Article on fibre vs plastic

[LarsJ]

Today's work at my club. We do this a couple of times a year. So plastic wads is not an issue in my mind. 

 

[MJJ]

Today's work at my club. We do this a couple of times a year. So plastic wads is not an issue in my mind. 

Your poor dog must be knackered retrieving all that lot!!!!!!! 

 

[Wonko the Sane]

I knew a pigeon shooter that had a dog would retrieve empty carts - but only paper, wouldn't touch a plastic one.  I guess eveyone like the smell of fired paper/wax      :thumbsup:

 

[LarsJ]

Your poor dog must be knackered retrieving all that lot!!!!!!! 

Not mine nor me in the picture. The chairman of the club. (Not the dog that is) 

 

[westley]

I can remember getting a Rep from one of the 'Industrial Hoover' companies to come and give us a demo on our DTL range. It was a petrol driven affair made to clean up sites after Game Fairs and the like.  I recall that it did a pretty good job of sucking up the plastic wads though. It was just cost prohibitive for a small club, but I suppose one could be hired for the day  ?

 

[LarsJ]

We actually had a talk about that. As we are a members driven club with a low membership fee (35 £ membership fee a year). And we pay 3,5 £ for a round of OT. So we just make is go around, so the funds are not there to buy a machine. But then we also need to find a machine. 

Then again, the picture is a two hour job, twice a year (where we have a work day, you know paint benches, clean edges, trim trees, maintain throwers and so on) always a good turn out, club pays breakfast and lunch. Later we shoot some rounds of trap also hosted by the club. 

 

[Martinj]

Are you saying that the lead in THAT bird's gizzard, was the cause of it's demise  ? 

Errr? no!

 I have also shot birds that had previously been 'pricked' and had then survived an entire close season, until being shot by myself.

I don't think having lead in your body is the same as digesting unknown quantities of finely ground lead, I have a lead pellet in my thumb and it hasn't affected me, it hasn't affected me, it hasn't.

Bear in mind that most houses that were built prior to 1970's WILL still have lead water service pipes (that's the bit between the water main and your property). Obviously the the water Companies have not heard about the lethal properties of lead yet  ?

They have now, they don't use lead for drinking water now, they used to think that lead pipes weren't dangerous but lead is accumulative and we'd all be better off without even trace quantities.

 

[westley]

They have now, they don't use lead for drinking water now, they used to think that lead pipes weren't dangerous but lead is accumulative and we'd all be better off without even trace quantities.

I agree that all NEW water supplies are plastic, BUT as an ex plumber, I can assure you that there are more lead service pipes than there are plastic. 

 

[Wonko the Sane]

I can assure you that there are more lead service pipes than there are plastic. 

only world-wide

 

[jwpzx9r]

Coming from a scientific background... it is a fact that scientist are past masters of putting the fear of god into the public at large... mainly to massage their own ego... it is a power thing " I say it and because I am an expert in the field I am right and they, the people, recognise my authority on the matter"  and  governments placate populations by taking appropriate steps.  The public health scares based on purely scientific postulation are legion. A couple of top  sellers have to be mad cow disease or BSE ,and bird flu. Many a research group made a living out of mad cow disease before moving on to find another story to milk.  Avian flu was a cracker though. At a time when major pharma was at a tight spot and stockholders needed dividends thankfully  the fear of bird flu came along... stoked of course by the scientific community... it could mutate.. Spanish influenza we are doomed millions could die... but wait a minute science is at hand we have produced a vaccine hooray the world is safe again £1 a dose, how many million do you want ? Government ministers sh*t their collective pants accept the story  billions spent ... non of the product used or actually worth a hoot anyway. I really doubt lead is in anyway different studies have been done and the numbers crunched "in the right way" result! Oil companies are not daft additives are expensive, i we can somehow get them off the bill... then perhaps charge more for a fuel that is not that much different  from what they are already getting its a win win situation. There you go unleaded and at a cost super unleaded and while we are at it we will add a lot of sh*tty ethanol to the brew and save ourselves a bit more 

 

[Martinj]

I wasn't talking about lead service pipes in the UK or worldwide, I was talking about the effects of wildfowl picking up lead shot, grinding it up in their gizzards and digesting it. Just sayin' It's a bad thing if you are a duck

 

[FESkent]

OK I will accept that plastic is a major problem and I for one would readily swap to fibre wads. What I would like to see is the Cartridge Manufacturers doing their bit and bring the cost of fibre wads into line with plastic (NOT by raising the cost of plastic either ! ).  BUT, the lead shot issue has arisen yet again. WHEN someone can show me positive proof of the damage to wildlife caused by lead shot, then perhaps I will take notice.

Sadly Westley fibre wads cost more for the cartridge manufactures to buy and then they have the added cost of an overpowder card and more propellant to get similar ballistics to the equivalent plastic wad load.  So fibre wad cartridges do cost more, may be if plastic wads were banned for all lead shot cartridges then the massive increase in volume of fibre wads produced may result in a decrease in their price bringing down the cartridge cost. But I would be careful for what you wish for.

 

[Salopian]

If you run a trap or skeet club ? You could consider hiring or using a Road sweeping machine or a Golf Ball retrieving machine from a driving range to collect fallen wads.

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Get Dyson on it for the Range Vacuum !!  I suspect that there is not much in the way of $ to be made tho either in the machines or the vac'd up plastic.  $ make the world go round and that's the simple obstacle to overcome.

The scale factor of the amount of lead American shooters put into waterfowl areas must be enormous compared to practically any other place.  And even with that level of "pollution" as John says the "scientific" papers supporting lead bans are not even up to the joke level.  But here in the US most anything that pisses off the shooters will find instant massive support from the anti's and they are far more vocal than the shooters and then there are the birdies and the bunnies to consider and all so it doesn't take much to guess where any of that will go whenever it comes up.  And of course real science is a myth/mystery/hoax to the right wing here and they're so used to being science morons that somehow getting the finger out and and doing something about the lead bans is a non-starter even tho they are supposedly "pro-gun".

 

[El Spavo]

If you run a trap or skeet club ? You could consider hiring or using a Road sweeping machine or a Golf Ball retrieving machine from a driving range to collect fallen wads.

Karcher do push sweepers we use for clearing glass and stuff up after cutting them up for drills at the firehouse, they do a great job.

https://www.kaercher.com/uk/home-garden/push-sweepers.html

 

[Nimbusgb]

Get Dyson on it for the Range Vacuum !!  

Yeah, right. It'll cost a fortune, break down irretrievably after 2 seasons and be made in China.

 

[Adam17]

Eley now have Bio degradeable wads that look like plaswads.

Are they any dearer?

 

[TK421]

Government ministers sh*t their collective pants accept the story  billions spent

Government ministers rub their hands together, accepts back handers and make millions/billions  

Corrected 

 

[westley]

Are they any dearer?

One certainty IS they will NOT be any cheaper  !

 

[Adam17]

It seems the 'thing' though - anything good for us or for the environment is over priced/more expensive - a fast food burger meal £3, a chicken salad £7 - etc etc, the 'normal' person cant afford such stuff.