I will attend a Chester, NH bowling pin match on the last Saturday in October. I will shoot in the revolver event with my 6-inch S&W M629 .44 Magnum using 210-grain wadcutters at 1200 FPS. This load drives the 3.5 pound pins back the necessary three feet quite nicely. Wish me luck!

Good luck! I used to use a M 57 loaded with 210 gr LSWC at about 1000 FPS. Knocked the pins off without hesitation, and easy to control. Your load sounds to me like it may be hotter than necessary. But, if it works for you it sounds great.

I've found it to be the most down to earth shooting crowd & lady luck gives most anyone a chance at winning, (I've seen pins flip up in the air & land standing up). Being that it is a timed event, IMO the recoil from a 44 mag will slow your times when a heavy flat nosed 38 special (if you prefer a revolver) works well, as does a 45acp in semi auto. At my club it is a 3 gun event, 1 being rim fire, 1 semi auto centerfire, & 1 centerfire revolver. Have fun. A heavy flat nosed 44 special would work better for you IMO, & if you need more than 6 shots, you are likely out of the winners circle anyway. The goal is to clear the table, not destroy the pins.

I'm in agreement with the above comments. Momentum gets the job done, so heavier bullets at moderate velocity are the way to go. You want to balance the power with the need for speed and accuracy and a 215 gr bullet at 1200 fps might be a bit of a handful for either.

On the other hand, a full power .38 Special with a 158 gr flat point bullet however is as low as I'd go, and a .357 Mag is a much better choice.

A DA revolver in .45 Colt with a 255 bullet at around 800 fps is a good choice, as is a .44 Special with a 240 gr bullet at around 850 fps. A .357 Mag with a 158 gr bullet at 1300 fps will produce exactly the same level of momentum as the .44 and .45 loads above, which is 29 compared to 36 for the OP's 215 gr load.

In comparison, a .38 Special launching a 158 bullet at 850 fps provides a momentum of just 19 - a bit less than 2/3rds of what you get with the above loads, so shooters are handicapping themselves with a .38. However, if you shoot a .38 really well and cannot shoot a .357 Mag or one of the .44's or 45s nearly as well, the .38 Special might be a better choice for you.

For the semi-auto class I use 230 gr RNFP bullets at 900 fps in a .45 ACP, which also gives the same momentum (29) as the .45 colt, .44 Special and .357 mag loads above.

Bullets with flat points, wad cutters or semi wad cutters seem to be preferred and at least theoretically grab the pin a little better if you're a little off center on the shot.

For the rim fire class, the pins are normally set on the back edge of the table, but again momentum is what you want so stay with 40 grain bullets rather than lighter, faster rounds.

Despite it being a timed event accuracy is also at a premium. You can hit a pin fast, but if you hit it off center and all it does is spin on the table, you've just lost a lot of time compared to a slightly slower shot better placed. It's harder to hit a spinning pin center of mass, so that less than perfect first shot often ends up resulting in two more shots to get the pin off the table. Thus a miss in the revolver class often equates to a reload when you've got 5 pins and just 6 rounds. Even if you're really good with a speed loader, the time needed of the extra shots, plus the reload will normally put you in the losers bracket.

In the rimfire category it comes down to accuracy and reliability. A missed shot will often put you in the loser's bracket, and a miss feed is the kiss of death.

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I enjoy the bracket style matches much more than the timed events due to the fun of shooting head to head with another shooter. In addition, if you screw up really badly, and end up in the losers bracket, you can still win the match - something that doesn't happen in a timed match. That's more encouraging than flubbing your first table an then hoping other shooters make similar mistakes.

If you have a dozen or more competitors, and the match has both winners and losers brackets that pair the winners of each bracket at the end, no one ends up shooting less than 2 times and many shooters will shoot more than 3 times, and after the first table, anyone can still win the match.

Timed events usually involve shooting 3 tables for either an average or total time. The upside is everyone is guaranteed to shoot 3 times.

