brine effects on lead shot

[barney]

I have a wild turkey that took a lot of shot (lead) to the body.  Does anyone have any thoughts on the effects of brine on lead shot?  Will the salt cause the lead to leach into the meat?

[whitetailfan]

What a great question...unfortunately, I dont have the slightest clue.

When I bring home a pheasant, my wife will generally soak it in water to relieve some of the blood, and then follow in the shot to pull out the pellet.  Doesn't miss many.

Therefore, I would think that if you brine the bird, it will take on more moisture, and in doing so, you may have an easier time trying to pull out some of the shot before cooking.  I really don't know what effect the salt will have.  Perhaps soak it in plain water, then pull out as much shot as you can, and then cook.

I'm not sure what difference it would make if your lead "leaches" due to brining, or you cook it in the bird, I would have thought that to be more harmful.

Never hunted Meriams yet, but my buddy got one this spring.  Seems to me he was using #2s I would not have thought that your shot count per round would be very high, so I would be inclined to try and remove the shot.  But as I have never done this before, you may have very good reason to cook the bird as is.

Good luck