# 5/16 or 3/8 Bulk Ammo Buy ?



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Looking to buy a large quantity of steel ball ammo, the 5/16 is much, much cheaper and is ok for starlings.....But the 3/8 is quite a bit heavier and will have more energy down range for longer shots and bigger game.

Spending 49.95 for 4,000 rounds of 5/16 compared to ~ 80.00 for 4,000 is a big difference.

I'll most likely be using this for messing around shooting in the desert and be a replacement for marbles that I use a lot of. These sizes are actually cheaper than the bulk marbles I can get now .... marble prices went way up in the past two years ! I'm looking at less than .02 for 3/8 and about .012 for 5/16 steel.

How say you ?

wll


----------



## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

You are someone who REALLY needs a good backstop...

...as do the rest of us...

I feel your pain. I guess we'll go back to shooting with road gravel - oh, wait! Rufus Hussey mastered that! Maybe not such a bad thing...

THWACK!

BTW - it's getting harder to find lead wheelweights anymore due to lead restrictions - but if you can get them, and a mold, you can make your own ammo. Mine are .495, a bit on the heavy/big side, but if I ever come across a moose in south Florida...


----------



## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

I spent a lot of years with 3/8" steel but changed to mainly 5/16" and 7mm. The smaller ammo still does fine for plinking out to 75 yards and shoots a lot flatter with the same draw weight.


----------



## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

It's like firearm ammo, steel slingshot ammo is getting expensive these days.

A good backstop will save you large amounts of money, as you'll use the same ammo again and again for every practice session.

A simple, yet effective backstop can consist of trestles with old bath towels slung over them and a piece of corrugated cardboard that shows the impact holes nicely, but also stops remaining ammo rebound behind it. You just go scoop up all the ammo lying at the bottom of the towels for the next round. This is what I've been doing for a long time: I've not purchased new ammo for quite a while now.

Shooting at tin cans and other stuff is ideally done somewhere where you'll find the ammo after the fun - or using a suitable backstop based on one of the great designs posted in this forum.

The cost of steel ball bearings varies like everything else, but shipping is what can really drive up prices. The German supplier "Kugel Winnie" sells 9 mm ammo at EUR 14.35 per 1,000, but shipping costs need to be added.

Aliexpress seems to be quite expensive when it comes to steel ammo, but shipment costs doubtlessly play a major role:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32863586844.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.6a6422beMjDnEy&algo_pvid=ba4116a1-eef1-49ff-ad7e-6800e161bf8c&algo_expid=ba4116a1-eef1-49ff-ad7e-6800e161bf8c-7&btsid=a3990591-7167-4fdd-95d6-26171c996f94&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_7,searchweb201603_55

My 2 cents worth...


----------



## KawKan (May 11, 2013)

Many of us - myself included - seem to have a mental block on plinking with steel, when we scatter marbles around happily.

But steel is often cheaper than glass.

I started using .177 bbs for shooting in the woods. My current compromise. May move up to 5/16 in the future, but I have a few thousand bbs to use up first!


----------



## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

Dollar store marbles with cost almost exactly what you are paying for your 5/16. If you buy a case from them they may even be willing to do better on the price.


----------



## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

I use .177 bbs or quarter inch steel when shooting where I can't recover the ammo. Both are cheap and available at Walmart.


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Well I'm still pondering, going through my old notes and such.

Looped 2040 would send the 5/16 flying hard and maybe 1842's for 3/8, but 2040 may be fine and give me Starling hunting speed with flat trajectory with 3/8 steel ... I don't know ?

Here are a couple of shots at a old oak knot at around 25 yards as I remember from around 2-3 years ago, one 5/16 stuck in and the other put a deep hole in the wood. I was using Green Dub at the time and the tubes were overkill, but the balls were flying well above the 275 mark on this hot day by my chrony.










wll.