As noted above, there is an element of luck involved, and the pins start to respond differently, once they start to get soft (literally, from the wood fracturing inside the plastic skin). Soft pins are a bit harder to clear than fresh pins. That's another advantage of a head to head match, where at each stage you're shooting pins that are on average as beat up as the other guy's pins. That's not really the case if you're the guy shooting toward the end of the third timed stage in a timed match.

We don't, so ammo that destroys a pin will quickly get you DQ'd and constantly replacing pins will slow things to a snails pace. The older well used pins are not at all equal to each other (lumps/bumps/cracks/soft/hard/heavy where lead has been added) and will each react differently when struck, making it unpredictable & fun. How boring for "the best" to win every time. I guess rules are different place to place. We use 4 tables, 5 pins on each and the highest time of the 4 tables is discarded. Everyone gets to shoot 4 tables with 3 different guns, so all is even. Different divisions for stock vs modified & platforms are in place. Revolvers holding more than 6 rounds go into modified division (as it should be). We are a small group of non world class shooters & even so a clean run of 5 shots is almost always needed to win & times can be REAL CLOSE. A 15 round mag won't be a help.

I just ran our first heads up BP match at our gun club. I did a triple elimination with 2 classes centerfire and rimfire. We had a member make a device for the last pin each person shoots. There both mounted to a bracket that when shot the pins cross over each other so the one on the bottom is the winner. We only had 12 people show up but it was a blast. Everyone wanted to know when we would have another one. I didn't do winner loser brackets everyone pulled numbers from a can each round. There where blue and brown numbers to see who would shoot against who.

Did a lot of pin shooting back when it first became popular, mostly with a ,45acp 1911, and a 4 inch model 29. My experience jives with whats posted above - big and slow works better than light and fast. Either gun or caliber, 230 / 240 grain flat tipped lead bullet at about 850 to 900 fps.

1st match I tried, I used my 4 inch 586 loaded with factory 125 grain .357 mag ammo. Hit em pretty quick. Problem was most pins split, or rolled around on the table. I learned pretty quick about this thing called "momentum". I would load those 215's down to about 950 fps in the interest of quick recoil recovery.

Larry

Skeeter had it right - 7.5 grs of Unique under a Lyman 429421 in .44 Spl cases.

__________________
NRA Benefactor Member

I haven't shot bowling pins in years, so things may have changed.
But in my 44 mag. I used a 245 gr. LSWC with Unique at about 900 fps.
In the 45 acp I started with a 200 H&G 68 at about 875 - 900 fps.
But later went to a 230 gr TCFN at about 830 fps. which seemed to take pins off the table better..
Use to have lots of fun shooting bowling pins..

I use a 44 Special 240 LSWC loaded to about 865 FPS. All that's needed.
Sometimes 45 AR 230 JHP loaded to the same speed.
Like mentioned, if you're destroying their pins, you will likely be invited to leave.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Been a long time ago but a buddy gave me some 45 caliber bullets with “teeth” that worked quite well on pins. Looked something like this.

Those bullets were called "Pin Grabbers". They worked well. Heavy hollow points work just fine too. With any reactive targets, pins, plates, etc., bullet weight is King. A slower, heavy bullet has a lot less recoil to deal with than a light, fast bullet of equal power factor. My bowling pin load is a 300 gr. 44 going 915 fps. It will easily clear 2 pins lying together in one shot.

I haven't shot pins for many years, in a place far, far away. I noted hollow points were best, I used 200 grain "Ashtray" loads in .45 ACP because I could leave the aluminum cases behind. I never found a good reliable .38 Special load for taking pins off the table. 145 gr Winchester Silvertips worked well from a 4" Security Six heavy barrel. In .22 Class I used a Ruger T-514 Bull barrel with Remington Viper flat point solids.

Geoff
Who notes the Vipers have to feeding problems in some guns.

