.40 caliber for bowling pin shooting

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bambam1723

New member
A Buddy of mine was having an argument with his Father the other day whether a .40 caliber will knock a bowling pin off a table.

His Father participates in bowling pin shoots and uses a 1911 .45. My Buddy and I want to particiapte with him, but want to use our SIG P226 .40 caliber service weapons for practice.

His Father doesn't think a .40 can knock the bowling pin from the table.

Anyone have any experience with this?
 
I've shot pins with some stout reloads (out of a Glock, with lead bullets for what it's worth) and while we weren't shooting the pins off a regulation width table, the .40 moves them with authority if you hit them center.
 
Yes, a .40 S&W will definitely knock a bowling pin off a table.

A .22 LR will also knock a bowling pin off a table if the pin is placed near the back edge.
 
My 2" .38 with 140gr XTP reloads...

will slow motion a pin backwards with a solid shot, a .45 will sweep backwards nicely, 9mm will follow the same, a .40 should be just behind the .45.

Only way to find out, it to DO IT!

Hint: all shots must be on the narrow column of the base surface projecting up.
Outside that column, you'll spin on the table.

Also, do reloads WITHOUT looking at firearm, keep eyes on the targets.

HAVE FUN! :)
 
Friend of mine decided to shoot some hot hand loads out of his .44 Mag. at pins.

It moved them into the next time zone. :)

.40 will do just fine.

9mm is marginal unless you get solid hits with a 147.
 
0.40 for pins,

Hi All,
A 0.40 with heavy heads (180Gr at least, 200r better) and a heavy (within recommended specs, no overloads) will drive the pins off ( the front of ) a table . Obviously good factory ammo with this weight of bullets will be just as good, if rather expensive.

I have to add that not many people use 0.40's for pin shooting, but that does not mean that it is not good for it.

My EDC is a 0.40, but for pins I prefer to use 0.45 / 0.357 and 9mm (9mm is a tip-over shoot. unlike the other classes, for 9mm the pins are very close to the back-edge of the table)

If you have not tried pin shooting yet, do give it a try. It a LOT of fun and it teaches you to shoot accurately and fast. The added adrenaline of the competition makes it even better for training.

Brgds,

Danny
 
I competed at Second Chance my first year, (1992 I think) with a .40 Glock Hybrid. I had Peter Pi from Cor-bon load me up some hot loads for it. It worked okay, but wasn't spectacular. Nothing like the .45 acp for pins.
 
No one's mentioned .357s? How about 158gr .357s? 125gr. 357s? I've been told that both rounds carry considerably more kinetic energy than, say, 230gr 45ACPs, so I'd assume that they'd do just fine. Anyone tried them?
 
I shot bowling pins a few times, and there were guys there shooting 9mms and knocking them down. Not very authoratatively, mind you, but still knocking them down with 145 gr bullets at 1000 fps. Since loads for bowling pin shoots are limited to 1000 fps, a 38 or 357 can do it, but still not very authoratatively. Now a 44, on the other hand, will just flat take them off the table, no arguments:D.
 
stevieboy - answers to your questions:
What a .357 will do wasn't the original question so it wasn't mentioned.
Yes.
Yes.

Almost any .357 Magnum round (other than perhaps "cowboy action" ammo) will do well on bowling over bowling pins.

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Willie Lowman - Many ranges have regular BP shoots. Check with them to see if they have one scheduled. If not, you could suggest that they do, or organize one yourself. Used bowling pins are available at almost any bowling alley. It's rare that you can't ask for some old ones and not walk away with a box or two.

The NRA range in northern Virginia is where I used to go shoot the wild bowling pins; they would have an organized shoot for almost any caliber you can bring about every other month or so. I've moved too far away though and don't get there as often as I used to or I would like to.
 
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