South Dakota BHA Partners with Hunt Lead-Free SD at Black Hills Sports Show

The South Dakota Chapter of BHA has partnered with Hunt Lead-Free SD to launch a new initiative for hunters in the state. This pilot program is voluntary and offers a free box of lead-free ammunition to hunters on the western border of the state who have successfully drawn big game tags in select units. The driving force behind this initiative is to help protect eagles and other scavenging birds from lead poisoning resulting from these birds feeding on big game gut piles left in the field after a successful hunt. The added benefit is that hunters get to try new ammo for free. Lead-free ammunition has come a long way in the last several years and the performance of these new bullets has some actual benefits over traditional lead.

The South Dakota chapter ran a booth at the Black Hills Sports Show in Rapid City, SD February 13-15, 2026, alongside representatives from the Black Hills Raptor Center, North American Lead-Free Partnership, and the Peregrine Fund to help spread the word. "We recognized a great opportunity in this program." Said SD BHA Co-Chair Chris Gukeisen. "For it to work, this program needed to be for hunters, by hunters that believe in the effects of lead on the landscape and the benefits that switching to non-lead can have, both ecologically and in terms of performance." The sports show was a great success with interest from many South Dakota hunters. The booth showcased the similarities in wound channels in ballistic gels along with bullet fragments from both lead and copper to display weight retention.

Postcards will be sent out after each relevant draw to all eligible hunters who were successful.  The postcard will have a coupon code to redeem their free box of ammo. Eligible hunting units for deer, antelope, and elk are shown in the image above. 

For more information, go to: https://huntleadfreesd.org/ or email: contact@HuntLeadFreeSD.org