# steel or lead for hunting



## -SRS-45-

Okay its something i'd already noticed but the tv thread does highlight the issue.

Surely steel delivers more impact force as it does not absorb so much and distort. So would steel not deliver more impact force on some furry dinner?


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## bullseyeben!

For equal sizes lead is dense, steel is hard. Lead will hit with more weight so unless your shooting elephants or even drop bears, lead should do fine. But so will steel, is good for punching through hard surfaces...


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## gamekeeper john

i will only use 12mm lead when hunting, and i use double theraband gold with a extreme taper of 30mm to 15mm with a 34" draw and a small slimline pouch, I have chrony tested 12mm lead with this taper at over 300fps, i have gone straight through and out the other side of rabbits and pigeons lol, although 12mm lead will take most game at 200fps i like to make sure, i also have some 9.5mm steel that would travel around 350fps with this bandset and some 15mm steel weighing 14gram that travel around 250fps, but the 12mm (10 gram) lead are my favorite when hunting, john


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## Tex-Shooter

Lead works much better than steel for hunting period. Steel ricochets terribly off of game and does not deliver all of its energy. Lead does not bounce or ricochet like steel does. You don't need real heavy flat bands if you are concerned with thumb and wrist problems. A set of my 16 pound pull express bands with a 44 cal. ball will easily dispatch a rabbit or squirrel or other small game up to about 10 or 12 pounds. It is more important to get close enough to the game make a killing shot in a vital zone. My friend Texas Charlie, (now deceased) shot thousands of jack rabbits using a slingshot that only shot about 160 feet per second with 44 cal. lead shot. I have his slingshot and picture of it is in one of my albums. He used 1/2 cast iron nuts most of the time for ammo. He preferred lead but did not have it most of the time. - Tex - PS here is the slingshot that he made himself and used.
http://slingshotforum.com/gallery/image/1648-charlies-flip/


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

I use steel all the time, 9.44 and shot with single strip TBS; it's all about the vitals.


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## Guest

The only "advantage" lead has over steel is weight. Since weight is one thing, but acceleration another, I see no point to use lead. Lower weight=higher speed=more energy.

cheers


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## Tex-Shooter

The heavier the weight of shot from any given slingshot the more energy is produced. Here is a link where you can feed in actual data from a Chrony and prove this. Just take a slingshot with any set of bands and shoot it over the Chrony with 3 different weights of shot. I have proven this time and again with a Chrony. The heavier shot will always produce more energy than the lighter shot. The other thing that lead has over steel is "dead Blow". This works like a lead dead blow hammer. You get no bounce so all of the energy goes into what is being hit and none carried off by the rebound. Of course you will need real data from a Chrony. You also need a impact senser of some type (like a swing meter) to prove the dead blow effect. -- Tex
http://www.airhog.com/convert.htm


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## BCLuxor

I'd state the exact same thing as above lead punches all that energy into the target , steel because it is so hard can just use that energy bouncing off the target. I have always been apprehensive about using lead but of late I have been getting a lot of under penetration using my 9mm steel...


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## Henry the Hermit

Those of us who are hunters and old enough to remember it, can recall when steel shot replaced lead for wildfowl hunting. One immediate effect we noted was that we had to let ducks get closer if we wanted a clean kill. The "cure" was bigger shot and bigger shot loads. Where before a 2 3/4 shell in 12 gage was completely adequate for ducks, today 3 1/2 inch shells are pretty much the standard. There is a good reason why waterfowlers are willing to pay a high premium for tungsten shotshells.

Steel is less dense and harder than lead. Since it is less dense, steel of a given size will weigh less than lead of the same size. Ex: 3/8 inch steel = 50 grains, 3/8 lead (wheelweights) = 70 grains. You must drive steel faster than lead to get the same energy. Faster speed = shorter band life = increased possibility of breakage just as you are about to take the shot.

Lead is the clear winner for hunting.


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## hawk2009

I would say if your a poor shot use huge lead ammo it does not matter where you hit it you will stop it, but if your a crackshot one through the eye of your prey with small steel will also stop it lol. seriously though to those who have never hunted rabbits etc. dont expect to hit your prey and kill it out right, I have been to many shoots and harvested alot of game myself, I would say at least half or more of the game you get you will need to finish yourself with you own hands, you may very well read this and say yes no problem but can you really do it., it's harder than you think.


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## shot in the foot

Lead every time, you dont need a croney just look at my head shots in the hunt part, ha ha


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## TimR

Depending on where you are shooting, there can be a safety issue with steel.

