# Pigeon vs 9.5 mm steel



## anon (Mar 12, 2021)

Hello
Today, being in the field, I noticed this pigeon again, which was feeding itself on my crops for a long time, normally I would have left him alone, but he just liked my crops, I had some 9.5 mm steel balls in my pocket, because I like to shoot in the water surface. I approached a distance of about 7 meters, and he was hit on the wing, there was clearly a hitting on the hard wing, the pigeon flew into the air, as if he did not feel the shot, I already thought that he would fly away and I will not see him again, but after flying about 30 meters he fell from Heaven into the nearby grass, if he flew another 5 meters, I would probably not find him. It lay dead, only a light trickle of blood from its beak, and it was not so badly damaged,
summarizing,
I think that 9.5 mm steel is not enough for pigeons, maybe with a headshot it is enough, only the pigeon's head is so tiny. This is definitely not enough for the body, I think 10-11 mm lead would be just right for pigeon 
cheers


----------



## Bimbo (Oct 20, 2019)

Perhaps you were lacking a bit of band strength, i've seen pigeons get a chest shot with .60 latex, cut at 20-15 tapers and the ammo would go through them, shot at 10 meters... or maybe just aim for the head, i think we all owe our game that.

Happy shooting!


----------



## Island made (Aug 14, 2019)

All depends on your projectile speed I shoot 3/8” steel, but I shoot a 62” draw length butterfly. And all I take is body shots and I always get complete pass throughs. And not just pigeons, I get complete pass on much bigger birds as well. So 3/8 is more than sufficient if it’s going fast enough


----------



## AppalachianFlipShooter (May 9, 2020)

Lead is always my preferred ammo choice but steel can get it done if it's moving fast enough. If you don't have a chronograph, and good way to check your setup to see if it's hunting worthy is too shoot a steel can at your desired hunting distance. If the projectile penetrates the steel, you should be good to go

Sent from my IN2025 using Tapatalk


----------

