Shooting bowling pins is one of my favorite things to do. I've never had a ricochet, but I did find that subsonic .22s out of a pistol don't penetrate. Minimags, Stingers, and Yellowjackets will tip them over. .357s will knock them down, and a .44 is just plain fun. I have a couple mushroomed .44 slugs that fell out of one of the pins one day. That was pretty cool.
Bowling Pins are TOUUUGGGHHH
- Thread starter chilie23
- Start date
Hit the White Part by Massad Ayoob as the lowdown on 'power factor' and techniques. Good book.
I've seen some pretty awesome looking rounds from serrated edge hollowpoints; totally cylindrical, really heavy, hard cast flat face in .44 mag and .357 mag. I used Federal 147 Gr flat points in my HK P7M8. Worked fine. The pin shooter wonks mostly used 45 ACP hollow points (sorry, didn't get the full nomenclature).
Off the table in the shortest time almost precludes X-Frame type calibers because of the time taken to acquire the next targeted pin. The pins will definitely fly off the table, though.
I've seen some pretty awesome looking rounds from serrated edge hollowpoints; totally cylindrical, really heavy, hard cast flat face in .44 mag and .357 mag. I used Federal 147 Gr flat points in my HK P7M8. Worked fine. The pin shooter wonks mostly used 45 ACP hollow points (sorry, didn't get the full nomenclature).
Off the table in the shortest time almost precludes X-Frame type calibers because of the time taken to acquire the next targeted pin. The pins will definitely fly off the table, though.
armsmaster270
New member
You want to have a thrill shoot a pin at close range with #8 shot. You had better be wearing glasses and you won't do it twice. My Bro in law and I got about 600 of them from an alley here they had cases stacked to the celing and we only scratched the surface. We would take them camping and after splintering them use them in the fire pit. I stoll have about 200 left.
LanceOregon
Moderator
A .270 Winchester rifle loaded with Speer's 130 gr Hot Cor bullet will totally destroy bowling pins.
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The local club shoots them at 25 feet.
There is one guy who comes to the matches, he uses a six inch S&W revolver in .44 Magnum, with rounds that are loaded somewhere in between .44 Special and .44 Mag - and he CLEANS UP. The joke is that when he's there, the rest of us are shooting for second place.
Local range used to do pin shoots in the 80s
And, yes, it is fun! The plastic coating on th epins makes them very tough, but they will crack and shatter when hit with something of suitable power.
And 9mm isn't it!
Our shoots were as follows: 3x5' table, 5 pins, spotted about 2" from the front edge of the table. (Major caliber). 7 pins, spotted down the center of the table (minor caliber-9mm/.38spl). And 5 or 7 pins spotted 2" from the back edge of the table for .22LR class.
Guns divided into 3 classes, auto, DA revolver, SA revolver, and Major, Minor, and .22LR.
NO FMJ AMMO ALLOWED!!!!!!!
Started with gun at low ready, touching the rail, and time ran until the last pin cleared the table. No limit on number of shots, or reload, time ran until the last pin cleared the table.
Pins would usually last for 3 to 5 runs against .45acp, before they were too badly cracked to stand up on the table. Less against larger rounds.
A 250gr SWC .45 Colt @ 1100fps throws them off the table with authority!
A 240gr JHP .44 Auto Mag throws them off the table and breaks them into two or three pieces!
I never finished better than 3rd in SA revolver (7.02sec), and never even placed in major with my .44 AMP, although at 5.36sec, and 4 shattered pins, I was happy!
And, yes, it is fun! The plastic coating on th epins makes them very tough, but they will crack and shatter when hit with something of suitable power.
And 9mm isn't it!
Our shoots were as follows: 3x5' table, 5 pins, spotted about 2" from the front edge of the table. (Major caliber). 7 pins, spotted down the center of the table (minor caliber-9mm/.38spl). And 5 or 7 pins spotted 2" from the back edge of the table for .22LR class.
Guns divided into 3 classes, auto, DA revolver, SA revolver, and Major, Minor, and .22LR.
NO FMJ AMMO ALLOWED!!!!!!!
Started with gun at low ready, touching the rail, and time ran until the last pin cleared the table. No limit on number of shots, or reload, time ran until the last pin cleared the table.
Pins would usually last for 3 to 5 runs against .45acp, before they were too badly cracked to stand up on the table. Less against larger rounds.
A 250gr SWC .45 Colt @ 1100fps throws them off the table with authority!
A 240gr JHP .44 Auto Mag throws them off the table and breaks them into two or three pieces!
I never finished better than 3rd in SA revolver (7.02sec), and never even placed in major with my .44 AMP, although at 5.36sec, and 4 shattered pins, I was happy!
I have a dozen bought from a local bowling alley and they have been shot quite a bit in the last year and all are in usable, if somewhat swiss cheese, condition.
They have taken probably hundreds of rounds of .223 and 7.62x39 in addition to more than a few 12 gauge slugs and are still hanging around.
They have taken probably hundreds of rounds of .223 and 7.62x39 in addition to more than a few 12 gauge slugs and are still hanging around.
Gunfighter123
New member
In the 45acp the best load I have used is a 255gr. swc that was made for 45LCs ---- at about 950fps , they take the pins off the table. And my 10MMs were also up to the job with 200gr. JHPs at around 1100fps.
Jimmy Clark "PinMaster" .45acp
S&W 610 in 10MM
Colt Delta Elite 10MM
Jimmy Clark "PinMaster" .45acp
S&W 610 in 10MM
Colt Delta Elite 10MM
You, at least some of you are joking right? I've shot a lot of bowling pins with everything from .22 to .30-06 and 12Gauge buckshot and slugs. All of them penetrated the skin of the BP if the impact was close to the sweet spot, meaning that the angle of impact was within 30 degrees of vertical.
The skin is tough an seems to only dent and mark, but the bullets imbed if you get a straight on hit.
The skin is tough an seems to only dent and mark, but the bullets imbed if you get a straight on hit.
Hey, .44 AMP, did you guys ever do man-on-man pin shoots? Instead of running them against the timer, you run two guys against one another, and the first one to clear his (or her) pins to the deck wins. While not the finest example of speed (what can I say, it was my 2nd pin shoot ever), this video illustrates exactly why I wish Pin Shooting would come back in a BIG WAY, because man on man pin shoots are incredibly spectator friendly.