Conservation Biology
Leland Brown attended Plymouth State University in New Hampshire and graduated with B.S in environmental biology. He has been a practicing wildlife biologist since 2007, conducting management of invasive species, and hunting conservation efforts.
As part of a partnership between the Oregon Zoo and PSU, Leland joined the BER lab in 2022, he is researching performance of hunting ammunition in the field.
Why Research Hunting Bullet Performance?
Leland's research works with hunters to gather data on animal responses, providing real world data on bullet performance. Having worked as a wildlife biologist across diverse ecosystems, with particular focus on invasive species management, he was often looking for research to inform ammunition choice for wildlife managers and the public. Improving data on bullet performance can influence selection and results with implications for wildlife management programs, invasive species management, landscape conservation, and endangered species recovery programs.
Leland has been frustrated for years with the lack of field research documenting animal response to impact from different bullet types. Research on bullet performance often uses ballistic media and other surrogate materials to estimate performance. There is a lack of peer-reviewed data bullet performance in field conditions, which are critical to help understand best practices for bullet selection and use. Participation in this research can help wildlife managers meet animal welfare requirements for selecting appropriate bullets for population and depredation management, as well as inform hunters, with real world data. Good field data, from hunters, will help us better understand how different bullets with different construction work, when they may fail, and select best bullet for intended game.
By recording data on the tools used to hunt including cartridge, bullet type, and weight we can compare performance across different circumstances and impacts. We also must record species, shot distance, animal weight, and information on the internal organ damage. Animal flight distance is used to measure time from bullet impact until incapacitation, providing a measure of effectiveness that can be used across species, shot distances, bullet types and other variables. Accurate information on each specific variables will allow us to compare performance of different bullets and evaluate performance fairly as possible.
To participate in this research, it is important that the data is recorded in the field during the hunt. These data sheets will make sure you record all the critical information while hunting.
Data sheet elk, deer, antelope, mountain goat, bighorn sheep <pdf link>
Data sheet bear <pdf link>
The data can then be entered using this online form
Thank you for supporting research on hunting, ammunition, and performance.