Since 2012, Ventana Wildlife Society has provided
boxes of free non-lead ammunition to hunters and ranchers in the condor range!
And still going strong!
And still going strong!
WE ARE CURRENTLY PROVIDING FREE AMMUNITION TO HUNTERS AND RANCHERS RESIDING IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:
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• MONTEREY
• SAN BENITO • SAN LUIS OBISPO • KERN • FRESNO (WEST OF I-5 ONLY) • SANTA BARBARA • VENTURA |
WHAT WE OFFER
- One free 20-round box of non-lead centerfire rifle ammunition per eligible person per calendar year (or one 50-round box of bullets for reloaders).
- Each eligible person may also receive non-lead rimfire (.22 LR or .17 HMR) upon request depending on availability.
- We are not offering shotgun shells at this time.
This offer is subject to product availability and staff availability for delivery. All transfers of factory-loaded ammunition will be face to face by appointment and must be approved by the Department of Justice in the form of a Standard or Basic Eligibility Check. For more information on eligibility checks, see the yellow box below. Only one person per household may be eligible for this offer, unless each person is approved by the Department of Justice in a Standard Eligibility Check. Residency and household designations are determined by the address issued on your California Driver’s License.
AM I ELIGIBLE?
You are eligible for the offer if you meet all three of the following conditions:
- You are at least 21 years of age and not prohibited from possessing or purchasing any ammunition by federal, state, or local laws.
- You are a California resident (with California Driver’s License or Identification) of one of the following counties: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Santa Barbara, Ventura, or Fresno (West of I-5 Only).
- A Standard Eligibility Check or Basic Eligibility Check conducted on your behalf is approved by Department of Justice (for factory-loaded ammunition).
HOW DO I APPLY?
• FACTORY-LOADED AMMUNITION
Contact us by email (nonlead@ventanaws.org) and provide the following:
- Your first choice of ammunition. Indicate your choice of caliber (and product and grain if you wish to specify). We will let you know if we have your caliber/product available in stock and offer alternatives as needed. Also, please indicate if you have interest in also receiving .22 LR or .17 HMR rimfire with your selection (pending availability).
- A scanned or photo copy of your California Driver's License. If your license says "Federal Limits Apply" in the upper right corner, further documentation is necessary in the form of a current passport or Birth Certificate. If your license shows a Post Office Box, please also provide a physical address.
- Indicate your Race, U.S. Citizenship (Yes or No), Place of Birth (State), and Phone Number. If you are not a U.S. Citizen, please indicate your country of citizenship and your alien registration number, as required by state law. Although Ventana Wildlife Society does not consider your race to be a factor for distributing ammunition, it is required by Department of Justice to complete an eligibility check. As a licensed ammunition vendor, we will conduct the eligibility check and cover the associated fee.
• BULLETS FOR RELOADERS
Contact us by email (nonlead@ventanaws.org) and provide the following:
- Your choice of bullets. Be as specific as you can (e.g., caliber, product and grain).
- A scanned or photo copy of your California Driver's License. If your license does not show your current shipping address, please provide the address at which you would like to receive the bullets. No eligibility check is required at this time for bullet orders.
Upon selection of ammunition, we will place an order with a reputable online retailer for shipment to your address.
Bullets for reloaders are limited to one 50-round box per household per calendar year.
Bullets for reloaders are limited to one 50-round box per household per calendar year.
WHAT ABOUT THE TRANSFER?
Upon selection of ammunition and approval of an eligibility check, we will contact you to arrange a transfer appointment. Transfers are by appointment at our Monterey office or by delivery. We ask that Monterey County participants pickup ammunition, except for those residing south of Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula, where we will gladly deliver. Delivery is available for participants from all other eligible counties.
Due to the COVID pandemic, our staff will take precautionary measures recommended by CDC to prioritize health. Transfer appointments will be cancelled or postponed if state or local regulations require (e.g., shelter in place orders). If you have any questions about our COVID protocols, or have any special needs associated with COVID protection, please contact us.
