There is no nation-wide lead ban in Germany, not yet at least. But some German states, like North Rhine-Westphalia, already banned the use of lead containing bullets for hunting. In some other states, like Hesse and my own Lower Saxony, the state forest administrations already prescribed unleaded bullets for hunting their own state forest grounds. As I hunt in state forests, I better keep to that silly order, unless I want to loose my free hunting opportunities. John, "stocking up" is no solution. I myself have ample stocks of conventional bullets. You may still buy and own them, but may not use them for hunting any more, So they are for target shooting only. BTW, I have used Barnes bullets for some years by now. In larger bores, 8 mm and up, I did not notice much difference on game.