Lead Ammo Banned in Washington on WDFW Lands

Apparently this can be done by fiat in Washington State, and has been. I understand framing an issue, and traditional ammunition sounds a lot more like mom and apple pie than lead ammunition, but I’ve always hated using terms that basically try to throw some sheets over the elephant in the room.

Lead’s been what ammunition has been made out of since we’ve had firearms, so in that sense it’s traditional. But everyone knows the issue is the lead, and there’s probably not going to be much papering over that.

5 thoughts on “Lead Ammo Banned in Washington on WDFW Lands”

  1. But the new BATFE regulations state that you can’t make them out of solid brass, etc, because it’s then considered armor piercing. Not sure about solid copper. So between WA state and Federal, all ammunition is effectively banned. This can’t possibly hold up to Constitutional muster.

  2. So the Barnes TSX bullets in my ammo box are now illegal? I think they call it guilding metal, but it’s probably brass or bronze, and it’s solid and lead free. Also, I thought that was only pistol cartridges…although somebody may have made a pistol that shoots .308…

  3. ATF is aware of the issue and has agreed to look into it further. No, that’s not sarcasm. The issue was brought up at the Importers, Exporters and Manufacturers Conference at the beginning of the month. ATF seemed to be unable to offer a coherent response to the concerns voiced by NSSF, which was basically hunting in California is no longer possible between state and federal rules. They agreed to look into it with an eye towards publishing a FAQ and coming up with a way to standardize exemptions (which are authorized in the law). This was all precipitated by the problems Elite Ammo has been experiencing.

    The hearsay version is that Barnes has some form of exemption to make their bronze bullets. Elite got in trouble for making bronze ammo and thinking Barnes’ exception covered them. I dunno if that’s true, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to piggyback on someone else’s letter from ATF and got burned.

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