Here in Norway we had the ban for some years. For hunting, it was reversed to the old rules after protest from both the hunters and the forest industry. Just one steel shot in the timber can make big problems for a saw mill. The price for any alternative to lead except from steel, did never fall. Today, it is not legal to shoot shotguns with lead on shooting ranges, or in wetlands. There's an exception for some black powder shooting on ranges, but I'm not entirely sure how that rule works. The ban was only for shot guns, rifles are not included in any ban. The Norwegian army changed from lead bullets to a lead free alternative. When this happend, many soldiers reported about not feeling well, getting head ache and similar symptoms after shooting. I belive they have altered the metal in the bullets, and that there has been an improvement for this.
