Hunter Recruitment: The Truth About Non-Lead(Pb) Ammunition

It has been over 25 years since the ban of Lead(Pb) ammunition for hunting waterfowl began in the United States. 

The only changes practice facilities have made for this; is prohibiting the use of Hunting Ammunition at their facilities.

The reasoning behind denying hunters access to Practice Facilities is based upon the possibility of Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition ricocheting because of its hardness. Hunters are expected to practice with small, soft, low velocity, Lead(Pb) ammunition instead. 

Imagine the surprise when a hunter first pulls the trigger on opening day, when there is a 70% increase or change in velocity, recoil acceleration and aiming advance over practice ammunition. Or, imagine the absurd and unethical practice of only pulling the trigger on the first day of hunting, while being unsure of the results. 

It is dishonest to instigate Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition without first designing and building public practice/testing facilities for Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition. These practice facilities should occur in at least every county throughout the United States. The ubiquitous, pandering advice to "Pattern Your Gun" should be removed from hunting regulations until 3,142 public, Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition practice/testing facilities have been constructed.

Furthermore, mandating Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition without first providing public practice/testing facilities is practically an action to disarm the majority of the population, who live in cities, suburbs and other “No Firearms Discharge Areas”, whereas these people can no longer test or practice with their arms and ammunition.

80.7% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas (U.S. Census Bureau) and these “Urban Areas” are categorically, consequentially “No Firearms Discharge Areas” which “Prohibit the discharge of weapons within city limits, parks, on private property or other specific locations” (ATF). This means that 80.7% percent of the population may “Keep” their “Arms”, but must travel to a special facility to “Bear”, practice or test “Arms”. Because Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition is banned at practice facilities (Gun Clubs, Shooting Ranges), 80.7% of the population is denied or infringed the second half of Amendment II of Constitution of United States of America, when Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition is instigated. 

Because of ammunition rulings, many hunters have already been degraded to share a category with gangsters and criminals; the category of persons who cannot conceivably test their guns and ammunition before pulling the trigger on a living target. 

Lastly, when Non-Lead(Pb) ammunition is irresponsibly mandated, these actions become an oppressive form of GunControl, whereas 80.7% of the population can no longer take responsibility for their Arms, having been deprived of the ability to practice and acquire the experience necessary for understanding or using their Arms. 

D.I.Y. Shotgun Patterning Targets

Do It Yourself (D.I.Y.)
Shotgun Patterning Targets are extremely large, cumbersome and difficult to obtain.

Commercial Shotgun Patterning Targets are usually incorrectly sized, expensive, sold in insufficient quantities and heavily creased after being folded small for retail packaging and shipping.

To produce your own correctly sized targets in sufficient quantity, simply purchase a roll of “Builder’s Paper” from a hardware store.

Attach (tape) the paper to a utility surface.

Trim the paper.

Find the center of the paper and draw a 30 inch circle using a permanent marker and a “compass” made from a Furring Strip and a nail.

(Shooting plain, unmarked paper and later drawing a circle around the densest part of the shot pattern creates an invalid, illogical sample)

Paste a “Post-It” note in the center as a Bull’s-Eye.

After a few target making sessions, I had a sufficient quantity of targets in a big roll. This roll was heavy and would be too expensive to ship.

Now you are ready to test the accuracy, shot pattern, shot density and range of your shotgun, choke and ammunition. You will need a lot of targets for this. These targets are very big and should be rolled up and secured with rubber bands.

You will need to find an outdoor rifle range to test nontoxic and steel hunting ammunition. Indoor shooting ranges do not allow homemade targets and only allow soft lead to be fired from shotguns. This is because indoor ranges believe nontoxic and steel hunting ammunition ricochet.

Unfortunately, Gun Clubs that do not have outdoor rifle ranges, cannot accommodate the testing of hunting ammunition at this time, because these types of clubs are not designed for the hardness of nontoxic shot. For patterning, these Clubs usually have an impenetrable board that is painted after each shot and can only be used with soft or low energy pellets to prevent ricocheting or damage to the board. If a non-rifle Gun Club offers cardboard for patterning, they will still forbid the use of hunting ammunition.