Otasan, Ive had good luck with .38 spl, 158gr LSWC loaded to around 840 fps. Good power and fast with regard to recoil and follow up shots.
Once in a while I will shoot a .44 mag loaded to 850 fps with a 240gr LSWC, just for fun. A stout 9mm load with 124 gr bullets has done good by me in the past but the .38`s are my favorite in a 4" or 6" L frame.
I see you are in NH. My club has been running pin matches this summer and fall. We are in Franklin NH. Next match is the 21st.
If interested, let me know and Ill send you details.
Good luck,
Jim

If you like shooting 38/357 at bowling pins you should try 230 grain Thunderheads (basically a really long double ended wad cutter) made by Penn bullets. Load them to ~900fps and they are great. The big disadvantage of using these is they are slow for reloads. But as somebody mentioned if you need to reload you will probably lose.

I always liked 200 grain JHP 10mm for bowling pins going at least 1000 fps in an uncompensated 610 or Delta Elite. If compensated 1200 fps was what I used.

Are there any resources for starting a pin league? I'm not too enthused with IDPA and SCSA stuff--"meh" equipment and uninspiring ammunition, not to mention the local crowd is spray-and-pray meatheads.

So pinshooting seems fun. 255-gr LSWC's out of my 1911? A reason to bust out the 625? An actual use for my 629? The joy of watching hi-cap'd compensated 9mm pateooy guns struggle helplessly? All good.

What's the best method to get pins? I presume used ones from an alley would be best, but how to you get that relationship going? How long do the pins last? What should I expect to pay?

Tables! I know my guys. Those tables are going to get hit--a lot. I guess I should just go to some nice, easily-transportable, easily-replaceable sheets of plywood or something on a sawhorse?

Ammo--I see mention of not allowing FMJ ammo. While that's not a problem for me, I'd like to keep it as open as possible, and that means I'd like to accommodate people that don't have easy access to lead ammo (WalMart doesn't seem to stock it). Is it true that FMJ can't/shouldn't be used, or only low-velocity handloaded FMJ?

The good old Second Chance-style bowling pin matches are back in Central Lake Mich. Richard Davis' son is running it.

[email protected]

Thats an awesome match. I have a couple of friends that go there.
Jim

Is there any room left in the case for powder? I'm a big fan of the DEWC's due to the large meplat diameter & flat face. With the balance on each used pin being different, bullet placement will react "unpredictably" & that is an equalizer & fun factor booster IMO.

is not that powerful. It is not a superfast hollow point. It is a 210gr wadcutter going 1200 FPS. That is power factor 252.

Just my unsolicited opinion, but as far as I’m concerned that’s at least 300’fps faster than necessary. I used to use a M 57 with 210 LSWC’s at about 850-900. Always cleared the table with any kind of decent hit. Your load would slow me down and probably does more pin damage than necessary. JMHO.

Good Luck at Chester. We shot the last pin match of the season today. Our friend that shoots revolver upside down attended.
Im sure you know who I mean.
Todays match was well attended and .22 shooters had a good day as well as centerfire crowd.
Its been a great day and good summer for Franklin Targeteers.
Hope you have fun at Chester.
Jim

My 210gr WC bullet at 1200 FPS takes the pin back 3 feet nicely. And once in a while, sliding speed matters.

I don't think shooting a " wadcutter " @ 1200 fps is what it's designed for ? A "semi wadcutter " , no problem . There is a difference between the 2 .

So true. I don't suppose that the designer of the 210gr wadcutter .44 bullet had 1200 FPS in mind, but it works quite well on bowling pins.

Very Interesting ! I have never shot bowling pin matches . I remember reading about some Louisiana State Troopers were at a match ( during the 70's) . They were shoooting model 19's (357) with 6" barrels . Their load was the Elmer Keith 173 gr cast bullet sitting on top of 7.0 grs of Unique . The author stated that bowling pins were flying everywhere . I have found that load to be a great " general purpose " load . But like I said , I have no experience with it at a bowling pin match , just what I read . Regards , Paul

If the host club uses Amflite II pins with the thicker surlyn jacket, they last far longer.

