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EU lead shot ban: two clocks for makers supplying GB and the EU
The EU restriction heads for the Official Journal with a seven-year transition and bullets out of scope, while Great Britain’s shot deadline falls on 1 April 2029. Ammunition makers serving both markets now plan production, product and compliance on two timetables
The European Union’s restriction on lead shot is moving to final adoption with a seven-year transition secured and bullets and slugs excluded, the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) reported on 8 October, with publication in the Official Journal expected in the coming weeks. For ammunition manufacturers and distributors the decision completes a picture that has been forming since 2021: the two regulatory regimes a European cartridge maker sells into will phase out lead shot on different clocks, Great Britain by 1 April 2029 and the EU’s 27 member states over seven years from publication.
What is in the EU text?
According to FACE, whose 37 member associations represent Europe’s hunters, the European Parliament concluded its consideration of the restriction in Strasbourg on 8 October with no objection supported, and the scrutiny period closed on 10 October. The transition for lead shot has been extended from the three years first proposed to seven, and bullets and slugs have been removed from the scope entirely. FACE accepted the improved text on the reasoning that returning the file to the European Commission could have produced a new proposal with a broader scope and less favourable conditions. Its president, Laurens Hoedemaker, said: “We must now use the seven years effectively to ensure hunters have good quality non-lead shot.”
The restriction is made under the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals regulation (REACH), on a 2021 proposal from the European Chemicals Agency. It follows the wetlands ban in force since February 2023, with its 100m buffer zones, and extends the phase-out to terrestrial shooting with lead shot across the single market.
How does the GB clock differ?
Great Britain’s restriction, made under the separate UK REACH regime, became law on 1 April 2026 after a Health and Safety Executive report in December 2024. Shot containing 1% or more lead is banned from 1 April 2029 after a three-year transition, and projectiles with 3% or more lead face restrictions at outdoor ranges from 1 April 2028 unless specific conditions are met. The measures apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland follows EU REACH under the Windsor Framework and will therefore run on the EU timetable, which puts a regulatory border down the Irish Sea for lead cartridges as for other goods.
Two differences matter to a manufacturer. The GB shot deadline arrives roughly four years before the EU’s, so the GB market is the lead indicator for non-lead demand in Europe and the first to need volume supply of steel, bismuth and tungsten-based loads at every gauge and load weight a game or clay shooter uses. And GB restricts lead projectiles at ranges while the EU text leaves bullets and slugs alone, so rifle ammunition compliance diverges completely between the two markets.
What does it mean for production planning?
A maker supplying both markets has, in effect, a 2029 product line and a 2033-or-later product line. Lead shot cartridges for GB sale run down against April 2029 and must not be stranded in the channel; the same product remains lawful in the EU for years afterwards, so inventory can be routed rather than written off, Northern Ireland included. Non-lead capacity built for GB will be ready well before the EU needs it, which gives GB-focused makers a head start and continental makers a longer runway. Proof, pressure and barrel-compatibility questions around steel shot in older guns, already familiar in the GB market, will arrive in each EU member state on the same seven-year schedule.
What happens next?
Once the restriction is published in the Official Journal it enters into force across the EU and the transition period begins. Gun Trade World will report the final text when it is published; the GB restriction’s detail is on GOV.UK.
Useful links
FACE – the federation’s report on the restriction’s progress
GOV.UK – the GB restriction on lead in ammunition and its deadlines
Frequently asked questions
When does the EU lead shot ban take effect?
After publication in the EU Official Journal, expected within weeks, a seven-year transition begins, so the ban would bite in 2033 at the earliest.
Are rifle bullets covered by the EU restriction?
No. FACE reports that bullets and slugs are excluded from the restriction as it moves to adoption. Great Britain separately restricts lead projectiles at outdoor ranges from 1 April 2028.
What is the deadline for lead shot in Great Britain?
Shot containing 1% or more lead is banned in England, Scotland and Wales from 1 April 2029, under the UK REACH restriction that became law on 1 April 2026. Northern Ireland follows the EU timetable.
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