9mm bowling pin loads

[tswisher21]

I have a sti dvc open in 9mm. anyone have a good bowling pin recipe? I have been using my 124 gn major loads and was wondering if 147 major would work better. any thoughts. Tim

[EEH]

Lol,,yes leave that gun at home,and shoot a 45 acp.

it you want to use a 9mm, buy the heaviest bullet you can find.

A 147 at major speed may work.

Edited August 12, 2018 by EEH

[EEH]

I forgot one very important piece of information,, I’d send a guy named Mike  carmoney on this forum a pm and ask him.

im sure there may be others also 

[zzt]

Do the club and the MD a favor and shoot 147 minor for pins.  That way you won't destroy as many, and you will still clear the pins.

[Hi-Power Jack]

2 hours ago, zzt said:

shoot 147 minor for pins.  

 

160 gr HP's     

[igolfat8]

I’ve shot pins for the last 7 years. Started with a .45 then moved to a .40 and now for the last 4 years I shot 9 exclusively. I can tell you that 9s will shoot the lowest times. I can also tell you that you do NOT need a heavy bullet because that is outdated thinking. What we have found is that even 95s work well if they have enough velocity and bullet velocity matters more than bullet weight.

[Hi-Power Jack]

11 minutes ago, igolfat8 said:

 you do NOT need a heavy bullet because that is outdated thinking.

 

Wow !    That runs contrary to everything I've heard (no personal experience).

 

Are they also loading .45's with light fast bullets ?

[igolfat8]

There are only two .45 hold outs around here shooting pins. No 38 super or .40 shooters anymore either. Everyone else has switched to 9s. It’s hard to argue with the timer results. And by the way the 45 shooters are no longer competitive against most of the 9 shooters.

Edited August 13, 2018 by igolfat8

[igolfat8]

33 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

Wow !    That runs contrary to everything I've heard (no personal experience).

 

Are they also loading .45's with light fast bullets ?

They tried that years ago when 38 supers came out.  They cast 45s using pure Linotype trying to get lighter and faster bullets but it was a flop against the knockdown power of the faster and lighter 125 grain 38 supers. Now we are pushing 95s to 1600 plus FPS to accomplish the same thing at faster speeds and lower costs over the 38 supers.

[zzt]

I have lots of personal experience, and I say BS.  If you are shooting REAL pin shoots, you have to knock the pin off the table and it has to hit the ground to count.  I've shot them with 9mm 147s, 40 155~180 and 45 with 200s.  45s rule.  The last thing in the world you want is a fast light bullet.

 

I shoot pins with a 45 200gr RNFP with a very wide meplap.  It only goes around 156PF, but people always ask me what the heck I'm shooting.  Pins simply disappear.

[jaques]

Lol.... We shoot bowling pin matches with real bowling pins and they reuse their pins for several shoots and are shot to hell. In their matches you have to knock them completely off the table as well.  And we shoot 9mm 147 grain projectiles with a PF of 130 and it does just fine knocking the off the table.  Actually where we shoot 9mm rule and none of them are shooting major PF. Most shoot new factory 115 grain ammo and it works perfectly fine.  Go shoot and have fun. 

[Hi-Power Jack]

8 hours ago, igolfat8 said:

  .45 shooters are not competitive against  9mm shooters.

 

There are two different types of pin matches - 

1.  knock the pins down

2.  knock the pins OFF the Table.

 

Is your experience with the OFF the table type matches ?

[igolfat8]

In our local matches you only have to drive REAL bowling pins off a 12" wide shelf. I have shot matches where you have to drive them off a 4' wide plywood table too and 9s do just fine with center hits there too.  Deeper tables have fizzled out because it gets expensive replacing plywood tables every week from novice shooters pulling shots low and destroying the tables. 45's used to rule around here too but when its a race against the clock 45's just can't compete with 9s.

 

Back to the original question, my normal loads are:

 

120 Cast Lee TC, coated, over 4.2 WSF, 133 PF.

95 Cast Lee RNFP, coated, 8.0 grains of HS-6, 155PF for deeper 4' tables

95 Cast Lee RNFP, coated, 4.6TG, 126PF, for shallow 12" shelves

[Hi-Power Jack]

8 minutes ago, igolfat8 said:

you have to drive pins off a 12" wide shelf.

 

I think that might be the difference - can't see a reason

that a 9mm won't slam a pin off a 12" wide table, 

 

BUT,

 

to drive a pin off a 48" table is a different story.   

 

I guess I'd have to try your 95 gr 155 PF load on a 48" table,

vs my old .45  ….  Maybe one day     

[zzt]

Even a 22 will knock a pin off a 12" table with a center hit.  It only has to move 6" or less,  the advantage of the heavier bullets is with off center hits.

