Safari Club International Celebrates Passage of Bipartisan Hunting Access Bill

March 19, 2026
7:21 am

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Safari Club International is popping champagne after the U.S. House passed the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act (H.R. 556), a bipartisan gem introduced by Rep. Rob Wittman that slams the door on federal busybodies trying to ban traditional lead ammunition and tackle on public lands. Without rock-solid scientific proof, agencies like the EPA or Fish and Wildlife Service can't touch your lead bullets or sinkers—preserving the tools generations of hunters have relied on for ethical, effective harvests. This isn't just a win for SCI's 50,000+ members; it's a firewall against the creeping regulatory overreach that's plagued sportsmen for years, from misguided bird flu scares to anti-lead crusades masquerading as environmentalism. Dig deeper, and this bill's a masterstroke for the 2A community, threading the needle between hunting heritage and Second Amendment bedrock. Lead ammo bans have long been the thin edge of the wedge—start with toxic javelina rounds on BLM land, and suddenly your AR-15 plinkers are next under ATF scrutiny for non-essential lead cores. By demanding empirical evidence over emotional appeals, H.R. 556 flips the script on junk science from groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, who've pushed copper-only mandates despite studies (like the 2020 USGS review) showing negligible wildlife impacts from lead. It's bipartisan proof that 2A allies span aisles—think rural Dems from hunting districts joining GOP stalwarts—fortifying ammo choice as a constitutional right, not a privilege. The implications? Momentum for Senate passage could ripple into broader protections, shielding factory loads from state-level copycats and bolstering industry giants like Federal and Hornady against boutique copper premiums that price out working-class shooters. For 2A warriors, this is red meat: a tangible rebuke to the gun-grabbers' indirect attacks, reminding us that defending the hunt defends the right to bear arms. Eyes on the upper chamber—time to rally and lock this in before election-year politics muddies the waters.

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Dig deeper, and this bill’s a masterstroke for the 2A community, threading the needle between hunting heritage and Second Amendment bedrock. Lead ammo bans have long been the thin edge of the wedge—start with toxic javelina rounds on BLM land, and suddenly your AR-15 plinkers are next under ATF scrutiny for non-essential lead cores. By demanding empirical evidence over emotional appeals, H.R. 556 flips the script on junk science from groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, who’ve pushed copper-only mandates despite studies (like the 2020 USGS review) showing negligible wildlife impacts from lead. It’s bipartisan proof that 2A allies span aisles—think rural Dems from hunting districts joining GOP stalwarts—fortifying ammo choice as a constitutional right, not a privilege.

The implications? Momentum for Senate passage could ripple into broader protections, shielding factory loads from state-level copycats and bolstering industry giants like Federal and Hornady against boutique copper premiums that price out working-class shooters. For 2A warriors, this is red meat: a tangible rebuke to the gun-grabbers’ indirect attacks, reminding us that defending the hunt defends the right to bear arms. Eyes on the upper chamber—time to rally and lock this in before election-year politics muddies the waters.

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