncle’s remote ranch to hunt wild pigs, it seems like a typical guys weekend with guns - despite the presence of John’s sexy girlfriend Brooks. But as John and his crew trek deeper into the forest, they begin tracking the awful truth about his uncle’s demise and the legend of The Ripper — a murderous three-thousand-pound black boar! Their pursuit leads them through fields of marijuana and into the muddy landscape of Big Wallow, involving high-powered weaponry, the violent and unpredictable Tibbs Brothers, massacred emus, a machete-toting Hippie Stranger, vengeful rednecks, and throat-slitting Cult Girls who grow dope by day and worship a Giant Killer Pig by night. By the time the pig hunt is done, no one is innocent - or unscathed. Not for the faint of heart, PIG HUNT is a darkly comic horror film that combines the best of DELIVERANCE, JAWS, and DINER, but remains uniquely Nor-Cal in its tone and scope. It is cinematic punkabilly - fresh, shocking, unforgettable!

Oh yeah, this one definitely seems ready for Sunday afternoon runs on the SciFi Channel!  And no, while it definitely sounds like something cooked up by my friend, Rex over at the Deer Camp blog, it’s a for-real movie!  Hopefully, it’s as bad as it sounds… sure to be a classic on the lines of Halloween and Friday the 13th! 

If anybody’s beat me to it and already seen this one, I’d love to hear what you thought. 

If it seems like I’ve had a run of lead-ammo posts lately, that’s because I have.  It’s a pretty hot topic right now, as the California rifle deer seasons are looming and deer and hog hunters across the state are rushing out to find legal ammunition.

I’ve left the poll running for quite a while, mostly for my own elucidation.  It’s interesting to see the responses and get a feel for the situation out there.  As you can see, the most common response is that ammo is available, but there are limited choices.  I’m afraid that’s not likely to change in the near future.

In the meantime, here are a couple of updates.  First and foremost, remember that any ammo you choose to use in the “Condor zone” must be on the CA DFG certification list.  You can view that list online by going to the DFG website.  The list should continue to grow over time, so check it out on occasion.

One question I’m hearing a lot is, “I’m going boar hunting in the lead-free zone.  Where do I get lead-free ammo?”

My first recommendation is always to check local gun and ammo shops.  Keep your money local, and keep these folks in business.  Sure, the prices may be a little higher, but when the time comes that you need local service, you’ll sure be glad they’re still around! 

If that fails, either they don’t have what you need (because this stuff is so expensive, many small shops won’t keep much in stock because they can’t make enough profit on it) or because there isn’t a shop nearby, the online sources are your best bet.  You can check any of the following:

• Cabelas
• Bass Pro Shops
• Midway USA
• Cheaper Than Dirt

This list isn’t all-inclusive, so if you know of more, please let us know.  It’s also worthwhile to comparison shop online, as you can save yourself a few bucks with a little extra effort. 

A couple of other things…

First, keep in mind that the lead ban only applies to big-game hunters and those shooting non-game such as coyotes and ground squirrels.  Small game and upland hunters are exempt from the ban, as are target shooters and plinkers.  Just be aware that if you switch from small game to big-game, then you cannot possess lead ammo AND the firearm to shoot it.  If you have a pocketfull of lead shotshells, but you’re only carrying a rifle, you’re fine.  However, if you’re carrying a rifle and a sidearm, be sure that you’re carrying lead-free ammo for BOTH weapons.  And if you’re using a shotgun, you can use lead-free slugs for big game, but you can’t also possess lead shotshells at the same time.  Confusing enough?  I’d hate to be the poor DFG warden charged with enforcement.

One last note…  some of you may remember my review of Extreme Shock ammo, a frangible round developed for snipers and law enforcement, but marketed for big game hunters.  California does NOT certify any frangible rounds for hunting big game, native or exotic.  You can use frangibles on non-game. 

Hope some of this is useful.  Get out there, get your ammo, and get to shooting!  Not much time left to dial it in! 

So I’m scanning through my RSS feeds today and managed to catch this column by Green Bay Press Gazette outdoors writer, Pat Durkin. 

I enjoyed the even tone of his piece, and liked the way he dispensed with the “lead-in-venison” scare.  Then I continued to read, and saw that this guy isn’t just pooh-poohing the entire lead issue.  Quite the opposite, he’s taking it seriously, and suggesting that all hunters do the same… particularly as pertains to the impact of lead ammo on scavengers such as eagles, buzzards, and crows.

Given our historic commitment to scientific wildlife management, hunters shouldn’t defensively dismiss such programs [AZ's program to provide free, non-lead ammo to hunters in the condor zones].  Whether we think lead poisoning of avian scavengers is overblown — or minimized — we could sponsor more research ourselves. We could even expand the research into mammalian scavengers from weasels to wolves.

It seems reasonable to determine lead poisoning’s extent before playing victim or savior. We might not like the results of research aided by the Peregrine Fund or Audubon Society, but those studies — and others by state wildlife agencies — provide a starting line.

He goes on to explain that there is growing evidence that indicates lead ammunition residue is a threat, using recent research on eagles in Wisconsin as an example. 

In Wisconsin, for example, lead poisoning is cited as the cause of death for 15 percent of bald eagles examined by the Department of Natural Resources since 1994. Even though lead shot was banned for waterfowl hunting in 1987, lead poisoning in eagles hasn’t declined.

Perhaps more damning is lead poisoning in Wisconsin’s eagles consistently increases from October through December, which coincides with our hunting seasons. The most logical source is gut piles from deer, and the remains of birds and other small game.