[igolfat8]

I can assure you it works quite well on CENTER hits. Wing a pin and it just spins like a winged hit with any caliber. I use to follow the thought process of bigger is better but have been converted to faster is mo-betta. It's really easy to see the effect just testing different weights and velocities on a steel plate rack. Velocity will always trump mass in steel plate knock down power. Call it BS all you want until you try it for yourself. Shoot a 125 grain bullet at lower velocity and then shoot the same bullet at 38 super speeds and watch the plate bounce back up and laugh in your face.

[Hi-Power Jack]

5 hours ago, igolfat8 said:

 Velocity will always trump mass in steel plate knock down power.  

 

Not saying that you're wrong, but that    ^^^^   also defies "common knowledge".

 

It's always been "heavier bullets are better for steel" …   Now I'm confused.

 

Will have to try it myself.

[jpm2953]

I have won many Bowling pin matches with some mouse fart 9mm loads. fastest run was a 2.89. 5 pins at 12 yards

[igolfat8]

We shoot 10 pins and 2 steel poppers at 30’. Max of 20 rounds and mandatory reload. Our record is 7.90. The poppers keep everyone honest so loads aren’t too light. 

[pcschwenke]

i guess this depends on what you call "Pin Shoot".  If the pins are only on a 12" deep table, yes, a 9mm would work fine.  I'd use whatever your gun feeds the best with a flat nose.  If you shoot at "The Pin Shoot" (formerly Second Chance) good luck with a 9mm...   The 45ACP & 50GI rule with large, flat, heavy bullets.  I've shot this match the past 2 years, and prior to that 10+ years as Second Chance.  They do have a 9x12 even which is knocking pins over 12 pins and the 9mm luger does rule this event.  Nothing else.  

[zzt]

On 8/13/2018 at 2:17 PM, Hi-Power Jack said:

Will have to try it myself.

 

And when you do Jack, you will find heavier is better.

[Hi-Power Jack]

You wouldn't make a very good scientist, zzt.    

[Jamese35]

I would say 147 gr major loads will work just fine. I shot pins at 15 yard with 124 minor loads and never had a problem. Now I shoot 160 grain 9mm loads at a 137 pf out of my glock 34 and it will make steel plates move like your shooting them with a rifle. Heavy bullets are king in my book. They seem to have more carrying energy then light fast bullets, and you get way flatter gun cycling for faster follow up shots.

[njl]

On 8/13/2018 at 8:17 AM, igolfat8 said:

In our local matches you only have to drive REAL bowling pins off a 12" wide shelf. I have shot matches where you have to drive them off a 4' wide plywood table too and 9s do just fine with center hits there too.  Deeper tables have fizzled out because it gets expensive replacing plywood tables every week from novice shooters pulling shots low and destroying the tables. 45's used to rule around here too but when its a race against the clock 45's just can't compete with 9s.

 

 

 

That makes a huge difference.  You're basically shooting the pins off a "rail" vs a several foot deep table.  I've done both...and for the deep tables, you want heavy bullets.  For a rail, anything that'll more than knock them over should be fine as long as the pins are reasonably fresh.  After a lot of abuse, they can get all warty and heavy, and those don't roll too well.

[ghost21]

I've been reading , all the post on 9mm vs 45acp bowling pin loads. And I've got to say both are right !

It been a few years since I've shot pins, But I have to say my favorite for bowling pins would be 45acp !

My load was 200gr Speer GDHP over 7.2 grs N340, I cant remember the FPS off the top of my head , I think it was around 1050 to 1100(don't quote me on that) don't have access to my load records right now.

But my way of thinking is, yes 9mm loads with a 147gr bullet will take pins off the table especially a 12" wide table when the pins are set center, front to back! But the pin matches I shot in the pins were used over and over, so after awhile the pins would get to looking like they had warts, and would get very heavy. But a good heavy 45 bullet could still take them off while a 9mm heavy bullet , may leave the pin spinning on the table ,especially if it was heavy with many bullets.

I did use my G34 to shoot 9pin, and did do a great job of taking the pins down, but they were always new pins for the 9pin table!

Oh and BTW the table used in the pin matches I shot were (if I remember correctly ) 4x8 steel with a shelf 2 pins on shelf, 3 pins on the table .

and distance, again from memory, was 15ft.

If there is anyone on the forum that remembers the pin match at Topton PA, ran by Randy Hollowbush , then you know what I'm talking about.

So , 9mm or 45ACP, both will do great for knocking pins off the table.

Now as far as 45 holding its own against 9mm for pin shoots ,I wont comment on that, since I haven't shot a pin match in sometime !although my best time for clearing 3 tables is 2.76 seconds(that was the best out of the 3) all 3 were under 3 seconds