Transition to non-lead shot by 2029

From 1 April 2029, the sale and use of lead shot for our kind of recreational target shooting – both indoors and outdoors – will be a thing of the past across England, Scotland and Wales.

We’ve all spent years leaning against the gun racks debating if or when this would actually happen. Deep down we all knew it was more of a ‘when‘ not an ‘if’ but now we know for sure.

It’s been a bit like seeing a dark storm cloud on the horizon; we’ve known it’s coming and is going to be tricky, but at least now we have time to grab our coats and finish our tea.

Whatever your opinion on this transition – and trust us, we have one for sure – having a confirmed date is actually a massive win amongst this general absurdity.

It gives the ammo manufacturers a timeframe to work through their plans, secure replacement machines where needed and source ingredients for the new shells they’ll manufacture. They’ve got a ton of work to do before they even press the button to make the first new shell.

All the shells will need to be proven, patterned and signed-off. After that they’ll need to redesign the packaging, update their websites and keep customers informed about the new ranges coming out – we don’t envy them but we’re confident they’ll smash the deadline.

Our favourite grounds will be doing some thinking and rejigging too. It’s well-known that steel shot, probably the most prevalent replacement we’ll see, has a higher probability of ricochet than lead shot. So with that in mind grounds will be looking at how they lay out the stands and targets to minimise the danger.

And us shooters will need to be checking our guns are proofed for alternatives like steel, getting used to shooting different loads and the patterns they make. For some of us it might feel like a new test but the biggest challenge is going to be the potential slab prices for these lead alternatives – let’s see what that looks like when the time comes.

The good news is that we aren’t starting from scratch. Plenty of UK grounds and shooters have been putting lead shot alternatives through their paces for a while now, so this run-up period is also going to include:

• Testing: Seeing how the new loads perform in our favourite guns.
• Education: Making sure we know how to use alternatives safely and effectively.
• Planning: Letting grounds make the necessary adjustments to backstops and traps.

In the UK, the CPSA is working alongside the grounds and manufacturers to make sure the transition is sensible and safe. They’ll be dropping more specific guidance for different disciplines soon so we won’t be left guessing for long. Rest assured we’ll be picking those snippets up and sharing our views here.