If you hit a hard surface, like steel or rock, a steel projectile comes back with 95% of the speed. And it might be coming back your direction.

That's why I never allowed a bb gun in the house when I had small children around. They were allowed to use pellet guns where the lead pellets don't bounce.

Years ago I shot a treed raccoon with a wrist rocket and steel. I hit him in the shoulder and the ball whizzed back over my head. Of course bouncing off a relatively soft object it lost a lot of speed, but I guess if I'd missed and hit the tree trunk (you never miss, but I do) it might have been a problem.

My basement has concrete block walls, If I miss my catch box (you never miss, but I do <g>) steel would come right back at me. Hard.


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## Tex-Shooter

I knew about the danger of steel also, but forgot to mention it! Thanks Tim! Shooters also remember to always wear safety glasses. --Tex


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## gamekeeper john

shot in the foot said:


> Lead every time, you dont need a croney just look at my head shots in the hunt part, ha ha


hahaha, thats right jeff, its ok testing ammo size, speed and weight e.c.t. but the real results are dead game in the pot lol, and we've both had a lot of that lately,







To be honest i think i do go "over kill" but theres nothing wrong with that, theres nothing wrong with having a racing car thats to fast or being a body builder thats to strong so why not have a catty thats to powerful........ i say the more energy delivered the better for hunting









I do always aim for a head shot but you cant always garuntee it thats why i like all the energy i can get so if i hit it anywere else its not going to run / fly of injured, john


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## shooter452

Lead is hands down better than steel for hunting.

BUT......Steel can be and is still an effective choice......just not as good as lead.


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## Charles

Sorry, duplicate post.

Cheers ........ Charles


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## BCLuxor

I'm going to start re using my camera now I solved the problem of getting the woodies back into my garden ,im getting a lot of shots at them ill film in the slomo I use so you can see just how in effective steel can be ... most the time the ball will hit with a dull thud and when I go out to where thebird was I can find the shot normally hence why now I try to use lead on targets .


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## Charles

Charles said:


> Let me add a little to this debate. I have been hunting most of my life, most of it with guns. I also have a decent understanding of physics. I think that with few exceptions, lead is far superior to steel for hunting. The only exception as far as I am concerned has to do with hunting around water. I am considering hunting bull frogs in some local lakes. I prefer lead. But lead in and around the water is likely to be eaten by waterfowl ... that was essentially the reason for banning lead shot from duck hunting. So I would consider steel ammo for frogs (or fish).
> 
> I am not going to go through a bunch of equations here, but rather let me tell you a couple of little stories. I was hunting moose with some friends. I was using a modern single shot 45-70 rifle. I was shooting a 405 grain bullet at a bit over 1800 feet per second. There was a fellow with us using a 7 mm magnum, shooting a 150 grain bullet at 3100 feet per second. In camp one day, he was extolling the characteristics of his weapon, and belittling mine. So I set up a couple of logs about 18 inches in diameter, one behind the other. We backed up about 50 yards, and he took a shot. Chips flew, and a small crater was blasted out of the front log. We split the log and found the slug about 8 inches inside, all mangled. Then it was my turn. I fired, and not a lot happened. The fellow was laughing until we split the log. The bullet had gone all the way through. We split the second log, and the bullet had gone all the way through that as well. The moral of that story had to do with momentum. That heavier bullet, though moving more slowly, just punched straight on through. And it did not matter if there was a tree branch in the way, or even a good sized tree. That big, slow moving bullet was going to punch through.
> 
> Here is the second story. Later in that same hunt, the fellow with the 7 mm mag shot a moose, and it ran off. After a few hundred yards, there was no blood trail ... that little bullet hole in the hide just sealed up. After an intensive search, we did eventually find the moose dead about 500 yards away. It was reasonably well shot in the shoulder, and the bullet had stayed in the animal, expending all its energy. But it still took a while for the moose to die, and we almost lost it. I have seen a lot of game shot with small diameter bullets that still manages to get away.
> 
> Here is the third story. The first moose I ever killed, I used an 8 mm Mauser ... basically equivalent to a 30-06. I shot it at about 150 yards, just behind the shoulder. It fell down and then got up and tried to get away. I shot it again, and down it went. But it got up again, so I shot it once more. By this time I had run up to within 50 yards of the beast, and I shot it in the head as it was trying to get up yet again. When we skinned it out, you could cover the first three shots with the palm of your hand. The heart and lungs had been hit. The three bullets were nicely mushroomed under the hide on the far side. From then on, I began hunting with large bore rifles. I can guarantee you that when you punch a half inch diameter hole all the way through an animal, it is not going to go far. And you will find it easy to trail because it will be spewing blood out of both sides ... you will not need to cut its throat when you get to it. A half inch hole in the hide is not going to just close up.
> 
> If I were hunting sheep or goat in the mountains where I might have to take a shot at 200 yards or better, I would go with the 7 mm mag because of its flatter trajectory. But in heavy brush where you are lucky to see your game at 100 yards, I will take a big bore every time ... preferably .45 caliber.
> 
> So, what does all this have to do with lead vs steel for hunting with a sling shot? That lead ball is going to pack one heck of a whallop, as compared to the steel. The steel may be moving faster initially, but it just does not have the striking power of that lead ball. Also, the heavier ball will be more effective at a distance ... the lighter projectile will shed velocity faster than the heavier projectile. Think about it like this ... if you are standing on your roof, planning to clobber someone on the ground, which of the following would you rather do: 1) Throw a small stone, say the size of the end of your thumb, or 2) drop a concrete block on them. You can throw that stone at a much higher velocity than the block, but that block is going to be more effective because of its much greater mass.
> 
> Well, as I say in such debates: to each his/her own. Go with what suits you. But for me, lead is clearly superior to steel because it has more mass for the same size projectile. That lead projectile is going to result in greater damage to your target.
> 
> Cheers ...... Charles


