big enough for bowling pins?

milktree

milktree

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How "big" a caliber is necessary/preferred for knocking bowling pins off a table?

There was a match at MRA last Saturday that said "357 or larger" but I haven't gotten an answer to what "or larger" means.

Does .40 S&W count? It's technically larger, but does it have enough "go"? Are target .45 ACP hot enough, or do they need to be full power? I've got some CCI Blazer .357 Magnum that are not nearly as powerful as some R-P loads, which makes me wonder if the blazer would cut it.

Maybe there's a power-factor number that I can aim for or something .....
 
milktree said:
How "big" a caliber is necessary/preferred for knocking bowling pins off a table?

There was a match at MRA last Saturday that said "357 or larger" but I haven't gotten an answer to what "or larger" means.

Does .40 S&W count? It's technically larger, but does it have enough "go"? Are target .45 ACP hot enough, or do they need to be full power? I've got some CCI Blazer .357 Magnum that are not nearly as powerful as some R-P loads, which makes me wonder if the blazer would cut it.

Maybe there's a power-factor number that I can aim for or something .....
Click to expand...

I have seen pins taken off the table with everything from 38's and 9's to full house 45's. Main thing to remember is aim for the big part! Just about any center fire will work but late in the day when the pins get heavy with absorbed bullets they are harder to move and if they fall over they don't roll worth a damn.
 
depends on how much lead is in the pins already. i've shot fresh pins with 115gr FMJ 9mm, then had trouble knocking them off the table with hot 147gr JHPs.

good old 230gr .45 ACP will get the job done, .44 magnum always will. [laugh]
 
excoastie said:
Singletary Rod & Gun uses 22 to knock over bowling pins for their shoots... and nothing bigger. If a 22 handgun can do it, a 40 should be able to... as long as the projectile strikes the pin. [wink]
Click to expand...

That's true if you're just trying to knock them over, but if you need to get them *off* the table (like, make them move a good three feet off the back edge of the table) a .22 would *eventually* work, but it would take forever.

Think, "knock it off the table with one well placed shot, even when they're heavy"
 
It depends if you want shoot pins or shoot pins and win. I think for pins at the MRA you will find .45 is prefered. I have shot it with .357 Winchester Win-cleans and .45 Winchester white box.

More advanced guys will look at power factors, special ammo to impart as much force to the pin as quickly as possible. If you are just starting out then I would go and shoot, as you become more competitive the guys will help you out with additional info that you might need.
 
How bout you get your own pins and find out? I still have plenty. Sellin them for a buck a piece. Located in Dartmouth.
 
I agree with jaymce. Go, shoot and have fun. I've shot pins with a G27 and a USP .40 using WWB with reasonable success. As Atilla said, a lot depends on how used the pins are.

Gary
 
I shoot pins also.

The thing to keep in mind, as most pin games go, as the heats continue, the pins fill will lead. This makes them quite heavy over time.

At the begining of a match, a 9 MM may knock the pin off the table if the pin is hit in the proper spot, driving it straight back. Towards the end of a match, the pins are heavy and I have seen the same 9mm just cause a pin to jump or wobble, or get knocked over and remain on the table (for most pin shoots, you're required to knock the pins clear off the table, not just knock them down).

So from what I have seen and experienced a 45 ACP is a minimum cartridge to use. I have rarely seen people be successful with 9mm, and to a greater degree with a .40.

However a 45 ACP works, as does a 357 Magnum as well as a 44 Magnum. My 460 Rowland does just fine also (it's in the same power class as the 44 Magnum).

Come on out to a Pin shoot sometime, even if you just watch. We have them here in Southern NH, or there are a few in MA i'm sure.

Note, most have a 22LR class also, which is usualy shot at the begining of the match (before the pins are heavy). The pins for the 22LR match (at my club) are set at the back of the table, so you only have to knock them off. Sound easy? Try 5 pins plus a bonus shotgun shell in 4 seconds!
 
If you have to knock them completely off the table I found the 45 worked the best for me. I was shooting hollow points too hoping they would not deflect as easy. You still need to hit them in the sweet spot but the 45 seemed to be a good compromise of hitting power and controlable recoil.
 
