Trump Reverses Lead Ammo Ban

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday rolling back Biden-era restrictions on traditional lead ammunition and directing the Interior Department to open more federal land to hunters and anglers.

What happened: Trump hosted more than 100 hunters, anglers, and outdoor industry officials for a Rose Garden dinner where he announced the order. "We believe that public lands belong to the American people and to the public, and hunters, fishers, and outdoorsmen should be able to access them," Trump said.

The order does two things that matter to anyone who hunts with a rifle, shotgun, or fishing tackle:

• Kills the lead ban: Reverses Biden-era prohibitions on traditional lead ammunition and tackle on federal lands.
• Expands access: Directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to open more federal land to hunting and fishing, building on an August order that already unlocked 92 million acres across 32 states.

Catch up quick: The lead ammo fight has been simmering for years. Environmental groups pushed bans arguing lead poses risks to scavenger species like bald eagles and condors. The Biden administration leaned into that argument on some federal refuges and public lands, restricting or phasing out traditional ammo and tackle in favor of copper and other alternatives.

Reality check: Bald eagle populations have been climbing for decades, not shrinking, which undercuts the core rationale for the ban. Lead ammo isn't magic — it's just cheap, consistent, and does exactly what a hunting round needs to do: hold together enough to fire, then deform on impact to put game down cleanly. Alternatives exist, but they cost more and aren't always available at every counter in every caliber.

What they're saying:

• NSSF President and CEO Bartozzi called it "a tremendous victory to ensure that America's hunting heritage is protected," noting his organization has pushed for years on lead ammo rights, public lands access, and Sunday hunting.
• NRA Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin praised the order for "safeguarding traditional ammunition, boosting hunter recruitment and retention, and ensuring healthy game populations."

The legal question: Ammunition counts as "arms" under the Second Amendment's plain text, which makes blanket ammo-type bans a harder sell than regulators often assume. Restricting the most common, most affordable hunting ammunition on public land functions as a de facto restriction on the right to hunt with the tools people actually own and can afford to practice with.

Trump, never one to get bogged down in technical details, summed up his own read on the science: "Lead ammunition was a problem, huh? Is it better than other ammunition? I assume, huh? That's pretty good. I don't know what the hell that means, but I know one thing: you wanted it. You wanted it, and I'm here for you."

What gun owners should know: If you hunt on federal land, expect fewer restrictions on the ammo and tackle you can legally use, plus more acreage to actually use it on. Burgum's Interior Department will handle implementation, so watch for agency guidance on which specific parcels and refuges are affected.

The bottom line: A Biden-era rule built on shaky ecological claims is gone, and hunters get both their ammo and more ground to use it on back in the same order.