First pin shoot,,, advice needed

[radioman]

I'm planning to attend my first pin shoot next month. I'll be shooting my S+W 629 180gr hollow points. This will be my first shoot and any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Questions--

1- Do I shoot double action or single? Not looking to win just do fairly well. I shoot much better single. Pistol has a great target trigger in single action. Have not done much with it in double. Am I kidding myself if I shoot single?? Help me out here??

2- What do you think of the 180gr? Should I step up to 240?

3-I have three speed loaders enough??

4- Where on the pin should I aim? Top middle or bottom?

Please don't slap me silly here

 

[Underwhere]

Relax and have fun. It is a casual event.

 

[Keystone]

I've been thinking of hitting one of these, as well. From what I've read, you aim for the "shoulder" of the pin, just off the centerline, in hopes of getting it to spin on the way down.

What is the round count at these, usually?

I'd say you have enough speedloaders, I think they usually run 5 pins per table. 24 rounds should be plenty

 

[atilla]

1. pick whatever is comfortable for you.

2. try both!

3. oh yeah.

4. i was told to aim right for the painted band. works like a charm.

are you going to be down at NLRG? we've been re-using the pins so i'd bring a little more of the heavier ammo if you're going to be shooting with us. new pins have been hard to come by so we shoot the things until they weigh half a ton.

 

[twortley]

180gr is fine, as always shot placement is key - focus on slowing down and hitting the pins dead center. Success is 4 pins with 4 shots, you'll win most of the time. 240gr will "push" the pins more if you don't get a good hit, but a miss is a miss ... (115gr in 9mm works fine as well on new pins)

 

[BigMike]

I would say practice your double-action and shoot DAO.

As for your comment about just wanting to do fairly....
Remember, You cannot achieve a higher goal than you yourself set! Go for the tops Radioman!

If you want it to be productive, don't rush. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

 

[jar]

I haven't done a formal pin shoot, so I have no idea of the level of competition. You'll never be competitive at a really high level thumb cocking a revolver when others are shooting DA; it just takes too much time. That said, going 4/4 thumb cocking is much faster than missing enough DA that you have to reload. If your goal is to do well in the short term, I'd try both. If your goal is to be the best shooter you can be long term, learn to love DA.

 

[saltydude]

Skip the SA bid. The more advanced shooters will most likely think it's lame.
You have to learn to shoot DA to be compeditive but still try to take your time.
The pin seems like a easy target, but it can be deceiving.
Shot placement is key. Most pins have a V painted on the side. I aim for the bottom of the V.
Hollow points will help because if your shot is off center it will grip & spin the pin to help it role off the table. Remember the pin must be off the table to count.

 

[Supermoto]

Just remember, you can't shoot to fast, just to inaccurately.

 

[drgrant]

Don't worry about the bullet weight... you're already in .44 mag class... 200+ is better but 180s will work fine.

Aim for the meat (bottom portion of the pin) Shoot accurately. Use DA unless your DA trigger is terrible for some reason.

DONT RUSH. The slow, accurate people, will always beat the people that try to shoot faster than what they are actually capable of doing. In man vs man you can beat the bottom 50% of the competitors by shooting accurately at a moderate pace.

Course some of this depends on the format. If there are a lot of pins and you are being timed its a different ballgame from the standard man vs man format where you start with 4 pins on each table. If you are doing man vs man a reload will be a big problem on a DA revolver (unless you're jerry miculek level) so you need to make every shot count to avoid a reload.

-Mike

 

[jar]

If you are doing man vs man a reload will be a big problem on a DA revolver (unless you're jerry miculek level) so you need to make every shot count to avoid a reload.

Or bring a second gun

 

[Manomet]

What distance are these shot at and where do I need to go to try my hand. Thanks

 

[saltydude]

What distance are these shot at and where do I need to go to try my hand. Thanks

Typically 21'. A standard combat distance for pins or steel.
MRA has pin shoots often but I checked the schedule & it says rifle pin matches for this sunday May 23rd right through to the end of August. No pistol matches listed accept for steel.

 

[gerrycaruso]

The pins are shot at very close range. I think it's 25 feet. Practice on a plate rack if you can. You don't need full power loads in .44 magnum. I loaded some 250 grain cast bullets at around 900 fps for my son when he was about 14 and he beat most of the shooters. His secret was, he shot all 5 pins off the table with 5 shots. He was slow, aimed carefully and shot in single action. Remember that you don't just have to knock the pins over. You have to knock them off the table. The tables are about 8 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The pins are set 1 foot back from the front edge of the table so you have to knock them back 3 feet. I think that in 9mm class, they set the pins much farther back so you don't have to push them as far. Take your time. It's a lot of fun and most of the shooters are very helpful but it's not golf. Don't expect them to stay quiet when their pals screw up and pins are rolling all over the table

 

[Keystone]

Do shooters generally draw from a holster, or is it a low-ready/tabled sort of thing?

 

[gerrycaruso]

The ones I've attended all started from the low ready position.

 

[radioman]

Can my revolver be cocked for the first shot??

 

[M1911]

You can't miss fast enough to make up for not hitting. Take your time, quickly. Shoot DA. Aim for the thick part of the pin -- a solid hit near the bottom is better than a miss at the top.

Can my revolver be cocked for the first shot??

No. Learn to shoot DA.

I've shot pins man-to-man where I loaded 3 magazines with three shots each, and beat the other guy with 15 rounds in his Glock. He missed very quickly. I hit the pins. Focus on the front sight and gently squeeze the trigger.

 

[atilla]

What distance are these shot at and where do I need to go to try my hand. Thanks

come shoot at NLRG with us! PSS will probably make the next one and twortley and myself will be there.

 

[Manomet]

When are they and at what time of day, what is the cost. I would love to try this.