About us
We are dedicated to offering Non-Lead/Lead-Free alternatives for airguns and muzzleloaders.
P-Bar Co. LLC makes Non-Lead/Lead-Free big bore Airgun Pellets and slugs using the ECOSLUG trademark. These are sold through Pyramyd Air, and can be found on their website. The two products currently being sold are shown in the photos. One is a Lead-Free pellet for a .50 Caliber Seneca/Sam Yang .50 Caliber Big Bore Air Gun. It has an Aluminum shell, with a steel core inside it for added weight. To help decrease the chance of extreme ricochets, there is a gap (or void) in front of the steel core, which allows the Aluminum shell to deform if it hits a hard object (see photo). The aluminum shell does not contact the barrel bore. O-Rings are used to make contact with the rifling and impart spin to the pellet. Pictures are shown separately. The other current product offering is a Lead-Free Airgun Slug for an Airforce Texan .50 Caliber Air Gun. This slug is made of 145 Copper. Four O-Rings are used to make contact with the rifle bore and impart spin to the slug/pellet. Photos are shown separately. In the case of both pellets, they do not deform as easily as a lead pellet or slug, and for this reason we include a warning with them. This warning says to be extra careful of ricochets compared to Lead pellets, and also to NOT shoot them at steel targets.
We were also making a Lead-Free/Non-Lead .50 caliber muzzleloading bullet. However, the manufacturing costs were too high. We are currently redesigning this bullet. When it is reintroduced, its price will be as low or lower than many muzzleloading lead bullets.
Although our products are Lead-Free pellets, slugs, and muzzleloading bullets, we are not against lead ammunition. As long as efforts are made to collect and recycle the the lead, we do not see it as a major problem. In 1991, lead shot was banned from being used for waterfowl hunting. Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal. In some cases, its toxic effects appear to be minimal. In others, they are very apparent. Some of this appears to be associated with the degree that lead either stays mostly intact, where it is less hazardous, or to the degree that it dissolves, where its toxicity can affect the environment and living organisms. In the case of birds and waterfowl, the science is clear: Lead shot pellets ingested by ducks and geese while feeding poisons and kills them. Lead-free shot shells were developed as a result. It seemed that the writing was on the wall, and that the days of using lead ammunition were numbered. But here we are over 30 years later, and there has been minimal adoption of lead-free ammunition outside of waterfowl hunting.
Many shooting enthusiasts saw the threat of banning Lead ammunition as a veiled attempt to ban shooting. Lead-free ammunition is generally more expensive, so the argument is that this would threaten sport shooting. The shooting industry trade group NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) came out with an ad campaign. It called Lead ammunition "traditional ammunition", implying that a threat to lead is a threat to tradition.
We agree that banning Lead should not be used as an attempt to reduce or ban the shooting sports. But now, it has become political. If you talk about Lead-Free ammunition with some shooters, you are sometimes immediately met with resentment.
Let's try to move past the politics. Hunters are are some of the most concerned people there are when it comes to protecting the environment. Their purchases of hunting licenses and equipment helps conservation efforts. However, when we talk about the tradition of shooting, we need to recognize that that it is a different and more crowded world than in the past. In the 1800's, it was OK to not pick up your trash. Many people don't think about it, but with shooting we are in effect throwing tons of Lead annually into the environment, and not picking it up.
In June 2023 the Wall Street Journal came out with a series of articles about the dangers posed by lead-sheathed telephone lines put in many years ago. The concern is that the Lead can leach into the surrounding soil and water. Pressure is being put on companies that originally put these cables in place to remove them and carry out lead contamination mitigation and remediation activities. This could be very expensive. The implication that can be drawn here, is that the same can be said of lead bullets that have been fired into the back stop of an outdoor shooting range. Some people will downplay this concern, but without testing it is unclear as to what degree the lead might have leached into the surrounding soil and water. In some cases it might be minimal, but it probably depends on the conditions. For example, the problem of lead leaching into the Flint, Michigan water supply apparently had to do with the PH level of the water in contact with the lead used in the old piping systems. In many states, work is underway to remove lead water lines.
Apart from complying with any current or future regulations specifying the use of non-lead bullets and shot, there is a concern which especially affects the private landowner. There is a history of companies that were carrying out an activity that was legal at the time, but then they were later forced to pay for environmental clean-up costs when that activity was later deemed to be an environmental hazard. If a landowner or shooting club has a private range, the lead bullets and shot deposited on the land through shooting activities could become a problem. Perhaps there are currently no laws prohibiting shooting Lead bullets on a private shooting range. However, a big question down the road could be how this might affect the property value when it is time to sell the land. For example, if land is being sold for a housing development, the presence of Lead on the land could be a concern to a potential buyer. A young couple wanting to build a house and start a family will probably not want their house to be built on top of a pile of lead bullets! If nothing else, it will be an added cost to remove the Lead.
There is one thing that landowners should be aware of before shooting lead bullets and shot all over their property. Currently, most property insurance policies include a Lead Exclusion. This means that the policy will not pay for any costs related to "bodily injury" or "property damage" arising out of, resulting from, or in any way related to the exposure or removal of Lead materials.
For these reasons, going into the future there will possibly be more of a focus on collecting and recycling bullets shot on shooting ranges. Of course, every bullet shot in the woods during hunting cannot be collected. This relatively small number of bullets would most likely fall under the "deminimus" category used in some areas of environmental law. However, the majority of bullets are shot at targets on ranges. This is a much larger number of bullets, and in this case most or all of them can be feasibly collected. Lead or non-lead, leaving them on the land exposed for an extended period to the elements is going to looked at as a "less than ideal" situation. In addition, the recycling value of the metals is lost.
Non-Lead bullets made of metals such as Copper, Steel and Aluminum might still pose some environmental concern if left deposited outdoors on land for an extended period of time. However, it is generally accepted that the potential environmental threat level is lower than with Lead.
An added problem with Lead bullets is that handling the clean-up of a range according to OSHA guidelines will be more expensive. Protective clothing and even respirators might be required. Recycling Lead bullets will involve more concerns and complications compared to Copper, Steel and Aluminum bullets.
The point here is not to say that Lead bullets should be banned from all shooting sports activities. Based on science, there may be sound environmental reasons to ban them from certain hunting areas. In the case of shooting on ranges, Lead bullets do not necessarily pose an environmental problem if they are collected afterwards. However, non-lead bullets do offer the advantage of a simpler clean-up and recycling process.
We do not want to see Lead Bullets getting banned. In general, we believe that things should only be banned in extreme situations. When the government bans things, it creates resentment. Do we really need more laws? If people are allowed to study a situation, are given alternatives, and make their own decisions, the result is always better. If you want to shoot Lead Bullets on your land, go ahead. But if you leave them on your land, and then go to sell your land, you could be creating a problem for yourselfif the buyer wants to conduct a due-diligence environmental audit.
In addition to our current product offerings, P-Bar Co. LLC is working on new designs of Lead-Free/Non-Lead Airgun pellets, slugs, and muzzleloader bullets. Our plan is that these will cost the same or even less than comparable lead products!
for situations where lead could be undesirable, OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE LEAD-FREE AIRGUN PELLET AND MUZZLELOADER BULLET OPTIONS.