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## Tex-Shooter

The problem John is there are a lot of shooters that will develop Carpel syndrome or Trigger finger if shooting to heavy of bands for an extended period of time. That is not a guess, I know quite a few that it already happened to and a few are on this forum. I don’t have permission to list them, but one that has posted about it on this forum is Jim Harris. -- Tex


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## A+ Slingshots

If you have a choice, choose LEAD as has been said many times above.


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## PandaMan

Well lets think of it in terms of the physics.
Say you have a 3/8 inch steel ball, which weighs 50 grains (3.2 grams) and a 3/8 inch lead ball, which weighs 70 grains (4.5 grams). You use the same bands to propel them. The lead ball travels at 200 fps (61 m/s) and the steel at 250 fps (75 m/s). Say that on impact, it takes both projectiles half a second to slow to a halt, thus transferring all the energy.
F = ma. 
F, the force, is what we are trying to find out. 
m, the mass, we have.
a, the acceleration (in this case in the opposite direction of the projectile's flight [so deceleration]) is simple logic. The lead ball, travelling at 61 m/s, must stop in half a second. Therefore the rate of deceleration has to be double the speed - 122 ms[sup]-2[/sup]. The steel ball is travelling at 76 m/s, so the rate of deceleration must be 152 ms[sup]-2[/sup]
Therefore, using F = ma, *the force of impact of the steel ball would be* F = 0.0032kg x 152 ms[sup]-2[/sup], which equals *0.4864 newtons.*
*The force of impact of the lead ball would be* F = 0.0045kg x 122 ms[sup]-2[/sup], which equals *0.549 newtons*.
Seeing as both balls are the same size, the force would be distributed in the same manner, but the lead ball has more force. To prove this, the formula P = F/a. Pressure = Force / area. So take for example the lead ball. Pressure = 0.549 / quite small number (the part of the ball that impacts the target) The steel ball's pressure on the target would be
Pressure = 0.4864 / the same small number (because the same sized ball). The pressure on the target, and therefore the energy transfer must be more with the lead, because it is the biggest of the two forces, divided by the same number. Logical...

Now you may be thinking "hold on... that is the force required to slow the object to a halt, not the force of the impact." 
Well according to Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. There is a force acting on the projectile, so there must be a force exerted on the target. Otherwise the projectile would not stop.

All of this is of course ignoring gravity, air resistance, etc. But the principles are there, and that is that lead is always more powerful than steel.

PandaMan









p.s. in case any of you guys didn't notice, I like physics and maths.


