Getting into Bowling pin shoots

[kd7nqb]

Ok I have seen some videos and read online about so called bowling pin shoots. Now I have a ton of questions.

1. Any good idea on how to acquire some used bowling pins so I can practice?
2. What distance is this generally done at?
3. Is most of the competition dominated by guys who have done this forever or would it be feasible for a newbie to break into the sport
4. Anybody know of Bowling pin shoots in Oregon that I could either compeate in or watch?
5. Currently my multi-use firearm is a S&W M&P .40 most of the articles I have read seem to think that .40 is about the bottom end of "knock down" power for it, any experience?

YAY my 800th post.

 

[YZR]

1) I would start by stopping at your local bowling alley. I'm sure they just throw out the old ones and would probably give you some free of charge.
2) The range I frequent puts us at 12 yards.
3) Don't be hesitant to jump in. My range is more than happy to welcome newbies of any gender.
4) Nope. Look up your local ranges and give them a call.
5) I shoot a 9mm and I think that's a tad under powered (you have to clear the table for a successful rack). Although my friend shoots a 45 and still leaves aome on the table, just not as many as my 9mm does. It really boils down to shot placement, just like real life.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

 

[AndyC]

Your local bowling alley should have some they'd donate to you - ask.

25 feet (I almost typed "yards") is the standard distance for handgun.

It's not enough to knock the pins down - they have to be hit hard enough to fall off the back of a 3ft wide (front-to-back) table. Anything that merely falls over has to be shot until it hits the ground.

 

[kd7nqb]

I called a bunch of bowling Allies most use them for B-day parties and awards however I found one that says they will hook me up with about 10. I also posted an ad on Craigslist which was pretty helpful.

I am aware that the pins have to clear the table, thats why I was asking about the use of .40cal saw some videos online where they did it with .22lr but its good placement and repeat shots.

 

[Howard Roark]

When I shot pins they were placed on the back edge of the table for .22 cal. I shot a .40 SW with no problem with 180 grain bullets. The heavier the better. I used a .41 mag for revolver class. Low 3sec for auto, mid 3sec for rev and low 2sec for rimfire. The good guys were shooting under 2sec.

 

[Noxx]

I recently got into pins as well. After some time trying to develope a suitable 9mm load, I went with the g'ment .45 and 200grSWC, with much more success.

 

[distra]

We have a medium bore and big bore league at our club. Medium bore <.40 we sent the pins 1ft from the back of the table which is 30ft from the firing line. I shoot a 9mm Hi-Power with standard hollow point loads and S&W 686 with 38spl loads. For big bore I, the pins are at the front of the table 3ft from the rear. I shoot a 1911 with red dot using semi hot loads and a Dan Wesson 44mag with red dot and 44spl loads. The bowling alleys around here will sell the reject pins for ~1$ pin. Hollow or flat points are the best for pins I've seen ball ammo slip off the side and just spin the pin. HP and FP "grab" the pin and better transfer the energy into knocking the pins off the table.

 

[kd7nqb]

I picked up a box of 10 pins for $10 today from a local bowling ally. I am very excited about trying to find and outdoor place to shoot.

 

[distra]

Our club has two steel tables setup with steel sides and a wood top. It keeps the splatter down just be careful what you set them on because no matter how good you are you will hit the table. We occasionally get a chunk of bullet to fly back and hit someone. Usually not a big deal because we are >30ft from the table.

 

[mikec]

Wow, it has been a while since I shot those things. Back in the mid 80's the local bowling alley would give me boxes of their old pins for free. (At that time I was working at a sandwich shop, so I would stop at the shop, get a sandwich and then give it to the underpaid assistant manager as a tip for the free pins.) He thought I was nuts shooting them.

 

[S&Wfan]

I shot pin matches for several years at a fine area shooting club/range.

They set theirs up a little differently.

1. 10 yards (as typical)
2. Steel table (which is practical and long lasting)

However, they decided to shoot SIX pins per round instead of five, and to ONLY allow six rounds in a firearm. Also, you only had to knock the pins over instead of driving them off the back of the table.

Naturally, not having to drive the pin off the table changed the strategy . . . and winning shooters handloaded on the light recoil side to reduce time between shots. And, with no extra rounds, just one per pin, the matches went to the one with the most hits in the shortest time. Typically, it would take 18/18 knockdowns to win the three 6-pin table matches.

It was a whale of a good time. Lots of fun years. Finally, they decided to make steel plates shaped like bowling pins and rig six of 'em up so that the R.O. could simply pull a rope at the firing line and the "pins" would rise again and reset.