I've shot many a pin matches at MRA & I can tell you for a fact that 9mm are not allowed because (depending on the density of the pins due to moisture content) we've had too many ricochets.
40 S&W are allowed but not super effective unless you're using 180GR & make a precise, well placed shot.
357's work great but I personally don't prefer the recoil characteristics of the round as far as follow up shots are concerned.
45ACP is my caliber of choice out of a S&W model 625.
 
geez last pin match i used my Kahr pm9 and my S&W 610 shooting 165 gr .40 out of it.really depends on the weight of the pins though
 
At North Leominster's June match, the winner was shooting an 92FS. Most everyone else was shooting 1911's. Except for atilla, who was shooting the table.
 
Depends on the format. If it's "real deal" full size tables a .40 will get you by, but .45 ACP and .44 mag are way better, or .357 mag with heavy bullets. If it's the wussbag stuff where you knock it off a 2 foot wide table or one of those little platforms then anything from 9mm on up will work fine.

If you only have a 9mm bring it, but bring a 100-200 rounds of .45 230 gr ball with you in case you start to get frustrated. If you ask nicely enough, someone will let you borrow one of their backup guns.

-Mike
 
Last edited:
saltydude said:
I've shot many a pin matches at MRA & I can tell you for a fact that 9mm are not allowed because (depending on the density of the pins due to moisture content) we've had too many ricochets.
Click to expand...

I've never seen this problem with 9mm. One of the shoots (Athol?) used to mandate .40 on up, but I think that was more of an "advisory" than anything else. I've seen more "bullet returns" with .45 than all the others combined, good thing is the bullets don't return with that much force.

-Mike
 
R1ch said:
The pins for the 22LR match (at my club) are set at the back of the table, so you only have to knock them off. Sound easy? Try 5 pins plus a bonus shotgun shell in 4 seconds!
Click to expand...

Westminster used to have one of the coolest gimmicks around in the bonus rounds. You'd have to blow off the shotgun shell before you could shoot any of the pins, then you had to clear the pins off. [laugh] Another thing they did was load up the tables with pins and run 2 man teams with like 8-10 pins on a table plus the shell which had to be shot off before you could start hitting the pins.

-Mike
 
drgrant said:
Depends on the format. If it's "real deal" full size tables a .40 will get you by, but .45 ACP and .44 mag are way better, or .357 mag with heavy bullets. If it's the wussbag stuff where you knock it off a 2 foot wide table, then anything from 9mm on up will work fine.
Click to expand...

When you say, "heavy bullets", do you mean 158gr or something bigger?
 
milktree said:
When you say, "heavy bullets", do you mean 158gr or something bigger?
Click to expand...

158s will work fine. Load em up hot if you can. 38SPLs with 158s will work too, at least at the beginning. There are bigger bullets in .357, but they're typically hard to find unless you roll your own.

-Mike
 
bigmanfugitive said:
Where can one find pins for sale to play around with various guns and ammo selections?
Click to expand...

Just go to a pin shoot, do it "live". A lot of the time after the shoots are over there are informal bonus rounds where you can do a little bit of that kind of testing.

-Mike
 
drgrant said:
Westminster used to have one of the coolest gimmicks around in the bonus rounds. You'd have to blow off the shotgun shell before you could shoot any of the pins, then you had to clear the pins off. [laugh] Another thing they did was load up the tables with pins and run 2 man teams with like 8-10 pins on a table plus the shell which had to be shot off before you could start hitting the pins.

-Mike
Click to expand...

This sounds like fun! At Chester, they are starting to put on 2 or 3 shotgun shells on the top. You can only shoot them after all the pins are off the table. But the 'shoot the shells first' would be an interesting and fun differentiator!
 
drgrant said:
158s will work fine. Load em up hot if you can. 38SPLs with 158s will work too, at least at the beginning. There are bigger bullets in .357, but they're typically hard to find unless you roll your own.
Click to expand...

I am rolling my own, so that problem is solved. I've got Zero 158 gr JHP bullets. I started with 13.8 gr of 2400, which pushed them to about 1,100 fps. The recipe says the max load is 14.8gr, which is supposed to get them up to 1,265fps. I'd like to get more out of them, but not at the expense of safety. I've seen other recipes for 158gr JHP bullets that claim 15.5gr of 2400 that push them to 1,350fps or so. I'm not sure if that's a "we've tested this with fancy equipment and it works safely." or "I did this a couple times and I still have all my fingers."

158gr .357 mag. @ 1,250 fps = 198 power factor
200gr .45 ACP @ 800 fps = 160 power factor (admittedly not full power)

That implies that the .357 would work just fine.
 

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