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## shot in the foot

PandaMan said:


> Well lets think of it in terms of the physics.
> Say you have a 3/8 inch steel ball, which weighs 50 grains (3.2 grams) and a 3/8 inch lead ball, which weighs 70 grains (4.5 grams). You use the same bands to propel them. The lead ball travels at 200 fps (61 m/s) and the steel at 250 fps (75 m/s). Say that on impact, it takes both projectiles half a second to slow to a halt, thus transferring all the energy.
> F = ma.
> F, the force, is what we are trying to find out.
> m, the mass, we have.
> a, the acceleration (in this case in the opposite direction of the projectile's flight [so deceleration]) is simple logic. The lead ball, travelling at 61 m/s, must stop in half a second. Therefore the rate of deceleration has to be double the speed - 122 ms[sup]-2[/sup]. The steel ball is travelling at 76 m/s, so the rate of deceleration must be 152 ms[sup]-2[/sup]
> Therefore, using F = ma, *the force of impact of the steel ball would be* F = 0.0032kg x 152 ms[sup]-2[/sup], which equals *0.4864 newtons.*
> *The force of impact of the lead ball would be* F = 0.0045kg x 122 ms[sup]-2[/sup], which equals *0.549 newtons*.
> Seeing as both balls are the same size, the force would be distributed in the same manner, but the lead ball has more force. To prove this, the formula P = F/a. Pressure = Force / area. So take for example the lead ball. Pressure = 0.549 / quite small number (the part of the ball that impacts the target) The steel ball's pressure on the target would be
> Pressure = 0.4864 / the same small number (because the same sized ball). The pressure on the target, and therefore the energy transfer must be more with the lead, because it is the biggest of the two forces, divided by the same number. Logical...
> 
> Now you may be thinking "hold on... that is the force required to slow the object to a halt, not the force of the impact."
> Well according to Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. There is a force acting on the projectile, so there must be a force exerted on the target. Otherwise the projectile would not stop.
> 
> All of this is of course ignoring gravity, air resistance, etc. But the principles are there, and that is that lead is always more powerful than steel.
> 
> PandaMan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> p.s. in case any of you guys didn't notice, I like physics and maths.


Thats what i said, lead go,s in rabbit better,


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## PandaMan

shot in the foot said:


> Thats what i said, lead go,s in rabbit better,










yes, I just thought I'd explain why...








Y'know, I think I actually did the maths wrong... The forces seem to small


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## Henry the Hermit

PandaMan said:


> Thats what i said, lead go,s in rabbit better,










yes, I just thought I'd explain why...








[/quote]

OK, but some of us like to keep things simple. In my case it's "shoot duck with lead=duck for dinner and shoot duck with steel=duck feathers for dinner".


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## PandaMan

Henry in Panama said:


> OK, but some of us like to keep things simple. In my case it's "shoot duck with lead=duck for dinner and shoot duck with steel=duck feathers for dinner".


But that isn't necessarily true; you could kill a duck with a steel ball. Lead would just do it better.


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## gamekeeper john

Tex-Shooter said:


> The problem John is there are a lot of shooters that will develop Carpel syndrome or Trigger finger if shooting to heavy of bands for an extended period of time. That is not a guess, I know quite a few that it already happened to and a few are on this forum. I don't have permission to list them, but one that has posted about it on this forum is Jim Harris. -- Tex


thanks tex i will keep that in mind, i dont think it would affect me though as i only hunt once or twice a week and most the time only shoot about 10 shots, cheers john


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## Guest

Double the weihgt of a bullet = double the energy
Double the speed of a bullet = quadruple the energy

Just something to think about.

cheers


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## PandaMan

of course... E = mc[sup]2[/sup]....








That's why rail guns are so powerful. They use small, light projectiles, but get them to such speeds. 
However, in terms of steel and lead, the difference in speed and its relation to weight is not enough to make the faster steel a more effective hunting projectile than lead.


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## Charles

E=mc² said:


> Double the weihgt of a bullet = double the energy
> Double the speed of a bullet = quadruple the energy
> 
> Just something to think about.
> 
> cheers


There is nothing wrong with what you say, but that is not the whole story.

First of all, the difference in velocity between a 3/8 steel ball and a .44 caliber lead ball is not going to be double. But consider the mass. By my scale, the 3/8 inch steel weighs 55 grains, while the .44 lead weighs 122 grains. In general, a slingshot will probably fire that lead ball about 2/3 the speed at which it will fire the steel ball. So even though the energy goes up as the square of the velocity but only linearly as the mass of the projectile, the differences in velocity are not going to tip the energy equation in favor of 3/8 inch steel over .44 lead. I do not have on hand a 3/8 inch lead ball, but I surmise the differences in velocity will again not give the energy favor to the steel.

