A new executive order from President Donald Trump pleases some Americans and alienates others. On September 17, 2026, President Trump handed down an Executive Order titled “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage.” And among several interesting points, we see some words about making lead shot great again. Well, sort of.
Fudd Friday: Will Trump's Executive Order Make Lead Shot Great Again?
Although lead shot is under attack worldwide and certainly across the U.S., this summer we have seen some pushback from the feds. [Zac K.]
Shotgun ammo @ TFB:
The nitty-gritty
Taking a quick scan through the Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage (see the whole announcement here), you’ll note that it’s mostly about preserving Americans’ access to the great outdoors for shooting and hunting. In an age where hunters are facing a decline in available hunting land, the words of the Executive Order appear aimed at the opposite effect: The idea is to actually expand the public’s access to government-owned land. There’s also wording about conservation and increasing wildlife population numbers, and some other interesting little nuggets there—seriously, read the whole thing. And then, if you look closely, you’ll see this note as part of the President’s plan to increase hunting access to public lands.
Historically, hunters used lead shot for all birds; more recently, its use has been restricted to upland hunting, because of restrictions on migratory bird hunting. [Zac K.]
The wording says the Executive Order wants personnel managing these lands to “permit the use of traditional lead ammunition and tackle.”
And that’s it. Despite the Facebook reels you might have seen about resurrecting Grandpa’s old made-in-Belgium Browning Auto 5 for duck hunting use, there’s nothing in the executive order suggesting that will be the case.
Instead, the announcement is very much along the lines of a Director’s Order from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that came earlier in 2026 (read it here). In that announcement, the feds said they were going to ease up on issuing regulations for using public lands for hunting and fishing. Instead of simply issuing blanket bans, the idea was that such bans would only be handed out when wildlife populations were demonstrably at risk. In Section 7 of that order;
Sec. 7 What are the requirements related to lead ammunition and tackle?
a. Restrictions on the use of lead ammunition or lead tackle may not be included in station-specific regulations except in rare circumstances where:
(1) Site- and species-specific scientific evidence demonstrates a direct population-level impact; or
(2) Such restrictions are necessary to align with State or Tribal law to ensure regulatory consistency.
b. All restrictions on lead ammunition or tackle must be approved by the Director and supported by documented justification.
c. Voluntary lead-free programs may continue where they already exist, and their effectiveness must be evaluated prior to consideration of any additional changes or extensions.
Heavy field loads are still popular where legal, although some hunters are moving to non-toxic shells by personal choice. [Zac K.]
So, you should be able to use lead shot on federal public lands without being unduly restricted—say, for buckshot-blasting deer, or partridge shooting with classic field loads. But let’s look at what the Director’s Order and Trump’s Executive Order don’t say:
- As noted above, it doesn’t say the U.S. federal government is backing out of the international treaties that ban using lead shot for waterfowl. It does contain other language about boosting waterfowl population, but doesn’t suggest you’ll be able to hunt ducks with lead shot again.
- It also doesn’t say that states will be forced to allow lead shot on public lands they administer. In some states, that’s a lot of territory that won’t change, and since much of the restriction on lead shot comes at the state level, things won’t change much for hunters in those cases.
Of course, there is no guarantee that these laws will be enforced at the ground level by federal staffers. And there is no guarantee that a change in the federal government won’t mean all these measures are instantly reversed by a new administration, or that federal judges won’t issue some sort of roadblock.
Buckshot will be particularly affected by lead shot bans, as non-toxic buckshot loads are rare. [Zac K.]
None of these points are intended to tell you to vote one way or another, or to say one side is right and the other side is wrong—the whole point of this write-up is to point out what’s happening and how it might affect you, because the long-term implications are important.
Despite the limited scope of the USFWS announcement and the President’s Executive Order, they do indicate a direction the federal government is heading—and it’s the opposite of where other regulators are headed.
The news from Trump and the USFWS is the first real government pushback we’ve seen in favor of lead shot in a long time. [Zac K.]
In this write-up from earlier in 2026, we pointed out to you that lead shot is increasingly being restricted. Overseas, the UK is banning most of its use country-wide; Denmark and the Netherlands have completely banned its use. Here in North America, several parties are trying to achieve that same result at the state level, and they’ve been trying for years. Some examples we listed then:
- In 2010 and 2012, environmentalist groups unsuccessfully petitioned the EPA to ban the sale and production of lead-based ammunition in the U.S
- California has had a lead shot ban on all wild game hunting since 2013, with the rules actually coming into effect in 2019.
- Both Minnesota and Iowa have rules against hunting with lead shot on specific state lands for specific wild game. This is not a comprehensive ban, but it is a ban in some hunting areas. Iowa’s regulators have pushed back against lead shot bans in the past, though.
- In 2025, Maryland’s lawmakers considered a ban on lead shot in that state; it was ultimately rejected.
- In recent months, lawmakers in Maine and the state of New York have both started poking around the issue of lead shot as well. While neither jurisdiction has banned lead shot, they both have bans on lead fishing sinkers and New York is considering banning the use of lead shot for hunting on specific state lands.
So you can see what’s coming, unless someone in government pushes back—effectively. Maybe this year’s moves by the feds will actually reverse the trend, and maybe they won’t, but it’s worth keeping an eye on either way.
If this post has you ready to hit the range, head over to gunranges.com - a free directory to help you find shooting ranges near you, wherever you are in the United States.
Related Topics: