http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/09/calif ... d-bullets/
In a unanimous vote, the Commission opted to phase out lead bullets, which hunters groups are calling a de-facto ban on hunting in the state. Environmentalists, on the other hand, are saying these regulations will save California Condors and Golden Eagles from getting lead poisoning.
The lead bullet ban comes from legislation signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, in 2013 that required lead bullets to be phased out of the state by no later than 2019. The bill was signed after environmentalists and animal rights activists convinced state politicians that lead bullets poisoned animals that condors and eagles fed on — causing them to be harmed in turn.
A bill that designated “lead-free� hunting zones was signed into law by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. By 2008, California hunters could not use ammunition containing more than one percent lead by weight within range of California condors.
But the Commission’s decision Thursday makes California the first state to completely ban lead bullets for hunting. Hunting groups argue the ban is intended to stop hunting altogether in the state because ammo prices will skyrocket.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation released a survey last year saying that “higher ammunition prices will drive 36 percent of California hunters to stop hunting or reduce their participation.�
What was the main reason for stopping or reducing hunting? A 300 percent price difference between lead bullets and non-lead bullets, depending on the type of round. Non-lead bullets make up only a small percentage of the ammunition market and manufacturers say they would have a hard time ramping up production of this ammo without serious price increases.