# Bird Hunting Ammo Sizes



## tomshot123

Hi, does anybody recomend a certain size ammo for wood pigeon hunting with double 1inch wide theraband gold. Any help would be appreciated 
Cheers, tom


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## joshuafed

3/8 inch steel ammo is fine for birds.


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## Charles

With those bands, 3/8 inch steel will be fine in most cases for that sort of game. However, my preference would be 3/8 inch lead or even .44 caliber lead. The lead will have much greater energy at longer distances and will be less likely to be deflected by twigs and leaves.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## treefork

With bands that heavy you need to go with the heavier ammo to really take advantage of the power.Other wise you might as well go with lighter bands for the lighter 3/8 ammo.More efficient with less slap and noise also.Heavy bands get heavy ammo.


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## JLS:Survival

3/8 or 7/16 steel ball or .44 cal. lead


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## Jim Williams

For pigeon I use .44 cal lead


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## Henry the Hermit

3/8 steel is much too light for doubled TBG. .44 lead should work OK.


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## tomshot123

Thanks guys! but how many mm is .44. Lead








Cheers, tom


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## Jim Williams

.44 cal is 11.2mm


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## tomshot123

Ok then thanks! But I think I will use 9.5mm steel because it is very fast and will not rip up as much flesh as I am not accurate enough to hit a birds head








Cheers, tom


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## BCLuxor

tomshot123 said:


> Ok then thanks! But I think I will use 9.5mm steel because it is very fast and will not rip up as much flesh as I am not accurate enough to hit a birds head
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> Cheers, tom


As Charles said the steel will bounce all over the branches and if your not accurate it gets frustrating and dangerous, lead tends to dull thump into the branches and drop down much safer for the misses.


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## tomshot123

That wouldn't be the case where I live as there is not allot of trees with many branches so there is basically no natural forks


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

DO NOT USE 9.5 steel if you can't hit the head, you will not kill the animal, it WILL fly away (unless you're extremely lucky) if you can't hit it's head, practice more on smaller targets, if you still can't hit it's head, use bigger ammo. This comes from a lot of shooting pidgeons, using 9.5 steel ... I've just made a video about it.


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## tomshot123

Surely a chest shot will down a pigeon? I've seen many people hit with chest shots and kill almost instantly around the forum because hitting a birds head is difficult considering their heads are about two inches at most


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## treefork

Heavier is always better for hunting with slingshots. Blunt trauma.


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## tomshot123

I guess but I don't want to ruin too much of the meat


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

tomshot123 said:


> Surely a chest shot will down a pigeon? I've seen many people hit with chest shots and kill almost instantly around the forum because hitting a birds head is difficult considering their heads are about two inches at most


A 9.5 steel won't do it, not in my experience, not even from close range. Either get heavier ammo, or pratice on small targets. The big problem, is it's breastbone, it's really strong, you can see from the straight flight path. I hunt with head-shots from 50' often, it's not too hard.


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## tomshot123

Ok then but how do you get that good?
Cheers, tom


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

tomshot123 said:


> Ok then but how do you get that good?
> Cheers, tom


How do you get good at anything ... practice. Most of my hunting is done between 20-50 feet, and to get the head shots I need with the light set up, I practice with one inch targets from those distances. If you work hard and consistantly, you should be able to hit that kind of target 1/3, or 3/5 after about 6 months, then you'll be ready to start hunting. Then you have to learn all about field hunting, anatomy etc. If you don't know already. Have a look at my shooting videos to see the proof.


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## tomshot123

I get exited if I can hit a can at 35 feet


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## treefork

Practice Practice and then practice some. Keep it fun though .Mix it up in every way you can imagine. This is hobby , not work.


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## August West

tomshot123 said:


> I get exited if I can hit a can at 35 feet


There are some real good videos showing how to get good accuracy, Bill Hays has an excellent one. I would also take the double TBG bands off and go with some lighter bands till my accuracy was good and work my way into the heavy bands. Good luck and let us know how you do. Chris


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## tomshot123

Thanks for all of the advice guys! I appreciate it








Cheers, tom


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## mr.joel

I admittedly haven't killed anything with them, but after much experimentation I think the little .32 lead would work great for birds at high velocity in a longer draw with TBBk or TBBu. They are much easier to pull than a double set of wide TBG needed to launch big 14mms for example. I know some may not agree, and as it's unproven (at least by me) I cannot say this with impunity. Others such as Jeff (Shot in the Foot) have had success with them on feathers. Their penetration is quite remarkable and have little doubt they would pass through a bird.


