Why Bowling Pins?

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Cootie

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Why do people shoot these so much.. they even sell them at the gun store. Are they shatter resistant or stop a bullet well or something?
 
A bowling pin can only be used so many times at the bowling alley before they replace'em, so they're available. They also have a somewhat humanoid shape.

Kharn
 
So its just a cost effective target? Anyone know if they are a messy clean up? I don't wanna clean up 300 shatters plastic pieces.
 
So its just a cost effective target? Anyone know if they are a messy clean up? I don't wanna clean up 300 shatters plastic pieces.
Click to expand...

They're not made of plastic, but generally a hard wood of some type. I think maybe maple or hickory. Either way, as said before, they take a lot of hits before becoming splinters and sawdust.


mR
 
Never knew modern bowling pins where still made of wood. Thanks for the info guys. Think I'll go pick up a few later. How much do they go for? Free would be nice =)
 
When I started shooting competition it was bowling pins. It was set up on a 4x8 table and it had 5 pins 1 foot from the front of table spaced apart equally.
The goal was to get the pins off the table. If your shot placement was not correct the pin would fall over and sometime spin and not fall off the table. This required more shots and took more time. They do not shatter plastic the plastic is heavy and they have wood cores. They usually break in larger easy to pick up pieces after many shots. Be carefull I have been hit with lead from a spinning pin wear the proper saftey equipment.
BB
 
I used to work in a bowling alley...

They're maple, unless things have changed, with a hard plastic coating that doesn't shatter (remember what they're designed for).

They can be refurbished a time or two, but when the bowling center is certified by the American Bowling Congress (most are), the ABC will come in periodically to check specs on lanes, equipment and pins. When the pins are deemed unsuitable, they must be replaced.

If you know the owner of a bowling center, you can get the pins free or cheap. Several years ago, I asked for and got a whole pickup load of pins for free.

It takes multiple hits from a 30-06 to destroy one.
 
I won't be close when I shoot these, I have a Ruger Mini-14 and 10/22 so I'll be at least 50 yards away.
 
They are wood core with some type of plastic shell (Kind of like a Golfball). The shell tears or absorbs it doesn't shatter. The wood eventually splinters and usually falls out the bottom of the pin. We drill holes through ours and then suspend on a metal rod so they spin when you hit them. A .22 actually does more damage because they tear away at the skin.
 

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it all started with a man. The man who started a little company known as Second Chance. His Name was, uh, something or another.

Second Chance made some of the first concealable Bullet Resistant Vests. One of the founder's (I'll be darned if I can't remember the guy's name) demos involved shooting himself in the chest, then turning the gun around and shooting a bowling pin. That evolved into pin shooting, which had its own annual championship. As near as can tell the formal competition aspect of pin shooting has nearly died, but you can still find pockets of it here and there.
 
"That's a GREAT price if the steel holds-up well."

Its only a .22 target tho, can't imagine it would do too much damage to the target.
 
Bowling Pin Shooting

Updated 4/12/2005
Why bowling pins?
The first pin shoot recognized as such was conducted by Richard Davis who demonstrated the effectiveness of his companies bullet proof vests by shooting himself with a large caliber handgun while wearing his vest then using the gun to shoot 5 bowling pins off a table. As you can guess this demonstration for his Second Chance bullet proof vests has proven very effective. Why has shooting bowling pins taken off to the extent it has? Because it's fun! Bowling pins are a dynamic target, if you hit them off center they tend to fall down instead of going off the table. Once they're lying down they'll usually spin when hit on the ends instead of going off the table. These factors make the simple statement of "clear the table of 5 pins" more challenging than it sounds.

Basic Rules
Competitors stand at a rail 25 feet from the front edge of the pin table. The start position is with the gun or hand touching the start rail. Long guns must have the barrel touching the start rail. The gun, hand, and arm must be in an approximate 45% angle with the ground. The safety may be off or the hammer cocked as the range officer allows.

In the matchs I've shot in the tables have been 4' x 8' with the pins evenly spaced and set set 12" from the front edge of the table. In the 22 LR classes pins are set on the back edge of the table so the just need to be knocked over to clear the table.

Tables were typically made from partical board or plywood and layed across saw horses roughly 3.5 feet high. The boards were replaced after being shot until holes developed in them that would catch a pin. Metal tables can be used but are more expensive and generally require a more permanent location.

The pins can be shot in any order. The competitor continues until the last pin is cleared from the table. If necessary the shooter may reload or if using a revolver may go to a backup revolver and continue firing. A maximum time of 15 seconds is allowed per run at most matches.

