Goshawk - I don't disagree with anything you're saying about lead poisoning in raptors (or other critters for that matter). It's why lead ammo is partially to fully banned in many states. And, for me, I've found that copper bullets perform just as well as lead and am 100% lead free for big game. I'm not evangelistic about it or anything. Steel shot is another story and I still use lead for upland birds.
I have had some exposure to falconry and I'm trying to understand how your buddy's RT got poisoned? Did he allow it to feed on a carcass? Did the bird jailbreak on him and he didn't observe his situation? Did he salvage meat from a carcass and use it for hawk food? Actively hunting hawks are under observation 99% of the time by the falconer so I'm having a hard time comprehending this scenario. Not being a wise guy, just trying to understand!
Absolutely no offence taken. Ask away. The RTH was a big hen. It was trapped and jessed up a week after late buck was over in Lewis County. The bird trained well at first, but then over the next two weeks started having balance issues, loss of apatite, and runny mutes. She was taken to a vet, for examination. The bird continued to go downhill and died after the fourth week. When the blood work finally arrived, it showed high levels of lead. The autopsy found lead and copper flakes in the gizzard of the bird. Per the vet, it's a much more common occurrence than I had considered. My old Ruger M77 prints the 139gr Barns LRX bullets better than any Speers I've ever loaded, so for me it's a no brainer. More accurate, Non Toxic, better terminal performance in the game.
I too changed over to copper bullets for my 270 after reading a study several years ago about lead poisoning in human children who ate wild game that was taken with lead bullets, vs children who's parents were harvesting deer with archery or copper bullets. The distance the lead flakes can travel from the entrance wound was amazing to me, since I always assumed it would only be around the wound channel. It turns out, the lead fragments from a lung or neck shot can enter the blood stream, then get lodged in a rear quarter muscles.
https://cdphe.colorado.gov/lead-health/lead-in-wild-harvested-gamehttps://ceet.upenn.edu/2025/04/22/a-hidden-danger-in-donated-game-meat-why-lead-contaminated-meat-demands-our-attention/https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(17)31224-X/abstract
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