# An Old Worn Out Question On Small Ammo !



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

5/16 steel has only about 3 FPE at 30 ish yards .... I' was carrying a single tube light sling today and was wondering, if that ammo has enough poop to pop a Starling at that range.

I was shooting 1/4" steel today with that same rig and it has about 1 FPE at 30 yards ... would use that only for insects ;- )

What is your opinion on 5/16" steel on Starlings, or is that ammo to wimpy ? I know they use 8mm steel in China and other countries a lot for small birds, but was wondering ?

Most of the time 3/8" is the smallest I ever use and mostly it is 16mm marbles. If I'm walking about 1/4oz lead to 1/2 lead or 1/2 steel is in my bag of tricks...... But the slingshot usually has looped 1745"s or better, so it has plenty of strength to throw heavy weight.

wll


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

Google sez that a European starling ( a pest) weighs on an average of 2.68 oz. A foot pound of energy is like six times their weight. Seems like it should knock them out of the park. 5/16 @ 3 FPE should give you a puff of feathers and a dive bomb to the dirt.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

flipgun said:


> Google sez that a European starling ( a pest) weighs on an average of 2.68 oz. A foot pound of energy is like six times their weight. Seems like it should knock them out of the park. 5/16 @ 3 FPE should give you a puff of feathers and a dive bomb to the dirt.


LOL, LOL, LOL Thank s for the funny reply and the info.

wll


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## Devon minnow (Apr 2, 2017)

There was a man on one of the slingshot forums a couple of weeks ago taking out rabbits with .31 cal leads which is just smaller than 5/16 steel. You would have to be very accurate with the shot placement. I have taken pigeons out cleanly with .33 cal leads (8.5mm). Have a go and let us know what happens.


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## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

Devon minnow said:


> There was a man on one of the slingshot forums a couple of weeks ago taking out rabbits with .31 cal leads which is just smaller than 5/16 steel. You would have to be very accurate with the shot placement. I have taken pigeons out cleanly with .33 cal leads (8.5mm). Have a go and let us know what happens.


That same guy occasionally hunts with a 32-20 single shot Contender "handgun" too. Put the lead in the right spot and it matters very little how big or how fast it is going. :naughty:


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

chuckduster01 said:


> Devon minnow said:
> 
> 
> > There was a man on one of the slingshot forums a couple of weeks ago taking out rabbits with .31 cal leads which is just smaller than 5/16 steel. You would have to be very accurate with the shot placement. I have taken pigeons out cleanly with .33 cal leads (8.5mm). Have a go and let us know what happens.
> ...


I used a 32-20 a lot for center fire handgun silhouette ... a great cartridge !!


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Well, I went back out this am and as posted found the slingshot area was USED by some local drug addicts and tried to rip up one of the old buildings on the property.

But I set sail and shot quite a bit using my single tube set up and 1/4" steel ammo. i heard the starlings but man alive they are very hard to see when up in the old oak tree that is there. The closest I can get to that tree is ~40 ish yards, nothing closer as they fly off. As a matter of fact them just seeing me is enough for them most of the time to take off.

I did mange a couple of shots and even at that extended range those 1/4" steel fly pretty darn flat. I sent one shot just to the right and another shot just high, both shots were close and I was happy with the zone I was shooting in. There were rabbits all over the place, but I don't want to shoot 'em .. I'm not starving so I'll leave them for the coyotes.

I just started shooting small ammo, and it is fun because it is so cheap I can shoot and shoot and I may have spent $1.00 for 100ea shots of 5/16, 1/4 would be much cheaper than that at .0049 per ea if you bought 10,000 of them, but for me the 1/4 is to lite to even hunt very small stuff, now If I had big locust, or ? around it would be perfect and I'm sure that type of shooting could keep me entertained for days ;- ) Don't get me wrong the 3/8 steel are very little more than this at $1.28 per 100ea .... how in the heck can you beat that !!!

The 3/8 steel fly very good out of the single tube, marbles are on the heavy side for this set up. I took a marble shot at a long way off and was WAY under the starling I was after.

wll


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Went out again and had some shots but no success. As I was working on form I shot a couple of 1/4 steels at an "burl" on an old oak. I shot at 22 paces using single 3/od x 3/32id tubes and I was totally surprised at the penetration I got. One stuck in deep and one popped out and was lying next to the tree. These little babies have some poop ;- )

wll


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## steveewonders (Dec 30, 2017)

I rarely hunted. But i only know that 7mm steel went clean through a full soda can at 20 meters, a 8mm steel went clean through at 25 meters. Both seemingly had momentums to rip up those cans around the entry holes, used no flatbands or tubes. 1 foot pound was exactly what i'd figured. Couldnt turn that against a feathery thing, just cant make that.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Been shooting the 5/16" steel shot a few minutes today in the 42 deg horrendous windy area that I go to.. The 5/16" is going to work out just fine soon as I can fine the right elastic combo that fits my wants :- ) Besides bands that I will try out I ordered some Orange Dub ... I remember it beeping very quick for its very light pull and may be perfect for 5/16 steel, we will see. I think 5/16 may be just perfect for playing around and pest birds the size of Starlings.

wll


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## gabeb (Jan 1, 2016)

Starlings aren’t that hard to kill, I’ve actually gotten lucky screwing around and killed in mid flight with a .177 B.B. 3/8 drops them in their tracks and so do marbles. 50 cal lead doesn’t leave a bird to get away and assuming you are a good shot 5/16 should work fine if headshot or dented of mass from the back of the bird


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