Scoring can be done several different ways. I've been in matchs where everyone made 5 runs, discarded the slowest time and averaged the rest to determine a winner. I've also shot in matchs where it was double elimination "man on man", that is 2 shooters would start at the same time, whoever cleared their table first won. In those cases time didn't matter, only that you were faster than the other person in any particular run. Personally I find those matchs more fun than just shooting against the clock.

Classes
There are several different classes in pin shooting. Open where any modified handgun is allowed, Stock where essentially unmodified guns are used, Revolver, 22 caliber, Shotgun and Rifle. Any caliber handgun can be used, however pins are heavy and take a good shove to clear the table. In this you want a load that has significant momentum, not high energy.

Guns n Loads
In bowling pin shooting it's all about making your shots count and momentum. If you can't clear a table in 6-8 shots having another 8 in your magazine isn't going to help you win the match. Those who do best tend to use lightly customized 45 semi-autos or large caliber revolvers with less than full power magnum loads. Take your standard 125 gr 357 magnum load. It has around 582 foot pounds of energy (fpe) and 25 pounds/foot of momentum, while your standard 230 gr hardball 45 ACP has 369 fpe, 27 momentum. The 45 will tend to do slightly better than the 357 magnum at clearing tables and will be far easier to control in rapid shooting as well. Compare this to a standard 115gr 9mm load at 1150 fps, 337 fpe and only 18 momentum. Looking at the relative energy of the 9mm vs the 45 ACP you'd think they would perform about the same but that's not the case. On a perfect hit the 9mm will take a pin off the table but anything else and it will only knock it over leaving you to shoot it at least one more time to clear that pin. The 45 gives you more momentum and a slightly larger bullet giving you more margin for error for those less than perfect shots.

My personal favorite load consists of a 45 caliber 255gr LSWC moving at 875 feet/second. This load generates 433 fpe and 31 momentum and does extremely well at removing pins from the table in one hit. I use this load in my 1911 and a simlar load in my 45 Colt revolver. I've seen people use anything from small 380's to 44 magnum Desert Eagles in local matches. While the monster magnums do clear pins when they hit the shot to shot time is so low they don't do well against the clock. It's all about the skill of the competitor, not the gear. You can hand your tricked out $4,000 customized pin gun to most of the people at local matches and they won't do significantly better, if at all, than they do with a stock guy. Why? Because to do well you have to not miss and if you can't hit with a stock gun you aren't likely to with a custom one either. If it takes you more than 6 or 7 shots, to clear a table chances are your time has gotten so high you have little chance to win. You're much better off shooting a little slower and taking 5 shots than blazing away and having to reload.

How fast is fast?
So you have a frame of reference for how quickly your times are compared to shooters in the International Pin Shooting Association (IPSA) (Note: Since writing this article the IPSA seems to have closed and no longer has anything on their website) matches here are some of the statistics from recent top pin matches in the open handgun class. These scores are the cumulative 5 fastest runs out of 6 measured in seconds.
Average times (fastest/slowest times):


A Class: 18.9 (15.2/20.7)
B Class: 23.9 (20.2/27.4)
C Class: 47.5 (27.5/75)
Average time/table for each class is 3.78, 4.78, 9.5.

Where?
Where do you find these matchs? Check with your local range, many indoor and outdoor pistol ranges will hold weekly matchs that you can enter for a small fee. If none of your ranges currently do this maybe you can get them to start. Bowling pins can usually be obtained from bowling lanes (where else?) for free or a minimal ammount. The lanes get rid of less than perfect pins, but a dented or slightly cracked pin makes a great target for pin shooting.

John Knutson
Click to expand...
http://http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=13
 
They are also a VERY challenging target; the size and shape are about the same as the vitals on a human, and if you don't hit the pin straight-on, it will twist around, flop over, spin, you name it. Since the time doesn't stop in bowling-pin shooting until the pins are all the way off the table, you have to hit it right the first time, or you end up giving yourself a harder target. I've got a tape of the Second Chance shoot, and it looks like it was an amazing amount of fun, too bad it's no more.
 
Memories

Wow, this brings back memories - when I first got involved in competition shooting in the 80s, pin shooting was very popular, I actually went to the 2nd Chance meet a couple of times. I shot a lot of pin matches in those days. I knew some bowling alley owners, so I had a steady supply of used pins. I used to train with a group, so the pins would get used a lot, and I can confirm that they are very durable.

I had not thought of pins in quite a while - I should go pick some up again! ;)
 
My dad used to use them to practice hand-checkering for stocks too. If you mess up, just throw it on the lathe, and good as new!
 
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