Bowling Pins are TOUUUGGGHHH

C

chilie23

New member
Hey guys and gals hope everyone is well. I just returned from the shooting range , had a great day lighting off hundreds of rounds! But I came across something today that I never had paid much attention to but it is irking me and so I wanted to ask you experts to help me out. I was shooting at bowling pins mostly today and noticed that my .22 would barely rub the paint off of the pins. I figured ok well a .22 is anemic anyways so that shouldn't be much of a surprise. I then proceeded to shoot these same pins with various 9mm rounds
These too barely smudged the white paint off the pins! I shot these pins with 9mm FMJ and JHP and both had lackluster results. The JHP were +P+ too! So my questions is, what handgun round will penetrate a bowling pin? Sorry for such a long post! But any answers would be greatly appreciated
 
Off the top of my head, I can't think of a "standard" round that will blow a hole in a bowling pin. Pin shoots would get real expensive
 
Yup, I have seen lots of .38 spl and 9mm bounce off of that tough plastic coating they use on regulation pins. I've seen lots of 200 gr .45 SWC penetrate only 1/8th in. with the base sticking out far enough to see the riflling. Only thing I have shot that will split one is a fairly hot .41 mag. I used to shoot pin matches with a 4 in M57. That will take them off the table. Be careful, we had a few spectators get hit with rebounds. Make sure everyone uses eye protection.
 
Funny you mention it; I was shooting at my favorite gravel pit last weekend and hitting bowling pins with my M1A (.308). First couple shots on each blew them 20 feet backward spinning, then they mostly stopped moving because they were so splintered and destroyed.

So, at least you know a 147 gr. .308 will punch a through and though hole in a bowling pin. I would guess a .357 Mag 158 gr. or heavier would have a fair chance at beating up a pin as well.
 
I get them free from the bowling alley. Hanging them from a tree limb is challenging and fun, especially with a 22 at 75 yards.
 
My son brought 4 big boxes of pins home from the range.

My S&W 6" Model 57 sends 'em toppling, with big holes in them.

My Ruger SBH .45 Colt does likewise.

They were new when we started......now they look like kindling.
 
Thanks for all the replies- keep them coming. I was shooting them from 15 to 60 yards with the handguns. I was scared of possible ricochets so I wasn't inclined to get much closer. And OF COURSE hearing and eye protection were utilized, as always! A friendly reminder never hurts, and who knows maybe someone out there trolling right now never knew that! ;)

I did shoot several pins with my AR at distances from 60 to 150 yards, but again didn't see so much as a dent on any surface, just little pinhole smudges that looked burnt on the edges. I wasn't tempting fate by getting much closer with those little 55 gram rounds! I need to buy a remington 700 with nice optics and start punching holes I think! :rolleyes:
 
S&W 500

This will do it....

SW500.jpg


Also here is a video I found on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynEyXHRHVGE
 
aaaahhh bowling pins.

We used to do that, what fun. I remember the "skin" of the pin closing after the round as it went in. If you open up the pin that you were shooting with a knife, you will find all of the rounds that you thought were bouncing off. That is what we found anyway. Try a 12ga rifled slug. lol That will do the trick.
 
My local range holds bowling pin matches regularly. Using anything less than a .40 is a waste of time. From what the regular winners say, you gotta have a large, HEAVY bullet to knock them off the table. .40's, 10mm's, and .45 ACP's prevail. Anything that can throw a 180 gr. or heavier.
 
I've won 2 of the last 3 pin shoots at our local range and .45 is the caliber of choice. The lighter, faster bullets just don't do a good job at knocking them off the table.

The pins can take tremendous abuse before they finally shatter and become unusable. We "blew up" 3 at the recent match that had been in use for quite a while...
 
the one handgun i know will blow them apart is the smith and wesson 460 mag. It will kill and elephant at 200 yards (with a scope). Ive never shot at bowling pins myself but have shot the 460 with a 395 grain bullet and not much will stop that sucker.
 
Pin shooting is easily the most fun, and spectator friendly shooting sport out there, which is too bad because there aren't any "sanctioned" pin matches any more. Which does give me an idea, actually...but I can save that for later.

One of the local clubs out here in Indy shoots pins every month - and the array of calibers out there is staggering. The "traditional" guns for pins are .45 ACP pistols shooting a 230 grain "pinwhacker" load, or a magnum or .45 Colt revolver. However, some clubs will let you shoot 9mm at the pins, and to keep things "fair" they set the pins 1 foot closer to the back edge of the table. For the guys shooting "minor", the best bullet is the 147 grain 9mm JHP - it has just enough juice to flatten the pin off the table, although it won't have the "explosive" effect of hitting the pin with a hot .45 Colt round.
 
If your just knocking the pins over the 9mm will work if you want to distroy it then use the 460 magnum xvr. little smaller than the 500 mag but much greater velocity from the bullet. a 395 grain bullet 2300 fps. (extreme velocity revolver) xvr
 
After three accidents we stopped shootin pins at my range. I caught a 45acp round above my knee. Another guy caught one in the shoulder. Another caught it in his sack! None had enough velocity to penitrate, but they hurt like heck and leave a welt! The gut that caught it in the sack went to the hospital, he was ok but real sore for a few days. We stopped it before someone caught one in the eye.
 
Bowling Pins are TOUUUGGGHHH
Click to expand...

And fun to boot.

I use to shoot a lot of bowling pins, with just about any pistol possible. I have had best luck with 45 ACPs using cast lead semi wadcuters. They dont have to be loaded hot. Hit solid they will clean them off the table. If cast soft, they seem to work better, but you have to be ready for a quick followup shot un case you just knock it over but not off the table. Shoot it a second time while its spinning and you have a better chance of getting it off the table.

I've tried heavy pistols like the Model 29, they have the power but they dont seem to allow for quick followup shots needed to get the down pin off the table.

You dont really need velocity, just a heavy bullet, and fast follow up shots.

This is based on my experience.
 
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