Secondly, as I tried to indicate by my examples above, energy is just not all there is to it. From my hunting experience, momentum is a better concept to consider when you are thinking about killing game. The equation for linear momentum is (using p for linear momentum):

p = mass x velocity

It is a lot easier to double the mass of a slingshot projectile rather than double its velocity. Momentum is basically a measure of how hard it is to stop something in motion. A slow moving but heavy projectile will be harder to stop than a faster moving but light projectile (unless the velocity is extreme). That is why being hit with a ball of tinfoil does not hurt nearly as much as being hit with a ball of lead. That is why long range sniper rifles these days are .50 caliber. Those big bullets still pack a serious punch wayyy down range. That is also why a lot of artillery is made with depleted uranium ... uranium is even heavier than lead.

When you hit something with a slingshot projectile, you want that projectile to have as much momentum as possible ... you want that projectile to be hard to stop. The harder it is to stop, the more damage it will do to your target.

Sorry to go on about this.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Tex-Shooter

Ok this is actual data as recorded by Joergs reviewing one of my Express band assemblies. All shots were with the same set of bands stretched the same length and pulled the same weight. Here are the results. As you can see the larger the ball the more energy produced, of course there is a time when a ball gets so slow it is not effective for hunting. I would guess that would around 120/130 FPS. FPS is Feet per second and FPE is foot pounds energy. -- Tex
A 48 grain ball reached a speed of 262 FPS for energy of 7.318 FPE or 9.922 Joules
A 160 grain ball reached a speed of 208 FPS for energy of 15.375 FPE or 20.844 Joules
A 416 grain ball reached a speed of 157 FPS for energy of 20.774 FPE or 30.875 Joules


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## JoergS

As far as penetration goes, I tested various ammo on a pig's cheek, with the thick skin still on it.

All of the bullets penetrated, but the 9mm lead went in the deepest. About twice as deep as the 9mm steel ball.

None of the steel bullets bounced back.


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## Nico

I've never used steel balls to hunt rabbits or fowl.. I have only killed 3 crows using lead and 1 was a 1/4 ounce egg sinker the other 2 were with 44 cal lead balls.

That being said all the other game I have killed has been with stones, but I would not be against trying steel balls for hunting.

My father once told me that he did kill a rabbit with 3/8 steel ball using his homemade slingshot with modified marksman tubes. He said the small steel ball penetrated the skull.

I think that all of the ammo kills and its really a matter of what you feel more comfortable using, how well you shoot and your proficiency with your slingshot.

Some guys kick ass with steel balls, some kick ass with lead and some kick ass with stones









All pseudo scientic blabber aside, steel balls will kill as well as anything else..

Nico


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

One of the reasons I use smaller steel balls, is penetration over impact trauma. The trauma of hitting with lead, can bruise and ruin meat; but Joerg has a point about the smaller lead balls, if you can get penetration and impact, all the better. Another reason, lighter ammo, longer band life; but mainly I don't have a decent lead supplier.


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## -SRS-45-

That's some good food for thought.

My current stock pile is 3/8 lead 3/8 steel 7/16 lead 7/16 steel oh and 14mm clay for plinking. From the info I'll prob have a try with the 3/8 lead and steel for the impact trauma.

I like the idea of steel better as losing lead worries me as its not the safrst material


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

-SRS-45- said:


> That's some good food for thought.
> 
> My current stock pile is 3/8 lead 3/8 steel 7/16 lead 7/16 steel oh and 14mm clay for plinking. From the info I'll prob have a try with the 3/8 lead and steel for the impact trauma.
> 
> I like the idea of steel better as losing lead worries me as its not the safrst material


Where did you get your balls?


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## Tex-Shooter

Hey I am not the shot warden,







so use what ever shot that you like, but I have used both lead and steel on small game and lead will give you a better chance for a clean kill every time because of the increased ricochet effect of steel. I don't shoot lead over water, but I don't think that ducks eat the larger sizes of lead shot (3/8 and up). I do think that lead is somewhat toxic so it should not be used for target or plinking. I use a 1/2 inch steel ball for target and a 44 cal. lead ball for hunting. They both weigh the same and so they both shoot about the same which means the same trajectory out to about 40 yards or father than you should shoot when hunting with a slingshot. -- Tex


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

This has turned out to be a really interesting thread, well done guys.


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## shot in the foot

whipcrackdeadbunny said:


> One of the reasons I use smaller steel balls, is penetration over impact trauma. The trauma of hitting with lead, can bruise and ruin meat; but Joerg has a point about the smaller lead balls, if you can get penetration and impact, all the better. Another reason, lighter ammo, longer band life; but mainly I don't have a decent lead supplier.


