shooting bowling pins

[ryanrichmond]

My place of business had a team building seminar today and then took us all out bowling. I picked up 6 (PLASTIC) bowling pins from the back room with the managers permission but I have to know...did I waste my energy carrying 6 plastic bowling pins to my car or can you actually shoot those?

I wasn't sure if it was the older pins you shoot or if you could shoot the new plastic ones too. I think, at one point, they were made of porcelain
*I know the inner core is wood*

 

[TheCol.U.S.M.C.]

Not sure never tried it, but I can think of one way to find out. Have fun

 

[788Ham]

Is a pig's butt pork? Yes you can shoot them, I have for years now. I went to about 4 different alley's and ask management about buying, or them giving me, the ones that were about to be retired. I've still got about 24 of them, and I'll tell you, they can soak up a lot of lead !!! When the pins start to getting that haggard look about them, we take them out to 200 yds and shoot them with our rifles, an '06 can really make them flip and twist! Have fun.

 

[CoastieShep]

Sure you can shoot them. Probably won't hold up as well as the plastic coated wood ones though.

 

[lambertiana]

The pins that I have shot have a thick plastic shell over a wood core (probably maple, from the looks of the wood). They are effective bullet stoppers. If hit in the center they will stop a .44 mag, and they are lots of fun for .45 and 9mm.

Take them out and try them, what do you have to lose?

 

[ryanrichmond]

Oh I plan to shoot them with the AK and the .22
Maybe I'll designate 2 for for the AK and just keep the rest for the .22

I don't have any land to shoot on so they probably would only be pulled out once or twice a month when I go to the outdoor range assuring them a long life of taking shots.

 

[pikid89]

if they get too wore out cut the tops off and use those for the 22

speaking of bowling pins...im going to a pin shoot tonight outside of gainesville

 

[birdshot8's]

i have shot the plastic pins with .458 win and they held up longer than my shoulder. Did not stop the bullet, but really disapointed me with the lack of devastation.

 

[PinoyInFL]

No, you didn't waste your time. Bowling pins are fun to shoot. They're very resilient and will last a long time.

 

[Mainsail]

I can tell you from experience that they don't hold up well to 12 gauge 1oz slugs at 15 feet.

 

[jeepguy]

i shoot those evil bowling pins whenever im at the rifle range, their a lot of fun and reusable.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I don't think it would be very much fun to shoot bowling pins with a .22. They would barely even quiver. They are quite challenging to shoot with a centerfire pistol of 9mm caliber and up, or revolver of .38 and up. To knock them straight back and off a table, as is done in the pin shooting games, requires a fairly substantial caliber and very precise shot placement, all done as quickly as possible. If not hit squarely and in the fat part, they will just fall over and/or spin about.

 

[buck460XVR]

The pins that I have shot have a thick plastic shell over a wood core (probably maple, from the looks of the wood). They are effective bullet stoppers. If hit in the center they will stop a .44 mag, and they are lots of fun for .45 and 9mm.

Same here...but they don't last long when shot with the .460. One pin will last all day when shot with my .22s and .357s. Two pins will last most of the day when shot with my .44s and .45ACPs. But they only need to be hit 3 or four time with the .460 before they are nuttin' but a hollow shell. I like to suspend them from a shepherds hook. You never have to go back downrange and set them up and they're more challenging as a moving target. Once they're hit..... they start swingin'. My sons and I have a game we play with them. Timed shooting for accuracy. The more they're hit, the more they swing. If you wait for them to stop swinging between shots, you run out of time and don't get a score. If you shoot the rope they're hung from it's a negative two. The secret is to keep the gun aimed to where they are at a dead stop, and to time their swing. We'll do this with a variety of guns and have time limits depending on the guns capacity. Loser at the end of the day buys lunch. Generally we do this at 40-50 yards, but with the .460 and the high powered rifles we move 'em back to 100 or so to make 'em last. Last year we went thru about 50 pins, and God only knows how many rounds of ammo.

