# Hunting with 1/4" steel



## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

Well, as of lately I have been hunting exclusively with daisy 1/4" steel. It's damn small, I know shot placement is crucial. My choice of game lately has been the pesky packrats which always seem to 'repopulate' around my house this time of year. They dig holes, tear up the yard, harass the bird feeders and worst of all get in my engine in my car. So when I started seeing them more frequently ( maybe a week or so ago) it was game on. I went and about some steel ammo, although I normally shoot marbles exclusively, even I know they are best for targets. I didn't anticipate how small the 1/4" still actually is, its damn small. Well today, after quiet a few days of successful pest management, I finally dropped a shot and hit one in the gut. I know it was a gut shot because I was only about 20 feet away, and saw the impact / aftermath. It didn't die right away, and as luck had it, I had no more ammo on me. I scurried back inside and came back out to finish it only to discover it was gone. I felt kind of bad after this, although I know I had accomplished my goal (it is surely dead now), it was far from humane. Shortly after this incident (less than twenty minutes) I took another shot on a different one from a much greater distance, almost 30 yards, and got a head shot pass through.

Moral of the story, you aren't always going to get a kill shot. Your game will eventually escape you injured, and you can't let it get you down.

Out of the dozen or so I have shot in the past week with 1/4" steel, this was the only one that I didn't instantly kill with the first shot or at least critically wound it enough to allow a followup shot.

No one is perfect, and you can't blame yourself.

/end rant


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## AZ Stinger (Aug 30, 2012)

Such is life Mr Paint


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

youll get better, just a matter of time.


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## traveler (May 1, 2013)

I quit hunting rabbits and gophers about 25 yrs ago. I could no longer justify killing for sport and finally felt bad enough to quit. That was with a 22 pistol though. If I was having a problem with them in my yard I would pick up the 22 again. Would not even try with a slingshot as I am not very good yet. Good luck with your pest control.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

What's your band setup for 1/4" ?


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## Jeff Lazerface (May 7, 2013)

I carry a sword.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I still do not see the justification for using such small ammo, even for pack rats. If you hit it with 3/8 lead or .44 lead or probably even 3/8 steel, that gut shot would have put it down ... bigger ammo means more energy down range. And even 3/8 inch steel loses a couple of fps for every foot of forward travel, while .44 lead loses half or less of that. So that 1/4 inch stuff is really slowing down a lot as it moves forward. Although heavier ammo starts off slower, at longer distances it is still moving well, and the energy difference is tremendous.

Don't get me wrong here ... I do not mean to criticize you. I am just wondering why you decided to use that dinky ammo. I would have thought that even your marbles would have been a better choice.

You are absolutely right ... hunting does not always go the way we would like it to ... and it is soul saddening to have a wounded animal get away. Anyone who has hunted very much has had that unfortunate experience. The only thing to do is to analyze the situation and try to learn from it so it does not happen again.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

I am also curious what band setup you are using. I tried 1/4", I didn't like them so I gave them to my nephews and they didn't like them either so there is probably a stash of 1/4" steel in the garage not being used


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

Nicholson said:


> I am also curious what band setup you are using. I tried 1/4", I didn't like them so I gave them to my nephews and they didn't like them either so there is probably a stash of 1/4" steel in the garage not being used


1" straight cut, 7" long.


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## pop shot (Sep 29, 2011)

pretty burly cut for such pinner ammo.


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

mrpaint said:


> Well, as of lately I have been hunting exclusively with daisy 1/4" steel. It's **** small, I know shot placement is crucial. My choice of game lately has been the pesky packrats which always seem to 'repopulate' around my house this time of year. They dig holes, tear up the yard, harass the bird feeders and worst of all get in my engine in my car. So when I started seeing them more frequently ( maybe a week or so ago) it was game on. I went and about some steel ammo, although I normally shoot marbles exclusively, even I know they are best for targets. I didn't anticipate how small the 1/4" still actually is, its **** small. Well today, after quiet a few days of successful pest management, I finally dropped a shot and hit one in the gut. I know it was a gut shot because I was only about 20 feet away, and saw the impact / aftermath. It didn't die right away, and as luck had it, I had no more ammo on me. I scurried back inside and came back out to finish it only to discover it was gone. I felt kind of bad after this, although I know I had accomplished my goal (it is surely dead now), it was far from humane. Shortly after this incident (less than twenty minutes) I took another shot on a different one from a much greater distance, almost 30 yards, and got a head shot pass through.
> 
> Moral of the story, you aren't always going to get a kill shot. Your game will eventually escape you injured, and you can't let it get you down.
> 
> ...


Are you sure those are pack rats? sounds more like ground squirrels. I've never had pack rats dig up the yard.


