# Power, oh Power, where art thou Power



## Silentkill (Feb 18, 2014)

Hi folks. Today was the first day I've been on a 'hunt' and instead of feeling great and proud of putting my catapult practice into 'live' practice, I feel more annoyed and let down. Let me te'll you why. 
I've been practicing for a while now and my shots are fairly accurate. The catapult I'm using is a black widow with orange tubes alongside 9mm steel ball bearings. So today I decided I would see if I could take down some feral pigeons. After mooching around and finally seeing an opportunity for a kill. I took my time to make sure I had the correct stance and to take my time (bear in mind I'm only 5metres away) I took the shot hoping to get a headshot unfortunately I didn't get it in the head although I hit it at the top of its breast just below it's neck. To ny absoukte amazement and anger the pigeon shrugged it off as though nothing had happened abd flew off! I was expecting it to have a puff of feathers and drop to the ground so not what I expected or wanted.
I've seen many pictures of small game taken with 9mm steel why couldn't I do it?
I have been thinking about getting a Pocket predator hatchcock sniper shipped over and using 12mm lead. Could someone please point me in the right direction and tell me why maybe I didn't manage to kill the pigeon which was tickled by my black widow. Thanks all


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## Silentkill (Feb 18, 2014)

Ps I think I got the 8000th post do I get a prize? Lol


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## Silentkill (Feb 18, 2014)

Topic *


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

The feathers on a pigeon's breast are pretty thick.Your shot probably passed through feathers.


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

Well I am no expert on giving a advice on hunting with a slingshot by any means..I have done a lot of reading in different

areas of the forum..like video's art of hunting...different bands & tubes for more power & you want your bans ot tubes to be strong enough for the ammo you are using..I have read a lot of shooter perfer Lead Balls..like .440 round ball or .459 round ball

Heavy lead ammo is very damaging..has great impact..some of your small steel balls are light in weight..9mm 10mm 11mm..16mm

so from what I have read chose a heavy lead ammo...I my self have not hunted in many many yrs with a slingshot..

I am a great killer of soda cans..beer cans..teaspoons..Best to you in your search for better ammo....~AKAOldmiser


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## Sunchierefram (Nov 16, 2013)

Like Henry said, the breast is probably the most armored part of the bird. Why else do you think people aim for the head when hunting turkeys? It's because the feathers act like armor and the shot bounces off of it.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I have moved this down to the hunting section, where it seems more appropriate.

I would suggest that you need to use heavier ammo ... 9mm steel is very light for most any hunting. Yep, with a head shot it will do the job ... but miss the head and it becomes pretty iffy. Just check the following thread to see what others have been using:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/16188-effective-hunting-setups/

Some do report success with fairly light ammo, but that is the exception. For light ammo to be effective, it has to be moving at a pretty high velocity ... higher than what most folks would be shooting.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Five meters with a 9mm ball should be no problem for a kill. I suspect you had a glancing blow through the feathers or your bands are way underpowered, perhaps due to the winter cold.

As an aside; Everyone tries for head/neck shots in order to make a clean kill and, a clean kill is always desired. I'm a bird hunter. The reality is that bird hunters use scatter guns for a reason. Birds (on the wing) are hard to hit and so it is not uncommon at all to have to dispatch a bird after bringing it down. The other day someone was disparaging someone else for having only broken a wing on a bird. A shot that brings down a bird is a good shot whether it is a head, body or wing shot. What is most important to me is that when you have an injured bird you dispatch it quickly.

winnie


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

Past through the feathers no body hit.


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## BlackBob (Mar 8, 2013)

If the pigeons crop was full it would make a vast difference, full crop and feathers is really tough armour.


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## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

.50 cal steel ball from that close its over. The black widow is better off with heavier ammo, I shot larger rocks with mine. when I was using the 9mm steel with my black widow I wasnt seeing much power because the rubber wasnt being worked and the stones had delivered more energy. shoots half inch steel very well too


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## JUSTJOB (Dec 26, 2013)

.44 cal. lead, or .50 steel. 9mm is just too small unless you have blistering speed. You hit it, so it was a good shot, just get some heavier ammo, and the next one will be dinner!


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