I only aim for the head, but like ive said before i take a dog with me if i miss and have a body shoot, as long as you aim for the head, is rare you will hit the meat, there isnt much on the front end, my dogs get the front in a stew and i get the best end ha ha, jeff


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## -SRS-45-

whipcrackdeadbunny said:


> That's some good food for thought.
> 
> My current stock pile is 3/8 lead 3/8 steel 7/16 lead 7/16 steel oh and 14mm clay for plinking. From the info I'll prob have a try with the 3/8 lead and steel for the impact trauma.
> 
> I like the idea of steel better as losing lead worries me as its not the safrst material


Where did you get your balls?
[/quote]

I get the steel's off ebay, you can find them pretty cheap.

Lead, I've got the gear to make my own, failing that Aplus website does pretty much every size you could want really well finished. I have bought lead balls on ebay but didn't like them as much as they were out of a fishing cast so pretty rough.

Clay obviously I make myself with the help of a boilie roller and pretty much costless clay off cuts from a clay artist.


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

-SRS-45- said:


> I get the steel's off ebay, you can find them pretty cheap.
> 
> Lead, I've got the gear to make my own, failing that Aplus website does pretty much every size you could want really well finished. I have bought lead balls on ebay but didn't like them as much as they were out of a fishing cast so pretty rough.
> 
> Clay obviously I make myself with the help of a boilie roller and pretty much costless clay off cuts from a clay artist.


I got my steel off e-bay too; I'm looking for lead really, just to try.


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## lilmoe

may I add something ?

the choice of ammo and the propelling force that should be used depends on what game you are out for.
so it is a combination of the rubber and the material of the projectile.
for example : birds , like ducks pheasansts aso. are animals with a bodystructure that is not so dense and
with a lot of vulnerable spots. but they tend to be alert and when flying fast moving. a fast rubber with a
light ammo will still kill them or at least set them unconcious or to amotile state,
and the chance of hitting them increases the faster your projectile travels.
Animals like rabbits or similar have a more dense structure of the the body and you have to deliver
a bit more impact energy to kill them. so the energy that travels with the projectile has to be higher.
unfortuntatly rubber does have a quite linear behaviour when it comes to acceleration.
the maximum speed a rubber can provide while contracting equals almost the maximum speed of the

projectile. the difference is that a thougher band can deliver almost the same speed to a steelball
as to a heavier lead ball. a lead ball with the same mass of a steelball
still carries more impact and penetrates deeper since it is smaller,
heavier and travels almost at the same speed as the steelball when shot with a strong rubber.

that means the impulse law : m1 x v1 = m2 x v2 is not quite active here.
a stronger rubber does not neccessarily mean an increase of bullet speed.
to increase bullet speed a rubber has to be fast.
there is one law active here : kinetic energy : E = 1/2 m x V(squared)
alongside with some impact ballistics

the impact on the target and how it works on the target (deer) depends on:
diameter of the bullet, speed of the bullet, weight of the bullet (the energy it carries due
to the inertia of masses in movement)
possible resistance of the targets body also.

a lead ball at same weight has the advantage that it is smaller ,still having the same mass therefore pushing more pressure
on a smaller impact ground therefore likely to penetrate further.

but that can be compensated when you choose a game that needs less impact energy to be killed just by the fact that
a steelball with the same diameter is not as heavy as a leadball and can be shot with a lighter rubber and therefore will be faster.

my humble conclusion is : choose your game and adjust ammo and rubber that you use.
and another thing: experience is the most precious thing you can have. go plinking and then choose whats best for you...


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## -SRS-45-

Dup post...


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## -SRS-45-

whipcrackdeadbunny said:


> I get the steel's off ebay, you can find them pretty cheap.
> 
> Lead, I've got the gear to make my own, failing that Aplus website does pretty much every size you could want really well finished. I have bought lead balls on ebay but didn't like them as much as they were out of a fishing cast so pretty rough.
> 
> Clay obviously I make myself with the help of a boilie roller and pretty much costless clay off cuts from a clay artist.


I got my steel off e-bay too; I'm looking for lead really, just to try.
[/quote]

Perry from aplus could prob do you a mix bag of lead. If not I could send you 10 9.5mm and 10 11.1mm if you covered the cost of postage and the shots


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## mckee

lead


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