This killed the fun of the pins . . . and each metal "pin" had different amounts of impact over time that it took to knock it over. VERY un-pinlike . . . Heck, sometimes direct center hits from a .45ACP wouldn't budge the plates.

1, IF YOUR PIN MATCH IS FIVE PINS, and you must drive them off the table, you'll quickly learn to appreciate the "knockdown power" of the .45ACP and it's fast recovery time between shots to engage the next pin!!! A 9mm won't reliably blow a pin off the table and a .40S&W won't either. Typically, these matches will allow a shooter to load up to eight rounds maximum. This does NOT mean a 1911 shooter has an edge, for the winner will be someone who doesn't MISS anyway, and there's only five pins per round . . . and a revolver shooter thus has at least one extra round to knock off five pins. If you require more shots than that, someone will beat you on time anyway.

A "mighty" .44 or .41 mag., or 10mm WILL do the job, but you'll probably get beaten on time to the .45ACP guys, due to the excessive time it takes for the recoil to dissapate between rounds. A stout-loaded .357 will do fine, but usually the heavy .45 round will thump 'em faster . . . and with a better recoil recovery time.

You'll want to shoot full-power .45ACP ammo OR full-power .44 SPECIAL ammo in a .44mag to win with speed.

Most shooters around here preferred handloaded, solid flat nose lead bullets. The flat nose bullets will get absorbed instantly inside the pin and a direct hit will lift the pin straight back and off the table. Round nose bullets, shot slightly off center line will spin a pin a lot of time.

Either way, expect to have a WONDERFUL time . . . and learn how to shoot much better in the face of good-natured competition. Don't be surprised if other competitors let you try their firearms and help you with great tips. The fellowship is half the fun!

Hope this helps . . .

 

[TimboKhan]

1) I would start by stopping at your local bowling alley. I'm sure they just throw out the old ones and would probably give you some free of charge.

True, sometimes. I have had to pay a fee to some bowling alleys, but it was cheap enough to not be of any real concern. I think the one it was 2 bucks a pin, and the other it was a buck.

 

[Sunray]

1) As daft as it sounds, bowling alleys only use pins for a limited time. Then they're replaced. Go ask your local alley.
2) 7 yards, originally, at Second Chance. Best vacations I ever had. All the big name professional IPSC shooters were there. Some of 'em were great people. Some weren't. Ayoob and Miculek stood out as good guys.
3) Yep, but so is every other kind of competition. Go and don't worry about placing. Pin shooting is great fun. Where you place doesn't matter. Nobody will laugh or say a thing if you miss every pin. Speed and accuracy comes with practice. Knowing that you and your pistol can hit a wee hunk of plastic encased wood is far more important than anything else. Any good 230 grain cast bullet load will do nicely. The load doesn't have to be hot. 4.5 grains of Bullseye with a 230 grain cast bullet works just fine.
4) Talk to the guys you shoot with. Pin shooters shoot other games too.
5) The norm is a .45, but there's no reason not to use a .40. Most competitions have events for non-45's.
Just go when you find a pin shoot. You'll have a, um, blast.

 

[kd7nqb]

Took the bowling pins out today even the .22lr took them down no problem from 40ish feet. I was pretty surprised. I should mention my table was pretty narrow.

VIDEO HERE

 

[SASS#23149]

knocking down a pin is very easy with almost any gun out there.

knocking them off the table is a whole 'nuther thing someitimes.

My club is about 20 minutes east of woodland,wa,and they shoot pins once a month.I 've not shot them 'cause our cowboy match is the same day,but I"ve sneaked a peek at what it entails.
Looks like fun!!

small club so small turnout,usually about 10 shooters,give or take.
..hmmm,don't see a shoot for Dec.
..If ur interested I'll get you some contact info.

 

[stormspotter]

Bowling pins

Been shooting them, just for fun, for a while now.

Since I often carry my New Vaquero 45 colt, that what I have been practicing with. Six pins in 6 shots, hopefully, at 7 to 10 yards. Its still fun to knock them over with my Ruger MKIII.

Local bowling alley had about 100 they wanted to get rid of so I took about 50 off their hands.

 

[Wildfire]

Keep asking

Hey There.
Keep asking most bowling alleys will give you the old pins after they have been recoated once. That makes them tuffer too, and they will take bullets better then the originals. These guys are right, Sometimes webulls woble but they wont fall down. Got to get them off the back of the table. My .45 acp did not always do it. Got to hit them right. My .45 long colt was fun and pushed their butts off the table even if they were spinnig.
Have fun.. Man I have not done the pin thing in a long time.

 

[Sam1911]

Hey!

Somebody's got to rain on the parade, I guess it might as well be me...

BE CAREFUL when shooting pins, especially if you're setting up your own range or stage to do it!