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## Jeff Lazerface (May 7, 2013)

I shoot squirrel with .75x1.25 tbg i use leadnuts as ammo, I only tried to kill one. I really dont see a point in randomly killing stuff, my son suggested i shoot it. I really like shooting weeds and tiny trees, or flowers. I do plan on hunting this fall wanna get 20-30 squirrels for thanksgiving dinner. That cheek meat, MMMMMMM! its the best part. My grannie used to fry um up all the time and she would get a nutcracker and pop the skulls and eat the brains, me and her sit at the table long after dinner picken at the bits, all the time her with this shyt eating grin. She taught me how to hunt. Ill be using 9mm lead 3/8x7/8 double TBG


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Jeff Lazerface said:


> I shoot squirrel with .75x1.25 tbg i use leadnuts as ammo, I only tried to kill one. I really dont see a point in randomly killing stuff, my son suggested i shoot it. I really like shooting weeds and tiny trees, or flowers. I do plan on hunting this fall wanna get 20-30 squirrels for thanksgiving dinner. That cheek meat, MMMMMMM! its the best part. My grannie used to fry um up all the time and she would get a nutcracker and pop the skulls and eat the brains, me and her sit at the table long after dinner picken at the bits, all the time her with this shyt eating grin. She taught me how to hunt. Ill be using 9mm lead 3/8x7/8 double TBG


I would be wary of eating squirrel brains. There is some evidence that CJD (sometimes known as mad cow disease) can result from eating squirrel brains.

http://www.mad-cow.org/~tom/victim23.html

Cheers ..... Charles


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## halbart (Jan 23, 2013)

Don't make excuses for yourself , mrpaint. ( 'no one is perfect' and ' you can't let it get you down' ). You should have used bigger ammo: you know it, I know it and everyone who reads this knows it !


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

halbart said:


> Don't make excuses for yourself , mrpaint. ( 'no one is perfect' and ' you can't let it get you down' ). You should have used bigger ammo: you know it, I know it and everyone who reads this knows it !


could have, would have, should have. I have moved on to more 'efficient' pest management involving my 10+ year old air rifle. I have been taking them out open sights, even at fairly long range. Point is, they are pests, they don't deserve a larger caliber ammo in my opinion. If one scampers off after I have hit it, I have come to terms with it and can live with myself after. My yard is nearly pest free at this point, I have killed close to 50 in the past two months, many more with the air rifle. Either way, take your negative comments elsewhere. thanks.

on a side note, rockslinger is right, they are prarie dogs, not packrats.


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## AZ Stinger (Aug 30, 2012)

Them are ground squirrels brother, kill em all


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## SuperMonkeySlinger (Jan 28, 2013)

mrpaint said:


> halbart said:
> 
> 
> > Don't make excuses for yourself , mrpaint. ( 'no one is perfect' and ' you can't let it get you down' ). You should have used bigger ammo: you know it, I know it and everyone who reads this knows it !
> ...


 I am not saying you should change your thoughts as if wounded a pest it does'nt bother you, But i have ABSOLUTE Respect for anything and everything i hunt or kill.

I only use 1/4 steel on Small mice, any bigger pests/small game and 1/4 steel is out of the question.

SMS


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

> I am not saying you should change your thoughts as if wounded a pest it does'nt bother you, But i have ABSOLUTE Respect for anything and everything i hunt or kill.
> 
> I only use 1/4 steel on Small mice, any bigger pests/small game and 1/4 steel is out of the question.


These things are **** small, the largest I have taken so far maybe weighed a pound. I am no longer 'hunting' them, just eradicating. I don't give a **** anymore if I hit one and it scampers off back to its hole to die. Maybe his friends will get the drift that they are not welcome anywhere near my house. For me, this is war, all the normal rules of humane hunting went out the window long ago. I actually take joy in eliminating them now.

I wish I could use a convetional firearm, but its out of the question as I have two neighbors living within 1/4 mile of where I am shooting (and one is a d-bag lawyer). I really just need a suppressor for my 22.


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## AZ Stinger (Aug 30, 2012)

They are some nasty suckers, hate em...


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## Numair Ahmed (Jul 10, 2013)

This is my first post I have shot many squirrels with slingshots with many bands and ammo like double tbg and 50cal lead3/8 inch steel if any one knows what bands and ammo are good for squirrel tell me


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

i like 1" straight cut, whatever length fits your draw. It's plenty powerful although the draw weight is more than if u tapered to say 3/4"... however they last longer because of the lack of taper.


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## Numair Ahmed (Jul 10, 2013)

Thanks but what ammo goes best with one inch straight cut and do you double it


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## Numair Ahmed (Jul 10, 2013)

And when I shot the squirrels the ammo bounced off the squirrel


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

although I have doubled it before, I find it unnecessary for anything that I shoot. I use marbles and 1/4" and 3/8" steel.

When doubled I was able to effectively shoot some light arrows, if that gives you any idea of how much power a double band setup with gold is.


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## Adirondack Kyle (Aug 20, 2012)

I use 40 cal lead for hunting, the only thing I have killed with a slingshot is a skunk , and a squirel, both with doubled tbg, tapered f)3/4 to 1/2, although if cut short, this would be a decent ammo weight for single 1" straight cuts


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