Hum; I think they have stopped making Twinkies. Was there lead shot in them? Or am I missing something?

Back to my original question. Is it a fact that we've got more and healthier ducks because we are no longer shooting at them with lead shot? Or is it a Liberal conspiracy to blow the choke out of my old Browning Superposed?

Twinkies are still with us. At least the three cases I rescued from the clays shed at ol' Tom's place back in 1962. Some fool thought they might make great sport due to an erratic flight path when launched from the thrower. That was really bad news. Not only was there lead down range but that sweet creamy filling was splaterred and crumbs were everywhere. Someone said they saw some doves come in and get all wobbly on the ground. They got so stupid, they could be picked up by the dozens. When cooked they had the most interesting flavour of any dove ever eaten. True, their gizzards were filled with lead shot and some congealed unidentified off-white matter that scientists concluded was the nastiest form of advanced lead poisoning ever seen. Hell, we all knew it was how Twinkies looked after a good gizzard grinding. Now I still have a half case of that particular supply of Twinkies and have been rationing them out slowly. I know one day they will be gone. I have noticed the last couple seem to have dried out just a bit. Probably become hard as a rock one day (sour grapes due to diminishing supply). A sad day indeed that will be. Vintage Twinkies and vintage paper hull shot shells - what a delerious delight for any day afield. For more on the amazing Twinkie, click HERE.

Oh and hey you varmint shooters best start paying attention. Did you know you and your .22 are now on the hit list?? CLICK. And you thought your 50,000 rounds of ammo would be good for the rest of your life and maybe some could be used by the next generation. Never mind this sentence non-chalantly tucked into the study of the hazards posed by shot gophers.
Based on the average amount of lead in carcasses, and assuming that uptake of lead from the carcass is as high as that of eroded lead, we suggest that hawks would have to eat roughly 6.5 carcasses, taking an average of 23 days of feeding on an uninterrupted supply of shot carcasses, to attain a lethal dose of lead. Now couple that with this
Uncertainties remain, but shot RGS carcasses appear to be an appreciable source of lead that could prove fatal to scavenging hawks.

This study will be touted as definitive proof that those nuts who shoot gophers are causing the population of scavenging raptors to reach such low numbers that extermination is almost assured. That .22 could become a wall hanger for your grandkids. "It's okay son, grandpa just didn't know".

Will keep digging to find definitive proof that migratory populations are now much better off than before. Now where the heck is that spade.

I read that the windmills that the feds have constructed in just one herd of windmills kills 79 Golden Eagles annually. No joke, real numbers. How many of those Goldens' had eaten a .22 killed Jack Rabbit is unknown. If asked Obama's boys would probably say all of them.

I love wild birds. Liberals and Democrats apparently prefer windmills. Like most things that come from the clowns in DC the windmills are a travesty.

Wind turbines may kill 33,000 birds per year, and, as in the case of electrocutions, these birds tend to be large and scarce (e.g. raptors).
See HERE for info about causes of bird deaths. Of interest, we hunters do kill a lot but it is said to be more than offset by our conservation efforts and by the managed manner in which birds are harvested. That actually helps the populations. I wonder who wrote that. Must have slipped by the editors.

And, as we know, loss of habitat is the number one problem.

As I have prattled on before, we all would have been better (us and the waterfowl) if there was a tax put on lead waterfowl shells, and the revenue generated was invested in habitat purchase and restoration. Much too logical. Would never have a chance of getting thru the bureaucracy.

Can't say if the ducks are healthier today than they were but I can certainly assure you the numbers are'nt what they were back in the late 70's to mid 80's. I don't care what DU or the USFWS show on their surveys. Steel cripples, lead kills and a good dog will retrieve your birds with no carcasses left for the scavengers or raptors to get sick and die from. A good dog is just as important as the proper load and choke in your gun. Don't leave home without 'em.

I don’t know about you guys, but years ago I quit eating Bald Eagles because I was worried about the lead sinkers in the fish they were eating!

Is it true, then, that no one really knows for sure if all of the steel shot BS is helpful to the birds?

That seems to be the case.