Due to the COVID pandemic, our staff will take precautionary measures recommended by CDC to prioritize health. Transfer appointments will be cancelled or postponed if state or local regulations require (e.g., shelter in place orders). If you have any questions about our COVID protocols, or have any special needs associated with COVID protection, please contact us.
Eligibility Checks
As of July 1, 2019, all ammunition purchases and transfers in California require DOJ approval, and this approval can be obtained through an eligibility check. As a licensed ammunition vendor, Ventana Wildlife Society will conduct these checks and only provide ammunition once the transfer is approved. The Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check cross-references the information on your driver’s license with the information on file in the DOJ Automated Firearms System. A decision is provided within a minute or two. If the transfer is denied by DOJ, we will provide a DROS number which can be used to determine the reason for the decision. A transfer might be denied if you did not register a firearm to your ID (since 1996 for a handgun or 2014 for a long gun). In that case, you can undergo another check, the Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check, which does not depend on a firearm record. This check requires the same information, but a decision by DOJ takes longer, up to 10 days. This would be the check to run if you have no firearms registered to you (i.e., you are not in the DOJ Automated Firearms System), or if you have moved and there are no firearms registered at the new address. The Standard Eligibility Check carries a fee of $1 and the Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check carries a fee of $19. We will cover those fees for the time being. Please note that once transfers have been approved, we are required to submit to DOJ information on the type and quantity of ammunition you were provided,
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
WHY ARE YOU OFFERING FREE NON-LEAD AMMUNITION?
We support hunters and ranchers, and appreciate your longstanding tradition of wildlife conservation. We also support the use of non-lead ammunition. From our experience, we know that lead poisoning from spent ammunition is a major threat to the full recovery of California Condors in the wild. Given the threat and legislation restricting the use of lead ammunition in California, we want to help hunters and ranchers make the switch.
WHO IS FUNDING THIS PROGRAM?
Ventana Wildlife Society raises funds for this program through multiple sources, and these change from year to year. Monterey County Fish and Game Advisory Commission has provided funding in most years, along with various federal and private funding sources.
Are there non-lead options available for .22 LR or .17 HMR?
Yes!
Look for CCI Copper-22 or the Norma Eco-Speed or Eco-Power. The CCI brand is a 21 grain and the Norma brands are 24 grain.
Look for CCI Copper-22 or the Norma Eco-Speed or Eco-Power. The CCI brand is a 21 grain and the Norma brands are 24 grain.
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There are two .17 HMR products that we recommend most: the Hornady NTX 15.5 grain (#83171) and the CCI TNT Green 16 grain (#951).
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Are you looking for .17 WSM or .22 WMR? Check out the .17 WSM Winchester Varmint X Lead Free 15 grain (#X17W15PLF) and the.22 WMR CCI TNT Green 30 grain (#060).
WHERE IN THE WORLD DO YOU FIND COPPER-22?
Yes, it can be difficult to find non-lead .22 LR that is certified for use in the condor range. Currently, there are a couple of non-lead options available for non-lead .22 LR: CCI Copper-22 and Norma Eco-Speed and Eco-Power. Availability in local stores comes and goes based on market availability, which has been poor in recent years. We always recommend calling your local stores for availability. If we find any consistently reliable sources, we will post them on this site.
Can someone else sign for my ammunition?
No. The ammunition must be signed for by the recipient in person, and we will only hand it over to that person. We will not give the ammunition to a third party or leave the ammunition on your porch. While there is no flexibility in this regard, we will do whatever we can to arrange appointments at a time and place that is convenient for your schedule.
I have received my ammunition, but can I also get some for my friend, wife, husband, son, co-worker…?
No. Please tell them about our program, but they should contact us directly themselves if they wish to receive ammunition. Participants in the same household must each have a Standard Eligibility Check approved by Department of Justice to receive ammunition. We may withdraw the offer if we consider that a request is being made on behalf of another person.