Bowling pins are about the most impact resistant things ever built (duh!) and they send back more ricochets than any other target you're likely to shoot at.

Just about every pin shooter has probably been hit once or twice.

I've shot pins at various times and it is a BLAST! Really a lot of fun. I have been hit by quite a few returning projectiles, too (from pins and others...). I take the risks in stride, which is probably stupid, but hey life is short, have fun, right?

I do not shoot pins now, as several clubs I've belonged to have mutually decided to stop due to risks to shooters and range damage from deflected bullets. We shot pins for a while indoors and that was very instructive. You could see the bits and pieces (and chunks, and whole sections) of ceiling tiles raining down from all the wildly re-directed rounds. And there was a running side game of rounding up all the 230 gr. FMJ slugs that made it back past the firing line. And some of us got hit. I actually got hit, in the HEAD (fortunately facing backwards), with a ricocheting .22, while in the very back of our range about 30-35 yards from the pins. And I'm 6'-2" so it was still on its way UP.

Look up how to properly set up a pins range, if you're going to do this. It really should have a second "table top" over the pins to contain deflected rounds. And you need to be quite a good distance away (as in, 7 yards is RIGHT OUT! Try 25+) and ALWAYS wear every kind of protection you can stand.

And, personally, I'd never shoot .22s at them again, as nothing seems to ricochet like a .22. Often the pin won't move and that bullet just turns around and heads back for you. As over-played as this song is, "you really only get one set of eyes."

Have fun!

-Sam

 

[motorcycle_dan]

Big enough?

We use .22 rim fire to knock down pins. They don't have to be knocked off the table, we use a 2x4 and will fall off pretty easy when knocked over. Pins will take MANY .22 bullets before they no longer work.

Where to get Pins. Ask politely. If you don't bowl, find someone you work with or a friend that bowls. Have them ask the bowling alley owner if you can have 10 old pins. They last a long time if you don't leave them out in the weather.

When they finally do get worn to the point they no longer stand up. Blast 'em with a magnum. You'll be amazed how much energy a bowling pin can suck up.

Practice? I made up a bowling pin gallows out of old swing set. Hang pins from stainless lockwire. Makes for much easier practice, you don't have to reset the pins. Just let them come to a stop. You can tell when the hit was solid.

 

[ETCss Phil McCrackin]

After the last pin shoot I went to, one of the guys broke out his .460 S&W Mag, and we "finished" the pins. Those pins actually explode when hit center mass with a hand cannon! The follow up sucked, and there were actually so many pieces left on the table that it could be argued that it was not knocked off. Fun though....

 

[mec]

BE CAREFUL when shooting pins, especially if you're setting up your own range or stage to do it!

Bowling pins are about the most impact resistant things ever built (duh!) and they send back more ricochets than any other target you're likely to shoot at.

Just about every pin shooter has probably been hit once or twice.

YES!

There is a guy here who went totally ape for BP shooting. Competed at Pflugerville TX, indoor range until the new owners lost interest. He set up a range at his house. 25 feet and no steel downrange. Flyback happened and caused a few injuries. One guy got frogged in the eye when a .22 came in over his shooting glasses. A truck mirror exploded 30 feet behind the firing line when a 45 bounced back. Full face protection and maybe an atheletic cup would be in order.

 

[Magnumite]

I love shooting pins. Great game. This is probably the best balance of speed and accuracy with good power ammo there is. I built a pistol and had it chambered specifically for my pin ammo. It does take some gutsy ammo to knock pins 3.5 feet back off a table.

We shoot just the tops of the pins with 22's. They typically get cut off at the bottom of the stripe on the neck - after the pin as succumbed to all the centerfire ammo hits.

 

[usp_fan]

I used to use my .40 H&K to shoot pins. The gun fell into the "big bore" class at my range in OH. 180grn bullet seemed to have the best thump on the pins for moving them back off the table. A fast 165-170grn Semi-Wadcutter or hp will work also.

The guys that do this a lot often have compensated 1911's and shoot some form of 200grn jhp or swc. Red dot sights are also a big help to fast shooting. It is amazing to watch the dot as you move the dot left to right and simply press the trigger as the dot kisses the side of the pin. Your movement carries the gun into allignment with the pin's center as the shot breaks. If you get a good rythm down, the pins just fall magically.

 

[Wildfire]

Getting hit.

Yep. They are very right If you shot pins very much you got hit. I was hehind the shooter and was hit in the back of the head. That was osme 20 plus feet behind the shooter. No blood but really hurt. Many others were hit also and our club no longer shoots pins. And all steel shooting must be lead or cast rounds. Only. .22s will bounce and glance off pins more than any other round.
Be careful. Have fun.