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## MarsOne

whipcrackdeadbunny said:


> DO NOT USE 9.5 steel if you can't hit the head, you will not kill the animal, it WILL fly away (unless you're extremely lucky) if you can't hit it's head, practice more on smaller targets, if you still can't hit it's head, use bigger ammo. This comes from a lot of shooting pidgeons, using 9.5 steel ... I've just made a video about it.


Hi WCDB,

Any clues as to where I could find your videos?

Cheers
M1


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## August West

Not dead bunny but here you go.


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

tomshot123 said:


> I get exited if I can hit a can at 35 feet


Just keep at it; make sure your bands are evenly made every time, pay attention to where your shot goes (and compensate) and accuracy/consistancy comes from repeating the same shots from the same area; if your first shot is from your shoulder and the second from your cheek, you'll never learn anything exept how to be dissapointed. And for sure, lose the extra layer of bands, it's overkill for small ammo, and just makes it harder. You'll get it.


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

Thanks August.


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## mr.joel

Definitely lose the extra bands-if you're using TBG. I shoot .32/8mm lead (which is similar to 9mm steel in weight) with straight single18mm TBG and it works for screwing around. I think it would not be optimal for bird hunting, however. I'll experiment with a wider tapered set, I bet that would get it done. In truth the thinner TB blue and black seems to bring out the best in the smaller bullets. Velocity is needed for these otherwise wimpy projectiles and the lighter stuff seems to do that without ridiculous draw weights. The tradeoff of course is band life.

I'd also be hard pressed to shoot anything other than birds with 8mm lead.


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## Berkshire bred

i would have to sugest 12mm steel ball for those bands but if you can not hit the shoulders or neck or head it is not really fair to try and hunt.


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## rashid100

i really like 12mm lead balls. they work great on pigeons and rabbits.


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## pgandy

mr.joel said:


> I admittedly haven't killed anything with them, but after much experimentation I think the little .32 lead would work great for birds at high velocity in a longer draw with TBBk or TBBu. They are much easier to pull than a double set of wide TBG needed to launch big 14mms for example. I know some may not agree, and as it's unproven (at least by me) I cannot say this with impunity. Others such as Jeff (Shot in the Foot) have had success with them on feathers. Their penetration is quite remarkable and have little doubt they would pass through a bird.


Mr. Joel I'll agree on that, and think this area needs more exploration. I am not an authority on killing with a ss but I have found that .31 cal lead gives surprisingly good penetration, only slightly less than .38 cal lead, which out penetrates anything I've tested. Large heavy balls seem to be better at giving smashing bone crushing results, while .38 lead seems to be better at drilling a hole. Wing feathers on pigeons are the greatest obstacle, they are very resistant and act somewhat like armour. The problem I find with .31s is that they are harder more me to manage, especially at heavier pulls. With pseudo tapered 1745 I can get 5.3 fpe, and my readings are generally conservative when compared to other's. With double pseudo tapered 2040 I get 4.7 fpe at an easier to manage (with those pesky little .31s) at 15.8# pull. These have less energy than larger diameter shot but I believe the sectional density comes into play, that is more psi upon impact comes into play, explaining the good penetration. Without trying it, I'd say that .31 & .38 cal lead balls have a greater chance penetration those tough wing feathers than larger, heavier balls. You are the first I've heard advocating .31 lead and thought that I'd put in my 2¢.


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## tomshot123

Well, I got my moorhammer some time ago now so I've put it to good use and put some powebands on it (double 30mm to 20mm tbg) I'm currently shooting medium weight 12mm steel/14mm steel so I get some real zippy rounds with a decent weight


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

I find the breast-bone on pigeons almost impossible to penetrate, if anyone has any success with a set-up, please let us know.


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## tomshot123

I have a feeling my bandset would but I'm not entirely sure, well it would completely shatter it no matter what anyway


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