All wildfowling carried out in the England and Wales must be carried out with Non-toxic shot. The use of lead shot for the shooting of waterfowl was banned in England in 1997.  Alternatives can be Steel, Bismuth, Tin, Tungsten, and the recently developed ‘Hevi shot’. Lead must not be used under any circumstances and should not even be carried with you onto the club marshes.

Much debate is encountered over the effectiveness of Non toxic products over lead. Lead is heavy, thus it produces greater downrange energy over other products available to us. To level the ‘playing field’ when using steel for example, we drop two shot sizes in comparison to lead, (It is a lighter component) so to give the equivalent kinetic energy. However with the development of High velocity 3 and 3 ½” steel shot loads much of this lead over steel debate is now gone. Care does need to be taken with the use of steel, mainly if you are using an older gun due to the higher chamber pressures encountered, and also its hardness, steel cannot be used with any gun which is tighter than ½” choke. If in doubt, consult your local gunsmith. Another alternative is to use Bismuth, a product with all the characteristics of lead but is still non toxic, and safe to use with all nitro proofed shotguns. There is still a tendency for shooters to push their guns to the limit by using loads for which their shotguns are not suitable, and accidents do happen from time to time. Always remember there is no replacement for good Health and safety practice.

Steel	Bismuth	Tungstun	Hevi Shot