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Hunters can directly assist
eagle conservation.

The Challenge

Bald eagles are a threatened species in Georgia and face many hazards including electrocution, vehicle collision, sickness from avian influenza, collisions with powerlines, and poisoning from a variety of sources. Our choice of hunting bullets can directly remove the risk of poisoning from inadvertently consuming particles of spent lead ammunition that remain in gut piles left behind in the field. Our goal is to maintain healthy populations of bald eagles by reducing the amount of lead gut piles on the landscape during hunting seasons.

© Cindy Goeddel .

Georgia Hunters for Eagle Conservation is an initiative started by hunters who are also raptor biologists. Through our work, we see these threats firsthand. As hunters, we also know there is at least one threat we can do something about. Our goal is to see bald eagles thrive in Georgia by providing opportunities for hunters to voluntarily switch to lead-free ammunition for free. This program is managed by hunters for hunters to protect not just eagles, but the heritage and future of hunting in the United States.

That’s why Georgia Hunters for Eagle Conservation is an incentive program. We believe if hunters know about the issue and have the chance to try lead-free options they can make their own informed choices.

A baby American bald eagle calls out from a nest located near Kennedy Parkway North at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 10, 2023. The eaglet is the lone offspring of a mated pair of eagles that recently built the new home after storms badly damaged their original nest located about 50 yards away. That nest was built in 1973 and had been used by eagles almost every year since 1975.

The Opportunity

Hunters have been conservation pioneers and excellent stewards of the landscape, with a commitment to keeping wildlife healthy.

That’s why we are offering 1 free box of lead-free ammunition to eligible Georgia hunters. This gives you the chance to sight it in and test its ballistic performance on the range and in the field. Ultimately, we hope many hunters will voluntarily give it a shot when hunting deer or feral hogs.

“As an avid hunter, I know I am responsible for what my bullet does once it leaves my firearm. I need to know my target and what’s beyond to avoid wounding an animal, and don’t want to have an unintended impact on other wildlife either from the remains of my bullet.”

Leland Brown,
North American Lead-Free Partnership

We do not support efforts to develop legislative bans limiting a hunter’s choice in ammo selection. Our incentive programs are meant to provide increased opportunities, and introduce hunters to the benefits of the voluntary use of modern hunting ammunition.

Who is Eligible?

Postcards with access codes to lead-free ammo purchase sources will be sent to select hunters in the following counties with known eagle breeding populations:

  • Bryan County
  • Chatham County
  • Columbia County
  • Decatur County
  • Lincoln County
  • McDuffe County
  • McIntosh County
  • Troup County
  • Wilkes County
© Dave Brandes .

If you received a postcard for the program, press the button below to get your free ammo.

Get Ammo
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Hunters for Eagle Conservation is a program of Conservation Science Global, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2016 to advance conservation and management of our natural resources through science and education.