Bowling Pin Match Advice

[Jesse Tischauser]

I am planning to shoot my first ever bowling pin match this weekend. What are the tricks of the trade on this sorta deal? I am assuming .45 is better than a 9mm? What else do I need to know about shot placement, etc?

[Sarge]

Dead center of the fattest part of the pin with the slowest/heaviest bullet you can find.

[Toolguy]

On bowling pins as with other reactive targets, bullet weight is king. That is if you have to move the pins off a regulation size table. If all you have to do is knock them over then anything will work, even a .22.

For a regulation match the pins are on a 4 X 8 foot table, set back 1 foot from the front. That means you have to move them 3 feet back to go off the edge. All pins have to be on the ground for the round to count. One of the best ways to get them there quickly is one shot each with 230 gr. (or heavier) .45 bullets. If a pin gets a glancing hit and just falls over you have to keep shooting till it's off.

The best place to hit is the widest part. That gives good pin action with the largest target area. If a pin is lying down, you want to hit straight above the point where the fat part touches the table. A hit to either side of this will just spin it in place.

[toothguy]

A great 45 acp pin load for me is 5.1 grains of 231 with a Nosler 250 grain long colt bullet. It performs well from my 625. The Nosler bullet is a good combo of weight and expansion. Warren shoots a 44 auto mag revolver with a load that removes the pins with authority. When he shoot them it looks like they are being hit with a baseball bat.

Edited October 19, 2012 by toothguy

[Dr. Phil]

As stated, heavy slow bullets. I shoot them right in the AMF insignia or the crown on the other side. That will drive them straight back. Shoot slowly enough to hit everything perfect. You can't miss fast enough to win... Best advice: Have fun! Probably won't win at your 1st try. Have a ball! That's what it's all about. If you win a few bucks, great. Buy more ammo!!

[Toolguy]

A great 45 acp pin load for me is 5.1 grains of 231 with a Nosler 250 grain long colt bullet. It performs well from my 625. The Nosler bullet is a good combo of weight and expansion. Warren shoots a 44 auto mag revolver with a load that removes the pins with authority. When he shoot them it looks like they are being hit with a baseball bat.

Yes - I run 300 grain bullets at 915 FPS. That is a 275 power factor. Even if 2 pins are lying down together I can get them both with one shot. I think I have the only 44 Auto Mag revolver there is. I built it myself.

[Jesse Tischauser]

A great 45 acp pin load for me is 5.1 grains of 231 with a Nosler 250 grain long colt bullet. It performs well from my 625. The Nosler bullet is a good combo of weight and expansion. Warren shoots a 44 auto mag revolver with a load that removes the pins with authority. When he shoot them it looks like they are being hit with a baseball bat.

Yes - I run 300 grain bullets at 915 FPS. That is a 275 power factor. Even if 2 pins are lying down together I can get them both with one shot. I think I have the only 44 Auto Mag revolver there is. I built it myself.

That load sounds like a wrist breaker! I like it!!!

[TwoShot]

A hollow point usually takes pins off the table better than a round nose. I used to use the old Speer 200 gr. flying ashtrays. They seemed to bite into the pin on an off center hit rather than ricochet. There used to be a hollow point with a deep serrated edge called a "pin chopper". These too would bite into the pin and take it off the table with an off center hit.

[toothguy]

A great 45 acp pin load for me is 5.1 grains of 231 with a Nosler 250 grain long colt bullet. It performs well from my 625. The Nosler bullet is a good combo of weight and expansion. Warren shoots a 44 auto mag revolver with a load that removes the pins with authority. When he shoot them it looks like they are being hit with a baseball bat.

Yes - I run 300 grain bullets at 915 FPS. That is a 275 power factor. Even if 2 pins are lying down together I can get them both with one shot. I think I have the only 44 Auto Mag revolver there is. I built it myself.

That load sounds like a wrist breaker! I like it!!!

The club purchased a cargo net to catch the pins before they would land in a bullet stop water bath. When Warren shoots the pin it violently flips in the air tearing a hole in the net and the pin would land in the water anyway. So much fun.

[toothguy]

A hollow point usually takes pins off the table better than a round nose. I used to use the old Speer 200 gr. flying ashtrays. They seemed to bite into the pin on an off center hit rather than ricochet. There used to be a hollow point with a deep serrated edge called a "pin chopper". These too would bite into the pin and take it off the table with an off center hit.

Those Nosler 250 grain hp Long colt bullets flatten to the size of a half dollar when they hit the pins. Even glancing shots are effective. The down side is the price.

[Jesse Tischauser]

I love it! No matter what the game there are always gamers.

[Carmoney]

A hollow point usually takes pins off the table better than a round nose. I used to use the old Speer 200 gr. flying ashtrays. They seemed to bite into the pin on an off center hit rather than ricochet. There used to be a hollow point with a deep serrated edge called a "pin chopper". These too would bite into the pin and take it off the table with an off center hit.

