Birdie's Gift is the eighth mission in Hitman: Absolution. The goal is to retrieve 47's Silverballers from a gun store. This can be done either by winning a shooting contest or by stealing them.
The shooting range.
The Contest[]
- Related Challenges: Bullseye, Depends on the Girl
The shooting contest.
The goal of the contest is to beat the record of 471 points held by the owner's granddaughter, Lilly. You can use any gun found in the level, including numerous handguns, larger guns, an Ultramax and a Kazo TRG, but once you start playing you can't change weapons until the time runs out or you quit. There is also an M590 12ga in the level, which is being used by Lynch. You can get him to put it down by shooting the garden gnomes close to him until the attendant gets him to leave. Since the contest is based entirely on precision and reaction time, there is no real guide for how to beat it. The time limit is two minutes (the time limit is shortened depend on what difficulty you play. i.e. in Expert you only have 80 seconds).
Target point values.
Throughout the competition, dummy targets will pop up from the ground and sometimes move sideways. Auto-aim will target the red portion of the central target. It's recommended to carefully and deliberately aim for headshots since it gives the most points. The pattern of how the targets show up is always the same, so memorize it if you can. On higher difficulties, the point shooting is not very helpful, since you only have few seconds to mark, so keep it until the final 20 seconds, when six targets will appear at once. If you are fast enough, you can gain as many as 120 points, which greatly increases your chance of winning. Also, reloading can be a waste of time here, so pick up weapon that has higher magazine capacity. If you cannot handle the automatic weapon, equip at least one pistol that you can swap it when you are empty. It is possible to get 800+ points in lower difficulties (especially with the sniper rifle, on normal it is possible to get at least 840), since you have more time and your instinct will refill; getting at least 651 points will unlock a challenge.
Breaking and Entering[]
- Related Challenge: It Wouldn't Be Stealing
The safe, open.
Alternatively, you can use 47's stealth skills and steal the Silverballers from the case, you can do this without harming anyone or get any disguise. In order to do this, you have to first take a keycard from behind the register and then take a notebook containing the combination to a safe which contains the key to the Silverballers' case. The keycard is guarded by an employee who can be lured away by sabotaging the utility box across the store. Alternatively, you can just wait for a woman in the store to ask him for assistance (he will introduce the Kazo TRG to her, this is a good opportunity to move) and slip past him. The area behind the counter is off-limit to 47 if he wears his suit. The keycard is needed to enter a bunker in the middle of the target range. The stealthiest way is to take the right stairs behind the register and enter the ditches, following them to the left until you reach the vault door. The area outside the shooting range is also off-limit to 47, so you need to remain stealthy. An alternative route is to go up the stairs behind the register, climb down the balcony ledge, go past the furniture and then climb down into the dugout, where a huge vault door can be found. On the far side of the field there is a Kazo TRG, which is needed for a challenge.
The vault contains a piece of evidence in the shape of a videotape on the shelf, an Ultramax and the safe combination.
You can go back the same way you came, but be careful not to be seen by an employee, who occasionally goes up to the balcony. Also, be sure to have some melee weapon to use as a distraction with you (such as the gasoline can in the bunker) if the clerk is still behind the register. Keep to the wall to the right of the swinging doors, enter cover, throw the melee weapon to lure the clerk into the room and slip out. The room with the safe can be entered through a ventilation shaft in the room with the duck shooting gallery. It can also be entered through the door if you wait for the guard to talk to Lynch at the firing range before entering. Go inside, open the safe, take the key, go back to the store and take the Silverballers.
Alternatively, you can just go back through the ditch, not enter the building you came through but instead pass underneath the shooters towards the office. You can then cover-switch to the office and get the keys. Leave the office through the ventilation shaft near the safe. This route is much easier, as you don't have to trick the employee behind the counter again and run no risk of being spotted by the owner on the balcony.
Evidence[]
Evidence location.
The only piece of evidence in the mission is located within the secret bunker beneath the firing range. The evidence is in a VCR on the shelf.
To access the bunker, first retrieve the keycard from behind the shop counter. In order to do so, first disable the power conduit towards the back of the shop and wait for the employee to fix it. Note: on higher difficulties, another employee patrols the room behind the counter.
Disguises[]
| Disguise | Location |
|---|---|
| Hope Police Officer | Worn by two hope police officers in the duck shooting range area. |
Challenges[]
| Icon | Name | Obtain | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Chameleon | Use the disguise. | |
|
Evidence Collector | Collect the evidence in Gun Shop. | |
|
Infiltrator | Complete the mission without being spotted. | |
|
Suit Only | Complete the mission without changing out of the beginning outfit. | |
|
Depends on the Girl | Play the shooting contest and lose. | |
|
Bullseye | Play the shooting contest and win. | |
|
Assassin's Signature | Play the shooting contest and win with a score of at least 651. | |
|
Ultramax | Win the contest using the Ultramax. | |
|
It Wouldn't Be Stealing | Take the Silverballers without playing the contest or talking to Lilly. | |
|
Shiver Me Timbers | Fire the cannon on the left side of the shooting range by shooting the fuse. | |
|
Duck Hunting | Shoot ten ducks at the indoors shooting range. | |
|
Choosing Weapons | Complete the mission. | |
|
Up Your Arsenal - Part 1 | Win the shooting contest using a pistol. | |
|
Up Your Arsenal - Part 2 | Win the shooting contest using a light machine gun. | 
|
|
Up Your Arsenal - Part 3 | Win the shooting contest using a sniper rifle or shotgun. |
|
|
Mastery: Birdie's Gift | Complete all other challenges. |
Map[]
