# Feeding wild game and lead shot



## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Any concerns about this? Seems like someone was always crunching into lead shot when we ate a lot of wild game as a kid. 
How can you be sure it's clean?


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

We do head shots!  As a kid, I hunted with a .410 and you might get a piece of shot in the body. I try and pull the meat fiber with a fork in areas where I know shot has been. You would have to eat a lot of lead to get sick. Now steel shot on ducks and geese is another story, much harder stuff.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> Any concerns about this? Seems like someone was always crunching into lead shot when we ate a lot of wild game as a kid.
> How can you be sure it's clean?


Use steel shot instead Bob. 

I know up here lead shot was banned a few years ago. I understand that there was a problem with ducks picking up spent lead shot from the bottom and ingesting it then getting lead poisoning. Sometimes a duck ingesting just one pellet would poison it. 

The only lead shot up here now is old ammo that may be laying around. 

http://archive.tri-cityherald.com/sports/outdoors/hoop/hoop79.html


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Bob Scott said:


> Any concerns about this? Seems like someone was always crunching into lead shot when we ate a lot of wild game as a kid.
> How can you be sure it's clean?



I try and pick through as much as I can, but I do not worry a whole lot. It all comes out in the end....:-&   

They do have those new fangled detector gadgets that you pass over the bird (or whatever) and it beeps when it detects pellets......:smile:


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Squirrells were always head shots with a .22. Everything else was with a 12 ga. Lead shot has been outlawed for quite a few yrs here but just for waterfowl. 
I was just curious about how careful people were in feeding shot game to their dogs.
In my old hood getto candy (lead paint) was a serious problem and I always wondered how that transfered to lead shot. Now that feeding raw has become so popular I started thinking about it again.


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## Dan Long (Jan 10, 2008)

We had an older dog (13yrs) who began to have health issues. She wasn't able to keep any food down, and couldn't defacate. We took her to the vet, and I was thinking she'd swallowed a hunk of bone or something and was blocked up (we feed raw). Xrays showed no blockage, but interestingly, there were 2 pieces of shot in her intestines from pheasant I'd fed her a couple weeks before. So- it doesn't always come out the other end!

Her health issues were not relate to the shot. The vet was concerned about it being lead, which is was (I tested a piece from another bird I had). He ran blood panels and all was well. Gave her some meds to help her vomiting, we got her digestion flowing again and she was good for a few weeks. Her health issues were more related to arthritis that was causing neurological issues, and a large tumor we found on her spleen in the xrays. She died a couple weeks after, but the lead had nothing to do with it.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Thanks for the info Dan!
I'm thinking long term effects of carrying around the shot. In humans it obviously is taken into the system. That tells me not all is passed through the digestive system. Just wondering if it is different with dogs.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Any good recipes for Spotted Owls, Snail Darters, Bald Eagles, White Tigers, or Labrador Ducks? No grains for me! [-( Racoon.......ummmmm good sandwich!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Howard Gaines III said:


> Any good recipes for Spotted Owls, Snail Darters, Bald Eagles, White Tigers, or Labrador Ducks? No grains for me! [-( Racoon.......ummmmm good sandwich!


I'm with ya on the racoon! Baked with apples, taters, carrots and onions is goooooood! :grin: :grin:


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

my sister live-trapped a **** this winter, killed/butchered it, then cooked it up when a friend came to visit from australia. she said it was actually quite good, dark meat like chicken thighs. she also brined it or something for a couple of days prior to cooking it. if anyone wants details, i'll go re-read her letter about it. 

only my big sister!! her day job is delivering babies (human babies). but she definitely leads an interesting life


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