After reloading ammunition for nearly 50 years, I do understand bullets and how they work. To outlaw copper-jacketed lead bullets, with their controlled expansion that delivers maximum foot pounds of energy at impact, for solid copper or bronze bullets, can be compared to a sledge hammer and an ice pick.
To demonstrate or experiment, place your hand on an anvil, now hit it as hard as you can with a five pound sledge hammer, the affect would be compared to the copper-jacket lead bullet at impact.
After the shock, pain and swelling dissipates, take an ice pick and push it through the other hand. It hurts but the damage is minimal. This would be compared to a solid bullet.
Solid bullets were developed for large, heavy-skinned, dangerous games such as elephants, rhino or Cape buffalo, never for light, thin-skinned game, like deer, here in California. Now what”s going to happen is that deer will be shot and will go unrecovered. How many will a hunter shoot before the bullet breaks the spine and the deer goes down? Well, I”m not the one to answer that. AB-711 is a law and July 1, 2019 lead-free bullets will be required to hunt in California, a very sad thing to an already failing deer herd. Here in Lake County, we had thousands of deer. Now, there are very few. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is funded by licenses, stamps and tags. When there is nothing left to hunt because of bad laws and poor management, who is going to fund fish and wildlife?
Joe G. Welz
Clearlake Oaks
