In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a memo warning hunters from using non-approved copper shot shells while hunting migratory waterfowl. Though the memo didn’t directly name Boss Shotshells—a company renowned for its premium nontoxic shells—it was widely seen as a shot across the bow at the company’s new copper offering.
For some brief background on the news, Boss originally took the waterfowling world by storm with its bismuth shells, which many hunters appreciated for their knock-down power at range. But last summer, Split Reed reported on supply chain issues, which caused prices for tungsten and bismuth to skyrocket. To adapt, Boss discontinued its tungsten and bismuth loads and began developing a copper alternative.
That seemed to be going well until the USFWS issued the memo in May. The news hit the Boss team hard. “We had been working with individuals in the USFWS since this time last year with the goal of getting our corrosion-inhibited (CIC) copper shells and a field tester we created approved,” says Meghan Superczynski, Boss Shotshells Brand Manager. “When the memo came out, we were just as surprised to see it as everyone else. It didn’t undo all the work we thought we had done, but it was certainly a different perspective from the USFWS about us and our process than we expected.”
The Boss team sprang into action, particularly led by founder and owner Brandon Cerecke. He coordinated with a bipartisan group of politicians, including Congressman Bill Huizenga of Michigan, Congressman Addison McDowell of North Carolina, and Congressman Mike Thompson of California, who helped them navigate the bureaucratic process. The effort was successful and received the attention of USFWS Director Brian Nesvik and Deputy Director Justin Shirley.
Ultimately, the effort resulted in a new memo from the USFWS: the federal agency approved Boss’s corrosion-inhibited copper CuProX shot formulation. According to Dirk Sorrells, Brand Representative for Boss, part of the approval logjam revolved around not the shot material itself but the ability for field officers to identify it; the agency regulations state that the hull of CIC shells must be translucent. Boss thought its red hull fit the bill, but was also interested in providing its new testing device to law enforcement to distinguish nontoxic shells from lead-based ones.
Instead of approving the testing device, the USFS has allowed Boss to self-certify their shells, meaning all of the brand’s copper shotshells that they’ve sold to date and plan to sell is good to go for migratory waterfowl.
“This is bigger than BOSS,” said Cerecke. “It’s a win for hunters who deserve clear guidance, a win for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the process ultimately worked, and most importantly, it’s a win for conservation. Protecting the resource has always been the goal.”
“We’re just really excited to get this product into the hands of hunters,” adds Sorrells. “It’s been a lot of hard work by the team here over the past year-and-a-half of developing the shot and getting it across the board. Now, it’s exciting to have the freedom to stand behind it and run.”