----------



## Cjw (Nov 1, 2012)

On e-bay









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

I agree with everyone else about getting a good backstop Wil....then ammo expense becomes a once in a long while expense......but if you just blast away with no recovery method, then it can get very expensive quickly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jazz (May 15, 2012)

just a thought about the price:

a. 4000 rounds of 5/16 steel is about 8.16 kg (49.95$)

b. 4000 round of 3/8 steel is about 14,2 kg (80.00$)

IF you take the weight as the main parameter then the simple rule says that 4000 rounds of 3/8 steel should cost 86.9 $ - not a bad deal I guess..

cheers,

jazz


----------



## Jerry K (Feb 17, 2017)

*SAW THIS ON AMAZON*

by BC Precision

3000 Qty 3/8" Inch Steel Shot Slingshot Ammo Balls

 [I]4.2 out of 5 stars[/I]   11 ratings 

Price:

$52.85 ($0.02 / Ammo balls) & *FREE Ship*

by BC Precision

3000 Qty 3/8" Inch Steel Shot Slingshot Ammo Balls

 [I]4.2 out of 5 stars[/I]   11 ratings 

Price:

$52.85 ($0.02 / Ammo balls) & *FREE Ship*

by BC Precision

3000 Qty 3/8" Inch Steel Shot Slingshot Ammo Balls

 [I]4.2 out of 5 stars[/I]   11 ratings 

Price:

$52.85 ($0.02 / Ammo balls) & *FREE Ship*


----------



## Jerry K (Feb 17, 2017)

​
5000 QTY - 3/8" Inch Steel Slingshot Ammo Shot Balls
Brand New

$67.95
FAST 'N FREE
Buy It Now
Guaranteed by Fri, Nov. 22
Free Shipping
Top Rated Plus
Free Returns


----------



## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

*I dabble in 3/8 but required draw weight determines most of my shooting - longer sessions favor lighter ammo. I like the speed of quarters and the cost is reasonable, recovered or not.*


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Jerry K said:


> ​​
> 
> 
> 5000 QTY - 3/8" Inch Steel Slingshot Ammo Shot Balls
> ...


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

That is the be best price yet on 3/8 steel, if bc can't best it, I will order these.

wll


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

I just bought at the 5000 3/8" price point ... for me and a buddy of mine ------ I should be set for quite a few sessions ... they are quite a bit cheaper than the discount marbles I was getting.

wll


----------



## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

I'm a small ammo/light set up guy as well. My go to is .177 bbs and clay shot. The vast majority of my shots outdoors are not recovered. BBs and clay shot are so cheap I don't think twice about it. Indoors I shoot the heavy 6mm plastic airsoft ammo. The 6mm is recovered and reused.


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Went out today with a wire frame Chinese sling and some 3/8 and 5/16 steel using 2040 looped tubes. I can say that the 3/8 steel balls are a nice fast hunting ammo with this set up. The 5/16 are flying faster and would still be fine for Starling size game for sure. Being I'm out in the desert area my shots are all 20+ min to around the 40ish yard area. The 3/8 steel balls have the poop at that range for pest birds.

I also shot another wire sling using 3050 tubes and it sent the 3/8 balls flying very well, the 3050 size is nice pulling back. The static length is around 6.5" and my draw length is around the 32-33" area under my ear lobe under my aiming eye. Below is a pic of that sling using my weld nut gypsy mini loop attachment method.










wll


----------



## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

This has been posted before, but try Royal Steel Ball Products for Cheap steel ammo! Be sure to ask for slingshot ammo! Welcome to Royal Steel Ball Products, Inc.'s web based home


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Went back out this afternoon and flung some more ammo.

My shooting is getting better as I'm concentrating much on where my forks are in relation to the target and trying to keep my anchor just below the earlobe. I'm also concentrating on a quick and smooth release and a consistent follow through.

The 3/8" ammo feels real good with the pouches and the double tubes I use ... 2040,3050,1842 tube sizes seem to work very well, although all may be a bit heavy for 3/8" steel, but all these tubes send this ammo at hunting speeds I feel.

I'll be heading out tomorrow before football to get some more practice in.

wll


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Went back out today, and again was happy with my shooting. Shot mostly 3/8 steel at my usual lasered ranges of 30-45 yards and the steel was really getting out fast using 3050 and pulling back fully to my anchor point.

I'm at the point that I need to really need to make finer adjustments on my aiming as my misses aren't by much.

I threw my old catchbox out a few years ago, but I think I need to build a smaller more portable unit.

wll


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Here is a steel can I smacked a few times with marbles at about 27 yards, I sure would hate to be a Starling being hit with a 5/8" marble !










wll


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

wll said:


> Went back out today, and again was happy with my shooting. Shot mostly 3/8 steel at my usual lasered ranges of 30-45 yards and the steel was really getting out fast using 3050 and pulling back fully to my anchor point.
> 
> I'm at the point that I need to really need to make finer adjustments on my aiming as my misses aren't by much.
> 
> ...


I found my first catch box backstop I made many years ago and if it stops raining I will give it a go this weekend.

wll


----------

