Bowling pin shoot

[Battis]

My club is holding bowling pin shoots. No lead bullets, no hollow points, and...get this...no 38 Specials. 9mm is OK, but not 38s. Why not? They don't have the kinetic energy to knock the pins over.
OK, I'm not a ballistician, but does that make any sense?

[cwtebay]

Do you have to hold your gun sideways one handed?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[stubshaft]

Maybe they don't want to damage the pins?

[G W Wade]

Most pin shooters I have known shoot around 200 PF. I have seen bowling pins spit target loads back at the shooter. GW

[Battis]

These are the same guys that told me I couldn't shoot a 9mm at the 200 yd berm because the bullets wouldn't reach.

[15meter]

Knocking over or cleaning the table? One of my clubs shoots pins. First Saturday of the month is rimfire only, third Saturday is run what you brung.

22 rimfire will knock them over, not necessarily take them off the table. That may be the concern, but I'd think a 38 Special would do as well as most 9mm's.

Is it a revolver thing? They don't believe you have enough rounds?

I've shot the club pin shoot with a pair of Ruger Vaquero's in 45 colt. One in my hand to start and one on the bench, loaded and ready to go.

Or is this more drama queen/fun police silliness?

[Battis]

They allow .357 Mag. revolvers.

[country gent]

Not sure the restrictions on lead bullets or hollow points. Both make very effective pin loads. I have seen light bullet spin with the pins and come back and or bounce off, that plastic coating is tough.
The pin load for my wifes ruger security 6 was the old 200 grn loading 200 grn cast at around 750-800 fps. with solid body hits it put the pins off the table with authority. Most 9mm loads took several hits especially on used pins that were no longer round. In 45 acp I shot my normal load 200 swc at around 850 fps. Revolver was 45 colt 255 fp in the 750-800 fps.

[Texas by God]

You’ve got to hit them in the white part to knock them OFF the table.
The .45 auto with 200 SWC worked well, and no one used a 9mm back in the day around Texarkana for the shoots that we went to.
Mr. Clark let us shoot some of his Pin Guns for fun- he was a nice man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sasquatch-1]

Battis,
I PM'ed you a copy of the rules that we used at the club I belong to.

As far as the restrictions go, it sounds like someone thinks they can get an advantage.

It also sounds like you have some total idiots at the club you belong to.

[country gent]

I can remeber the "side matches at second chance rifle shotgun sub machine guns. Then the auto revolver and team matches.

[G W Wade]

I was at Second Chance in 1980. Wow for an experience Side matches were entertaining and fun. Food was fantastic GW

[upnorthwis]

It also sounds like you have some total idiots at the club you belong to.

The IHMSA club I shoot at won't let me shoot my .22 LR at their Field Pistol targets. They say that the bullets will bounce back and hit me. But my .30-20 TC at same velocity (1100 fps) is perfectly acceptable. For the record, I've been hit many times with center-fire loads in the last 35 years, but never a .22 LR. Another club wasn't going to let me shoot my XP-100 in 7BR with 6 gr. WW231 and 140 gr. cast bullet. They told me that if the case isn't filled up that there will be a detonation, and you know, killing and maiming everyone in a 100 ft. radius.

[Baltimoreed]

Did pins off the table many many years ago. I used a Anaconda in 45lc that I loaded 292 gr 45-70 boolits sized down to 454. When I was 5 per 5or6 I was rockin but if any were left I would put my empty Colt down and draw a 625 Smith for those hard end shots. Not as easy as it looks. Fun shooting though.

[JRD]

38 mid-range wad cutters from a S&W Model 52 can absolutely fail to penetrate a Bowling pin and bounce right back at the shooter as a solid chunk of lead. Good thing it was in the winter and I had my heavy coat on when it whacked me in the gut and didn’t hit me in the tooth or something. I have the deformed bullet as a souvenir with my handguns as a reminder not to do that again.

Blanket ban on all 38 special aside, certain slow lead bullets can definitely be a hazard off blowing pins.

[gc45]

Back when, I used a couple Colts 1911 45's for pin matches. You had to knock them off the table to score and nobody used 9mm or 38's. My loads were standard loads with cast, never had one come back at me.

[funnyjim014]

You can clear the table with a 9mm. I did it with 124gr EFMJ +P . Snotty 45 works better but 44 works best. Aim at the " waist line" of the pin

[Plate plinker]

These are the same guys that told me I couldn't shoot a 9mm at the 200 yd berm because the bullets wouldn't reach.

OMG! Where did they hire these guys from the gun store?

[hwilliam01]

I disagree...38's will be fine. We hold bowling pin shoots often, and I am the event organizer/RSO. I use a 22 and it works fine. There are a few cases, if you shoot the pin low enough that it may wobble and not fall over but that's not often and if you're any good at you aim (we shoot at 25 to 20 yards). 38 Wad cutters work just fne as well. We do request that shooters do not shoot magnums or hollow points as it does kind of limit the life of the pins (if you shoot a 257, use 38s, if you shoot a 44 Mag pistol use 44 Special, if you shoot a 454 Casul, use 45 Colt) , but they are made from Ash wood and are very hard and that thick plastic coating also absorbs a lot. We've held, so far about 20 events with no problems....infact sometimes the wind may blow them over before we get a chance to shoot them. We paint the one in the middle a different color and call it a "hostage shoot", you can't knock down the middle one or "GAME OVER" . We're having one this Saturday!

[Battis]

I really like the set-up of my club - it's in a nice location, close to my house, not many members (250 or so) but I stay away from the club events like the pin shoot, though it does look like alot of fun.