So maybe lead is a threat, and maybe not.  Durkin says we should investigate further.  Do you agree or not?  What do you think about his column? 

So, this was kind of spurred by the last post’s title, and the fact that it’s left at least one reader, Native, scratching his head and delving into the memory banks…

The slogan was, “I’d rather fight than switch.” 

The question is, which cigarette company did that campaign? 

No cheating and going to Google.  Let’s see who can remember.  You don’t have to be that old, although the campaign has long since terminated. 

I don’t have any cool HogBlog swag to give the winner, but you will have bragging rights and the admiration of the entire blogosphere if you can answer correctly. 

Have at it!

Well, it’s become obvious, as it should have been all along, that all is not peachy-keen in the world of the California deer and hog hunters who are now required (as of July 1) to use non-lead ammunition.

The word, of course, has been out for quite some time.  However, shooting ranges throughout the state have been seeing a surge of last-minute hunters lining the benches as we slip into the final fortnight leading up to our early rifle season.  With shock and dismay, many of them are finding that their rifles tend to put copper bullets in very different points of impact than the old, lead ammunition.  This, as evidenced on the blogs of my friends Hank and Holly, the HunterAnglerGardnerCook and the NorCal Cazadora.

It’s an expensive lesson, of course, since factory-loaded Barnes and ETip ammo are running in the neighborhood of $2 a shot right now… and that’s for standard calibers.  Shoot something fancy, and you’re more in the range of $50-$60 for a box of 20 rounds.  That’s some mighty expensive target practice. 

The other issue some of the late-starters are going to face is ammo availability.  Many sporting goods stores have been out of stock for quite some time, while others never really carried much stock in the first place.  Components for ammunition are also a bit precious due to that thing going on over in the Middle East… since our boys fighting over there need many of the same tools we do.  At least they can still use lead.

A couple of tips if you are switching:

First, remember that any time you switch ammo,  you need to sight-in your gun with the new stuff.  Doesn’t matter if you’re changing bullet weight, composition, or manufacturer.  They’re all slightly different, and under the conditions in which a bullet is discharged from the end of the barrel, slight differences can have significant impacts.  This is a lesson that has long been lost on a lot of shooters, much to their dismay in the field. 

Switching from lead to copper (or gilding metal as in the Nosler/Winchester ETips) is no different.  I found about a two-inch shift in elevation (at 100 yards), and in my .325 there was also about an inch and a half to two inches shift in windage as well.  Your mileage WILL vary, depending on your gun and the ammo you choose to shoot.  The only way to know is to get to the range and put some holes in paper. 

You’ll also want to be starting from a “clean slate”, so to speak.  Make sure the barrel is clear of fouling BEFORE you start shooting copper. Then make sure to keep it that way.  The newer copper bullets aren’t nearly as bad as the old ones for fouling, but they do still leave a residue that will impact your accuracy and consistency. 

Learn some sight-in methods that help conserve ammo. 

One of my favorites is the “two-shot zero”.  To perform this miraculous feat (it’s neither, really… just common sense), you’ll need a really stable rest.  A gun vise is ideal, but not required.  You’ll also do well to have a partner.  I’ve done it solo, but it works better with four hands instead of two.

First, set your rifle up in the rest at the 100 yard range (you can do this at longer ranges, but it’s more difficult).  Get it aligned and snugged in, then get the crosshairs on the bull.  When you’re ready, send that first round downrange. 

Now, here’s the important part.  DO NOT MOVE THE RIFLE!  Keep it right where it was when you fired. 

While you continue to look through the scope, have your partner move the crosshairs until they align over the bullet hole you just made.  Take your time, and try to keep the rifle from moving around as you load and fire the second shot.  If you did this right, the rifle is now “zeroed” at 100 yards.  You can fire a couple of insurance shots to be sure. 

If you insist, as many people do, that you must be prepared for long-range shooting, then you can adjust the elevation to put yourself about two inches high at 100 yards.  For most centerfire rifles, this is pretty close to dead-on at 250 yards, and means you can hold in the center of the killzone on large game (about an 8″ area) out to 300 yards with reasonable expectations.  Beyond 300 yards many factors come into play, including the caliber and load you’re shooting. 

Personally, I’ve been back and forth on this one.  Typically, though, I tend to zero at 100 and know about how much holdover I’ll need in the event that I shoot far enough to worry about it… an extremely rare occurrence.  The vast majority of my big game animals have been taken inside of 150 yards.  I know I can shoot long if I need to, but I don’t like to when I’m hunting.  I think I’ve made that speech before, so I’ll spare it here. 

One more thing to consider is that because there are so few variations on the available factory-loaded non-lead ammunition (Winchester offers three calibers and about as many bullet weights.  Barnes bullets are loaded by several manufacturers, but there are still only a small handful of available bullet weights.), you may not be able to get good, repeatable accuracy from your hunting gun.  This is the best argument you will ever find to start handloading your own ammo.  It’s not that difficult, and with proper care, it’s not very dangerous either. 

Finally, ignore the myths about copper.  The handful of them that are true are based on older bullets and early designs.  The new stuff can be very accurate (properly loaded), and is deadly on game.  This is not only my own experience, but that of many hunting friends and acquaintances, including Jim Hackiewicz, a Professional Hunter in Africa who has had the opportunity to see the effects of many different bullets on hundreds of animals every year, and a staunch proponent of the Barnes bullets. 

Good luck out there!