What can I do to help you process my free ammunition request quickly?
- • Follow the instructions above under How Do I Apply. Any missing information will require additional correspondence.
- • In your initial request, avoid providing a long wish list of calibers. We are only providing one box of centerfire, and we are just going to ask you which one you want the most. Better to just give one or two first choices (two is best if your first preference is something that is not easily found - for example, “I would like a .30-06 Springfield, preferably 150 grain, but if you have a 7.62x54R I want that”).
- • When attaching a copy of your driver’s license, make sure the resolution is sufficient for us to read it. Make sure there is not a flash glare covering any of the numbers or letters.
- • If you have been required to do a Basic Eligibility Check when getting ammunition in the past (i.e., a Standard Eligibility Check was denied), please let us know early on. If we know in advance that we need to do a Basic Eligibility Check for you, we can get right to it and save the $1 DOJ fee for a Standard Eligibility Check.
- • We appreciate your flexibility when arranging transfer appointments. Because we are trying to reach as many hunters as possible over a large portion of the state, we are not always able to offer a wide selection of dates and times.
- • We strive to promptly respond to requests. If you have not received a response to your email, check your spam filter.
My Standard Eligibility Check was denied, so I received ammunition through a Basic Eligibility Check. Does that mean I am good to go next time for a Standard Eligibility Check?
Unfortunately, no. Approval of the Standard Eligibility Check depends on your documentation matching a firearm registration record in the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System (among other things). Even if DOJ approves your ammunition transfer in a Basic Eligibility Check, that is a one-time authorization to receive ammunition. They will not update your firearm records to make you good for a Standard Eligibility Check in the future. You will need to do that. For information on how to update your records, see https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/afspi. Purchasing a firearm would also do the trick as the new registration information would go into the system. Until then, you will need to do the Basic Eligibility Check every time you purchase ammunition, and this check will cost you $19 in stores and take up to 10 days for approval. While we are happy to conduct Basic Eligibility Checks for hunters and ranchers and cover the fee, updating your records with DOJ can allow us to do a Standard Eligibility Check, which will mean more money going to free ammunition and less to DOJ fees.
DIDN'T A FEDERAL JUDGE RECENTLY RULE AGAINST THE ELIGIBILITY CHECKS?
On April 23, 2020, a federal judge granted an injunction against enforcement of the ammunition purchasing laws of Proposition 63, which require eligibility checks and face to face transfers. With this ruling, California residents could once again look forward to ordering factory-loaded ammunition online, and having the ammunition shipped directly to their address. However, a day later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state attorney general a stay, thereby halting the injunction and reinstating the restrictions. Ventana Wildlife Society, as a licensed ammunition vendor, will continue to conduct the eligibility checks and transfer ammunition face to face as the law requires. We will review our policies as needed if and when there is further resolution on this matter.
ARE TURKEY VULTURES ALSO AFFECTED BY LEAD?
We believe that Turkey Vultures are also affected by lead, but that Turkey Vulture populations are better able to absorb losses associated with lead poisoning. Condor life history has a lot to do with that. The condor lifespan is 40 years or more, but they only reach breeding age at 6-8 years old. Furthermore, condor clutch size is only one egg, and being such a large bird, the process of hatching, fledging, and the development of young to independence can prolong the nesting season into the following year, delaying the next breeding attempt. Therefore, the most successful condor pairs are not able to breed every year. Turkey Vultures, by contrast, reach breeding age much sooner, have larger clutch sizes (up to 3 eggs), and are able to breed every season. So when Turkey Vultures sustain losses, they are able to more quickly recover with productivity of young. Being so rare to begin with, each adult condor death removes a greater proportion of the breeding population than a vulture death would, and accelerates a population decline, because productivity of young is unable to compensate for excessive adult mortality.
