I looked back through the haphazard filing system on my PC, searching for the first article I penned for Shooting Times on the subject of non-toxic shot and biodegradable wads. I eventually found the thing tucked away in a file dating back to early 2019. Since then, I have revisited the subject repeatedly, trialling new loads and wad variants. I have put my money where my mouth is, and not one ounce of lead has passed through my barrels against live quarry since that date. In that time, among many memorable days, I’ve shot Essex partridges with cardboard wads and steel, towering Broadland pinks with composite shot borne on cups made from lettuce and (my cheeks still flush with shame) I remember one notably ham-fisted duck flight in the Stour valley using bismuth, which cost me the best part of a week’s wages for a paltry brace in the bag. The shift away from lead shot has caused no little debate, some level of rancour and even downright anger. Many have argued that the timescale fo