Where is your BP match held at? NH? I also see that you are a USN veteran. What ship(s)?

They were easy to get as the bowling alleys changed them out fairly often. But now most of them send them back for refurbishment. So they are hard to get without buying them new.

A wadcutter has a very short nose, compared to the SWC. Also, the WC has more bore-bearing surface.

Head to head pin matches are about the most fun you can have with a handgun. Dueling trees are fun too!

Franklin NH is where we are.
USS Constitution
USS MCCandless
Naval Hosp PortsVa
A little Camp LeJuene.

The pin match where I use these .44 loads gives you 8 seconds to knock 5 pins to the ground. My muzzle flip isn't that much with a 210gr WC bullet. With this load I need only 4 seconds.

Otasan,
Franklin matches are 3 lane runs 3 up at a time,first cleared, deadwood and all wins relay, and no time limit.
First cleared wins and advances to shoot off.
Tables are 2` x 4` so heavy stuff not going to give a big advantage.
Jim

Well, I shot in the Chester, NH pin shoot a few days ago. I won the stock gun class with 30 out of 30 pins, and second in the revolver class with a 29.

Send me details - [email protected]

One shot, one pin. It works every time. I almost always take first place.

I believe it. Ive seen you shoot. You once beat me on plates but by less than 1/2 second.
When I set up pin dates at Franklin I will let you know.
Trying not to conflict with Pioneer and Chester.
Jim

I'm shooting my first one of these matches tomorrow night.
I recently picked up a CZ Shadow 2 and it's taken over as my favorite gun, so I will be going with that using 147gr 9mm AE flat nose rounds.
I'm going to bring my Ruger Mark III as well if they have a separate set up for rimfire, I'll shoot that too, my Mark III has a Vortex Venom on it and all Volquartsen internals. I've shot it at steel plates a few times and I'm dead on and fast with it. Sadly my Performance Center M&P 9l with the Jpoint is losing favor with me, I'm leaning towards all metal guns for competitive shooting now

Some years ago we hand Pin shoots at my club, and they were really fun. They did allow a NY Reload (2nd revolver). and "sometimes" you could win with using a reload. I shot a Mod 29 with JHP's loaded to about 1000 fps. Never hesitation taking the pin off the table. If I could just find my sights faster. Red dots would have worked better.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

well that was a blast!!
Used my new CZ shadow 2......................gun freaking rocks

Our club sets up two tables at 15 yards away, 5 pins each except we cut the top 6" off the pin and set up 3 tops with two bodies on the ends. So using a large caliber magnum isn't necessary. Shooting just the tops at 15 yards is plenty challenging and fun since we shoot head to head.

I use either my 4" model 10 38 special or my 4" 686-6 depending on what mood i'm in. For the most part I use my reloads. 148 grain wadcutters over 2.7 grains Titegroup set at COAL 1.18". Even at 15 yards those loads will penetrate a pin & protrude maybe 1-2mm out of the body. Another favorite load I like is 158 grain LRN over 4.8 grains Power Pistol COAL of 1.455" and finally a 158 grain SWC-HP over 3.8 grains Titegroup & COAL 1.590". These loads mentioned are a great balance between knock down power & accuracy.

The last several pin matches that I shot at a local indoor range were the man on man variety. I shot my Glock M-35, .40 S&W with a Lonewolf ported Barrel. Ammo was some of my handloads with 180 Hornady XTP's at about 900 FPS. Worked nicely with little muzzle flip.

Here is a dead on shot of one of my wadcutters in a pin head. Our club sets up 3 pin heads and two pin bodies at 15-17 yards. This was with my model 10-8 4" heavy barrel 38 special using fixed sights. The recipe for my wadcutters is Hornady 148gr HBWC, 2.7gr Titegroup & OAL of 1.18".