Deer hunter as well, who eats the meat. I really don't think the large game rounds are a factor. I think I've shot 5 round in the last 8 years, and there are no edible bits in the chest cavity. The lead bullets mushroom out, but...a non-factor for a deer. 270, 30-06, and 300 mag lead ammunition will liquify the chest cavity, but does not go through it.
Shotgun rounds are a different thing. Here in Minnesota, they eliminated lead for waterfowl hunting -- which is a fair thing to do. I'll shoot many, many more rounds at birds - and cleaning the shot out can be tricky. Best not to be spraying the land and/or lakes with lead bbs.
> For big game like deer and moose, I actually prefer copper ammo.
Surely you mean copper-jacketed lead, right? I don’t think that solid copper bullets would travel very far or carry much of a punch …
Given his concerns about feeding lead to his family, almost definitely he means solid copper. Modern lead-free solid copper bullets work quite well for many animals. Here's a sample article comparing them against traditional copper jacketed lead: https://www.guns.com/news/2017/03/18/do-copper-bullets-offer...
If I wasn't eating the meat, I could see the argument for lead, but it's a weak one at best. In my own experience copper bullets do not go all the way through large game. And I don't believe in hunting for purely for sport.