Karsten’s Brand Adjustable Cheek Rest for Shotgunning

"Not everyone can afford a custom fitted shotgun or justify taking a luxurious show gun afield and on the water. Karsten’s Cheek Rest is a convenient and affordable way to improve the fit and accuracy of a basic shotgun." -TRF

Typically, when a shotgun is shouldered or mounted for firing, the shooter’s cheek should meet and rest on the top (and side) of the gunstock, buttstock or shoulder stock. This top ridge of the stock is commonly referred to as the comb.

The angle and height (pitch and drop) at the comb determines the shooter’s line of sight through the gun’s sighting method. If a shotgun’s comb is too low, thin, sharp or angled, shooting can be awkward, uncomfortable and inaccurate. In most cases, if you have high cheekbones, a smaller face or physique, you will need to raise your comb. If you have adjustable iron sights on your shotgun or if you have added any aftermarket sights such as light pipes, fiber optics, glow dots, scopes, red dots, holographic or reflex sights, you will need to raise your comb as well.

There are many different aftermarket methods and accessories for raising and adjusting a comb. Temporary comb raisers are wrapped, laced or adhered around a stock. Permanent comb raisers often require the stock be cut, divided or deeply bored. Furthermore, many comb raisers trap or absorb moisture.

Karsten is a specialty manufacturer who utilizes an extremely tough material called Kydex®. Kydex is stronger and has much more water, chemical and stain resistance than plastics, vinyl and fiberglass. Nearing a decade of production, these Kydex Cheek Rests have a very precision form and finish that outclasses most other comb raisers, cheek pieces or rests.

The unhelpful aspects of Karsten’s Cheek Rest are few but should be noted. This Adjustable Cheek Rest, should not be used with Monte Carlo style gunstocks that have a tapered relief in the form of a thick, sloped outcropping on the sides of the stock. However, if your shoulder stock has only the Monte Carlo style comb ridge without the outcropping on the sides, you should be able to add an Adjustable Cheek Rest. Additionally, the use of Karsten’s Cheek Rest requires two small holes drilled through the sides of the stock (these holes could be covered or plugged when not in use). 

Finally, I discovered that Karsten’s Cheek Rest also provided an unreported or unpublished benefit for shotguns with synthetic stocks. Most synthetic stocks for shotguns are much more slender. This often leaves the shooter’s line of sight off center from side to side. Although Karsten’s Kydex® Cheek Rests can be reformed for thinner stocks, I chose to add nylon washers under the sides of mine, which corrected my line of sight to the center of the receiver, resulting in a perfectly fit gun. 

Website:

http://karstenskydexcheekrest.com/

Email:

Karsten@xmission.com

Part II

I recently installed Karsten’s Brand Adjustable Cheek Rest on my shotgun. This shotgun is for hunting, but I immediately took this to an indoor shooting range to try out the newly installed cheek rest.

I was very pleased with the perfect fit, feel and line of sight through my gun, that Karsten’s Cheek rest provided.

My accuracy was dead on because I had a proper line of sight through my gun’s sighting method.

I am saving the paper targets from this range session because these show perfect, centered shots, the equivalent of golf’s “Hole In One”.

Special Note: There are many conditions that give good reason for adding additional sighting methods to shotguns . Loss of vision occurs normally as people age. Vision can also be decreased by diabetic retinopathy, high blood pressure, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, stroke, shingles, trauma or scarring. Furthermore, many people live in “Shotgun Only Zones” (where rifles are not permitted) and need to optimize their shotgun for all types of hunting.

About: 

I requested the opportunity to independently test, review and give opinion for Karsten’s Brand Adjustable Cheek Rest. I utilized a donated products for this purpose. Currently, I am not otherwise affiliated or associated with Karsten or Kydex®. and have not received pecuniary compensation or incentive from Karsten or Kydex®.