Bowling Pin Shooting

[epj]

is not that powerful. It is not a supe4rfast 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.

 

[jimbo728]

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&S 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 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

 

[otasan56]

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.

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

 

[cowboy4evr]

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 .

 

[otasan56]

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.

 

[cowboy4evr]

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

 

[otasan56]

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.

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

 

[otasan56]

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

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

 

[Charlie Foxtrott]

We used to shoot pins around here fairly often.

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.

 

[otasan56]

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 .

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

 

[K Frame Keith]

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

 

[jimbo728]

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

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

 

[otasan56]

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.

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.

 

[jimbo728]

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

 

[otasan56]

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.

 

[otasan56]

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

Send me details - [email protected]

 

[otasan56]

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.

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

 

[jimbo728]

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

 

[kmanick]

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

 

[H Richard]

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.