 

[Rembrandt]

Drill a small pilot hole in the top, thread a lag eye bolt into the pin. They make great swingers!

 

[tmr612]

You really need 10 pins and a nice flat surface to go gun bowling. It's really fun!

 

[Wingnut13]

Am I the only guy that's had .45 ACP come back at me from a pin? I though it was a great idea until I got a hold of some. My buddies went out placed them at around 50 yrds or so as a lot of different calibers were being used. Anyways one of mine came back! It bounced on the ground less that 10' from us and the shooting stopped right then. We found the bullet went in the side between the core and plastic coating, around the back and (must have) come out another bullet hole on the other side sending it back to me! Could have been once in a lifetime thing...... From that point on we used them at longer ranges with higher power RIFLES. Don't want to be a killjoy, just sayin' ~Wingnut13

 

[ryanrichmond]

We found the bullet went in the side between the core and plastic coating, around the back and (must have) come out another bullet hole on the other side sending it back to me!

that's one badass pin -- shooting back at you like that. I would think that'd be a 1 in a million occurrence. I really don't plan to use them for close range (50 yards or less) anyway. They make good person silhouettes for long range shooting

 

[pfraser]

I don't think it would be very much fun to shoot bowling pins with a .22. They would barely even quiver.

Wow, you must use some pretty crappy ammo.

My local club often runs a bowling pin competition. A lot of guys run their 22's against them and don't have any problems knocking the pins off tables.

 

[Jeff F]

I'm I the only guy that's had .45 ACP come back at me from a pin?

No, I took a .45 slug in the center of my chest at a pin shoot. It came back at me in like slow motion and luckily was spent enough that it didn't do any real damage except for a big bruise.

 

[Sav .250]

Either way, should be fun.

 

[WardenWolf]

I've also heard someone have an RtS (Return to Sender) off a bowling pin with a .38 Special. That one hit him in the forehead and caused a minor cut. These things aren't exactly the safest things to shoot. Their round profile tends to send shots in all kinds of unintended directions. People shoot them because they're cheap and reusable, and because they make great reactive targets. Unfortunately, they violate the safety rule of "Be certain of your target and of your backstop" because their hard round surface deflects shots in all sorts of odd directions, and even sometimes back towards the firing line. Bottom line: these things aren't safe to shoot, even if "everyone does it". It's a bad idea, and it's not just your life on the line. You don't go shooting rocks just to hear the "cool ricochet sound", and you shouldn't go shooting bowling pins, either.

 

[Krusty783]

I know from experience that if you lay a pin down and shoot the bottom with a 7mm rem mag @ 60 yds, it's possible to strip the plastic shell completely off the pin and send it flying!!

Hedge apples also make great targets. They explode like a frag grenade when hit with a 7mm rem mag or .30-06!!

 

[rscalzo]

I'm I the only guy that's had .45 ACP come back at me from a pin?

that's one badass pin -- shooting back at you like that.

Far from one in a million. Just this week our club banned the use of bowling pins in our indoor range due to ricochets and bullets flying back. Bullets and debris were found several feet in front of the pins and damage was found in the side walls and ceiling.

I'd strongly suggest anyone thinking about using them not place them close to the firing line. Even far out the selection of a backstop is critical to above bullets leaving the range. The combination of the hard woods and thick plastic coverings cause the bullets to react strangely.

 

[jerkface11]

Is it really ethical to shoot them outside their normal environment?

 

[Clifford]

I generally only shoot pins with higher powered rounds (.357/.44 and rifles). I've had .45's and .38's bounce back at me a few times when shooting pins. I will shoot pins with my .45 from time to time but only SWC's at 40-50 yards. I've noticed that hotter SWC loads (200 grain @ 980-1000fps) don't boomerang back at me very often and if they do, they don't seem to come back more than 10'.