[Sasquatch-1]

When we were shooting pins, one thing I noticed is nothing would go completely through the pin unless hit very close to the side. The round that went the deepest was 9mm luger. I shot .44 mag (full house loads) and they only went halfway, if that, into the pin before they transferred all their energy and set the pin flying. Cast bullets work the best.

I did dissect some of the pins and found some of the commercial hard cast to be almost undamaged. Below is what some of the 44's I shot looked like when removed from the pin. These were swaged with dead soft lead

326212

[anothernewb]

Pin shoots are our biggest summer draw at our range. enough that we do them once a month starting in may. We break shooting into several categories. including carbines now. though those we shoot at 50 yards. got a couple people using suppressed 300bo on them. I use my Henry lever in 357. couple people use ruger PC's it's a riot. It's a little hard on pins but no one cares about dropping a couple bucks extra to pay for them. Used to have a guy that had a WW2 carbine, but he passed a few years ago.

We score by classes. rimfire pistol, rimfire revolver, center fire pistol, and center fire revolver, and carbine. We don't really care what you bring along. Heck, we always get one guy that uses a 460S&W. he's never a top time. but it sure is entertaining to watch!
we have a member with a connection to a bowling alley so we get used pins on the cheap. We generally see 40-50 people show up. which is actually pretty good for our area. We all volunteer for set up and tear down so it works well.

[Johnch]

I used to do a lot of Bowling pin shooting
Back in the 80's and early 90's
Then they started to really charge us a bunch for used pins

I still shoot pins when I feel like it

The clubs I shot at had different classes
22 LR
Stub Nose 38 spe ( 3" or shorter barrel )
9 MM ( Minor class )
Revolver 357 Mag and up
Larger than 9 MM ( Major Class )

All the pins were shot off of a 4 x 8 foot table

The 22 LR and 38 spec Snub Nose class the pins were 12" from the back of the table
The other classes the pins were 12" from the front of the table
In normal shoots you were limited to 6 rounds in the gun with 1 - 6 round reload

A lot of people used reloads with heavy bullets and less velocity
As I found mussel jump slowed you down
Also the heavy bullet helped drive the pin off the table better

For 22 the Ruger MK2 5 1/2" bull barrel
For the Snub Nose class I shot a S&W 60 as that was what I had
9mm I use a Glock 17 with a mussel break
Revolver class I now use a Ruger 5" Redhawk in 44 mag , but a 240 gr cast bullet at about 44 spec power
Major class I still use a 1911

But one BIG thing to add if they let you
Is a shooting glove on your left hand
Buy a left hand glove at least 1 size larger than normal
But I then took a Pachmayr shooting glove and opened it up
I then added about 12 oz of lead to the back of the hand
I would then use a BUNCH of rosin or other sticky substance on the leather palm of the glove
That way I would NOT Lose my grip on the pistol and the extra weight of the lead helped get rid of most of the mussel jump

I was not in the top group of shooters
But I did have a few 3 second runs

Now we mainly shoot steel pin plate racks due to the cost of pins

Oh Here in NW Ohio
The first shoot with bowling pins was normal
But in the winter if they wouldn't haul the pins into a building
And it rained and froze
The next time you shot those pins thing could get interesting
As a water soaked and frozen bowling pin will explode from a solid hit from a hot 45 ACP
Or even better a warm 44 mag
Many Moons ago I shot with a member here and his wife Ralph and Cookie
Ralph liked is 44 mag loads warm enough to



John

[Ramguy]

Pin shoots are our biggest summer draw at our range. enough that we do them once a month starting in may. We break shooting into several categories. including carbines now. though those we shoot at 50 yards. got a couple people using suppressed 300bo on them. I use my Henry lever in 357. couple people use ruger PC's it's a riot. It's a little hard on pins but no one cares about dropping a couple bucks extra to pay for them. Used to have a guy that had a WW2 carbine, but he passed a few years ago.

We score by classes. rimfire pistol, rimfire revolver, center fire pistol, and center fire revolver, and carbine. We don't really care what you bring along. Heck, we always get one guy that uses a 460S&W. he's never a top time. but it sure is entertaining to watch!
we have a member with a connection to a bowling alley so we get used pins on the cheap. We generally see 40-50 people show up. which is actually pretty good for our area. We all volunteer for set up and tear down so it works well.

Hey Folks! If you're so inclined, post up when and where the pin shoots are held. I LIKE shooting pins and don't mind a little drive to get to a match.

The mother of all pin shoots (old Second Chance) now called TPS (The Pin Shoot) is set to run June 8-13 in beautiful Central Lake Michigan at the Richard Davis Range on Muckle Road. They also do rifle shoots (steel pins) Shotgun (slugs and Buckshot) and now they have a PCC event which is a lot of fun. I think they had over 80 gun prizes last year. I was fortunate enough to win a Nice Springfield .45!

[Plate plinker]

Hey Folks! If you're so inclined, post up when and where the pin shoots are held. I LIKE shooting pins and don't mind a little drive to get to a match.

The mother of all pin shoots (old Second Chance) now called TPS (The Pin Shoot) is set to run June 8-13 in beautiful Central Lake Michigan at the Richard Davis Range on Muckle Road. They also do rifle shoots (steel pins) Shotgun (slugs and Buckshot) and now they have a PCC event which is a lot of fun. I think they had over 80 gun prizes last year. I was fortunate enough to win a Nice Springfield .45!

Now with $70,000 in prizes this year IIRCC.

[Ramguy]

326318