You're talking about Bill Kaswer's "Pin Grabber" bullets and ammo.

Blast from the past.

[Carmoney]

Dead center of the fattest part of the pin with the slowest/heaviest bullet you can find.

Actually, you're better off with the fastest/heaviest bullet you can find. (Within reason, of course.)

[Carmoney]

I think I have the only 44 Auto Mag revolver there is. I built it myself.

Warren, you may have inadvertently copied the .44 JAG pin revolver concept, which was featured in at least one gun magazine article about 25 years ago.

Trivia question--can anybody name the three men whose last names make up the initials in JAG?

[Paul-the new guy]

Shooting pins is so much fun. We shoot them head to head so the pressure is on! I do better with 9mm loaded to major velocity than I do with 45. The load is snappy and my transitions are faster than with the 45. They come off the table fine if you hit them well.

[toothguy]

Shooting pins is so much fun. We shoot them head to head so the pressure is on! I do better with 9mm loaded to major velocity than I do with 45. The load is snappy and my transitions are faster than with the 45. They come off the table fine if you hit them well.

I started shooting pins with a beretta 92. At the time it was the only gun I had. I used 147 grain hollow points and it did ok but shot placement was critical.

[toothguy]

Dead center of the fattest part of the pin with the slowest/heaviest bullet you can find.

Actually, you're better off with the fastest/heaviest bullet you can find. (Within reason, of course.)

Carmoney, how fast were the 230gr lincoln logs? Load data?

Edited October 19, 2012 by toothguy

[Carmoney]

I started shooting pins with a beretta 92. At the time it was the only gun I had. I used 147 grain hollow points and it did ok but shot placement was critical.

In a classic Second Chance main event set-up, the pins were placed 3 feet from the rear of the steel-topped table. That made using a 9mm pretty much non-viable.

In the 9-pin side event, the pins were placed 1 foot from the back of the table. This event was designed for the 9mms and .38 Supers.

[Carmoney]

Dead center of the fattest part of the pin with the slowest/heaviest bullet you can find.

Actually, you're better off with the fastest/heaviest bullet you can find. (Within reason, of course.)

Carmoney, how fast were the 230gr lincoln logs? Load data?

The classic load with the 230-gr. flat-front Lincoln log bullets, the ones from the original H&G molds, seated to the crimp groove in .38 Special brass, was 7.2 grains of Blue Dot. That would give velocities of around 900 fps. Some of the more adventurous of us went all the way up to 7.8 grains of Blue Dot, which would bump the velocities up to 1050 fps.

Those numbers are from a Model 27 with an 8-3/8" barrel, which is what a bunch of us were using at the time.

[toothguy]

Dead center of the fattest part of the pin with the slowest/heaviest bullet you can find.

Actually, you're better off with the fastest/heaviest bullet you can find. (Within reason, of course.)

Carmoney, how fast were the 230gr lincoln logs? Load data?

The classic load with the 230-gr. flat-front Lincoln log bullets, the ones from the original H&G molds, seated to the crimp groove in .38 Special brass, was 7.2 grains of Blue Dot. That would give velocities of around 900 fps. Some of the more adventurous of us went all the way up to 7.8 grains of Blue Dot, which would bump the velocities up to 1050 fps.

Those numbers are from a Model 27 with an 8-3/8" barrel, which is what a bunch of us were using at the time.

Thanks.

[P.E. Kelley]

Jurras, Ayoob and Grenell?

Lee, Mass and Dean.

[TonyH]

Oh how I miss those fun days at Second Chance. This is where I got started in competitive handgun shooting. These were some major major loads, 255 keith bullets going 950.

[Carmoney]

Jurras, Ayoob and Grenell?

Lee, Mass and Dean.

Good guess--and you got one correct!

Russ Jefferson (NH gunsmith who did the conversion work)

Mas Ayoob (volunteered the gun for the project and authored the AH article)

Bill Grimmett (NH shooter who dreamed up the whole idea)

Mike Carmoney (no input whatsoever, but "Hell I Was There!")

[Greg in VA]

I used a triple port compensated 44 mag desert eagle loaded hot, all you had to do was get the bullet close. I think sometimes just the thought of the bullet hitting the pins was enough to make them jump off the table. We would put 10 pins on the table and shoot a team match at the end of the match, now that was fun.

[toothguy]

I used a triple port compensated 44 mag desert eagle loaded hot, all you had to do was get the bullet close. I think sometimes just the thought of the bullet hitting the pins was enough to make them jump off the table. We would put 10 pins on the table and shoot a team match at the end of the match, now that was fun.

At the Bullet Hole in Kansas they use to shoot pins down stairs. One of the tables has a hole that they would use to bolt down the pin to screw with the new guys. With that gun I bet that prank would not have worked.