Hey Larry:

Apparently one of plumbism's symptoms is an inability to detect sarcasm?

I support both bag limits and pheasant seasons which limit winter stress on populations and hens as they begin to build their physical reserves for viable egg production.

Back to Roster and his tests on steel shot effectiveness for pheasant harvest. Let me quote him....

"Of all birds struck with the No. 2 steel load, 108 were retrieved and 10 were lost, an 8.5 percent wounding loss rate. No. 6 steel produced a 13.6 percent wounding loss, and No. 4 steel came in with a 14.3 percent wounding rate. Interestingly, hunters lost only two of 68 birds hit at distances of less than 30 yards with all three loads combined, a wounding rate of 2.9 percent. All test loads together produced 15.1 percent wounding loss at shot distances of 40 yards or greater.

For the entire test, wounding loss was 12.2 percent. "That's a pretty low wounding rate," Roster noted, especially when compared to findings of 15 shotshell lethality tests on waterfowl, some of which examined both lead and steel. Trained observers in those tests detected 30 percent or more of birds hit by hunters with either shot type were not retrieved."

Roster also found that shots at pheasants were generally closer than those for waterfowl, and a going-away presentation, an easier shot to make for most shooters. Using #2 shot he found steel highly effective for pheasants, without the "balling up" of feathers you cite above.

Here are some more studies on lead toxicity to birds and other wildlife:

Lewis, J.C., Legler, E., 1968. Lead shot ingestion by mourning doves
and incidence in soil. J. Wildlife Manage. 32, 476–482.
Locke, L.N., Bagley, G.E., 1967. Lead poisoning in a sample of
Maryland mourning doves. J. Wildlife Manage. 31, 515–518.
Locke, L.N., Bagley, G.E., Frickie, D.N., Young, L.T., 1969. Lead
poisoning and Aspergillosis in an Andean condor. J. Am. Vet.
Med. Assoc. 155, 1052–1056.
Locke, L.N., Friend, M., 1992. Lead poisoning of avian species other
than waterfowl. In: Pain, D.J., (Ed.), Lead Poisoning in
Waterfowl. IWRB Spec. Pub. 16, Slimbridge, pp. 19–22.
Locke, L.N., Smith, M.R., Windingstad, R.M., Martin, S.J., 1991.
Lead poisoning of a marbled godwit. Prairie Nat. 23, 21–24.
Lumeiji, J.T., Wolvekamp, W.T.C., Bron-Dietz, G.M., Schotman,
Martin, P.A., Barrett, G.C., 2001. Exposure of terrestrial raptors to
environmental lead: determining sources using stable isotope
ratios. International Association for Great Lakes Research
Conference Programand Abstracts 44. IAGLR, Ann Arbor, p. 84.
Martin, P.A., Campbell, D., Scheuhammer, A., 2003. Lead exposure
in terrestrial foraging raptors in southern Ontario, 1999–2001.
International Association for Great Lakes Research Conference
Program and Abstracts 44. IAGLR, Ann Arbor, p. 269.
Mateo, R., Cadenas, R., Manez, M., Guitart, R., 2001. Lead shot
ingestion in two raptor species from Don˜ ana, Spain.
Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safety 48, 6–10.
Mateo, R., Estrada, J., Paquet, J.-Y., Riera, X., Domı´nguez, L.,
Guitart, R., Martı´nez-Vilalta, A., 1999. Lead shot ingestion by
marsh harriers (Circus aeruginosus) from the Ebro Delta, Spain.
Environ. Pollut. 104, 435–440.
Mateo, R., Molina, R., Grı´fols, J., Guitart, R., 1997. Lead poisoning in
a free-ranging griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus). Vet. Rec. 140, 47–48.
Mateo, R., Taggart, M., Meharg, A.A., 2003. Lead and arsenic in
bones of birds of prey from Spain. Environ. Pollut. 126,
107–114.
Miller, M.J.R., Wayland, M.E., Bortolotti, G.R., 2002. Lead exposure
and poisoning in diurnal raptors: a global perspective. In:
Yosef, R.M., Miller, M.L., Pepler, D. (Eds.), Raptors in the New
Millenium, Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the Raptor
Research Foundation and The World Working Group on Birds
of Prey and Owls, Eliat, Israel, 2–8 April 2000. International
Birding and Research Centre, Eliat, pp. 224–245.
Miller, M.J.R., Wayland, M.E., Dzus, E.H., Bortolotti, G.R., 2000.
Availability and ingestion of lead shotshell pellets by migrant
bald eagles in Saskatchewan. J. Raptor Res. 34, 167–174.
Miller, M.J.R., Wayland, M.E., Dzus, E.H., Bortolotti, G.R., 2001.
Exposure of migrant bald eagles to lead in prairie Canada.
Environ. Pollut. 112, 153–162.
Mudge, G.P., 1992. Options for alleviating lead poisoning: a review
and assessment of alternatives to the use of non-toxic shot.
In: Pain, D.J. (Ed.), Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl. IWRB Spec.
Pub. 16, Slimbridge, pp. 23–25.
NationalWildlife Health Laboratory (NWHL), 1985. Lead poisoning
in non-waterfowl avian species. USFWS unpublished Report.
Pain, D.J., 1990a. Lead shot ingestion by waterbirds in the
Camargue, France: an investigation of levels and interspecific
differences. Environ. Pollut. 66, 273–285.
Pain, D.J., 1990b. Lead poisoning of waterfowl: a review. In:
Matthews, G. (Ed.), Managing Waterfowl Populations. IWRB,
Slimbridge, pp. 172–181.
Pain, D.J., 1991a. Lead poisoning in birds: an international
perspective. Acta XX Congressus Int. Ornithol., 2343–2352.
Pain, D.J., 1991b. Why are lead-poisoned waterfowl rarely seen?
The disappearance of waterfowl carcasses in the Camargue,
France. Wildfowl 42, 118–122.