H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 Anybody ever use their Cowboy guns to shoot a bowling pin match? Might make for an interesting side match.
Dantankerous Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 Yes it would! I used to love knocking over pins. My 45 Colts would be perfect for this. I'm betting a 250 grain slug backed by FFFg would do the trick.
Frontier Lone Rider Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 We have had them as a regular target a couple of times. The ladies dressed them up like rabbits with tall ears. That is one target that you aim center mass for good results.
Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 I have shot various Pistol matches with my SASS .45 Colt revolvers. Slow fire was fine, timed fire was OK but rapid fire sucked. :-)
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 Whatever you do, don't shoot bowling pins with shotgun! Talk about splatter!
Frontier Lone Rider Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 Some .22 rounds may come back at you.
Cypress Sun Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 Count me out. Seen to many bullets come back due to light loads. Thanks, but no.
Slapshot Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 I'd try it shouldn't be any different than shooting them with 38's or 45acp's.
Wallaby Damned Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 If you haven’t shot a round of IPSC or a round of trap, especially at one of the “fancy” clubs, while using full power BP loads, you’re missing out on a great time!
Big Timber SASS #19724Life Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 I always shot my 7 1/2 bbl Super Blackhawk in 44 mag for pin matches , and I won lots of matches You only need 5 shots to win !
Sedalia Dave Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Cypress Sun said: Count me out. Seen to many bullets come back due to light loads. Thanks, but no. THIS ^^^
Snakebite Dust SASS 75484 Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 They did it at my club several years ago. Mostly cowboys shooting against each other. The ones shooting light loads didn’t fare too well
G W Wade Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 3 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: Whatever you do, don't shoot bowling pins with shotgun! Talk about splatter! Shot Second Chance bowling pin shoot in 80 Minimum shot size was 00 Buck. 12 ga traps load cone back at the spotters. Least I ever saw was 4 buck at a shoot in Iowa. Recommended power factor for pistols is 200 + Have seen bullseye 45 loads spit back past the firing line. Great time but not as much fun as SASS GW
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 Travis County Regulators used to have a few bowling pins for rifle targets. Eye screw in top, hung from trees out about 25 yards. They danced when hit, no resetting needed.
Redleg Reilly, SASS #46372 Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 We tried this years ago but with our light loads, the pins were shooting back at us. Decided we didn't need to do that again.
Big Timber SASS #19724Life Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 Cowboy loads don't work well for pins. I used a 44 mag with 8.5 Unique and a 250kt . Worked well
Assassin Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 I used 357 mag in a pair of Vaqueros. They knocked the pins down with authority. Won a few rounds.
Cholla Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 I used to compete in bowling pin shoots with a 1911. The .40 S&W is the lightest round that will reliably knock pins off the table, assuming the regulation table setup is used. If set on a saw horse, lesser loads would do the job. I did not like the saw horse setup as it didn’t require as much skill and shot placement to knock the pins off. The gamers liked to put a round into the 2x4 saw horse so that multiple pins would fall off. if it is going to be a side match, require full power loads and have fun. No spotters are required as the rules require pins to be off the table. The first shooter to clear the table wins.
Col. Cornelius Gilliam, SASS#5875TG Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 Local gun club has a pin match that does have a single action category. 5-pins, must completely clear the table. Uses two single actions. Reload if req'd. A lot of fun, I've done quite well with 45 Colt, 250gr SWC, 800 fps loads. As mentioned above, loads approximating 45 acp hardball ballistics work best - have to clear the pins off a wide table, not just knock them down. Light loads are not allowed, too much bounce back. Finish up the match to completely destroy the pins with a shotgun category, 00 Buckshot or slugs only.
Buckshot Bear Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 Never had the pleasure of shooting pins but would love to..... How many rounds can they take before there cactus?
Laramie Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 4 minutes ago, Buckshot Bear said: Never had the pleasure of shooting pins but would love to..... How many rounds can they take before there cactus? You’d be amazed at how much lead a bowling pin can absorb! Laramie
Cholla Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 9 minutes ago, Laramie said: You’d be amazed at how much lead a bowling pin can absorb! Laramie Exactly. They wiggle a little when a 9mm hits them. A .45 ACP takes them off the table with authority if hit in the right spot. They take hit after hit with little change of appearance. But a .44 Magnum can splinter them into unusable kindling. They are made from hard maple. if you want a lesson in the difference in energy between a 9mm and a 45 ACP a bowling pin match is an eye opener.
LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 On 1/16/2022 at 1:34 PM, Frontier Lone Rider said: Some .22 rounds may come back at you. I've seen target 38s bounce back off of the pins. Bowling pins need high velocity rounds to be safe to shoot.
Slapshot Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 One of the old bowling pin loads for 38 I have read about uses a 200 gr bullet.
Pat Riot Posted January 17, 2022 Posted January 17, 2022 I used to have a few bowling pins. We would set them up about 50’ away and shoot them with revolvers and semiautos. .38 Special didn’t quite do it for knocking them over but my 1911 .45 did nicely. .357 Magnum with lead bullets worked well also. One day my daughter shot one with my 10/22 using Remington Thunderbolt ammo - she liked that ammo. Anyway, I got a good smack to the side of my head from a ricochet. That was the one and only time we shot at bowling pins with .22’s. Boy, did that get my attention.
Diamond Curly SASS#57086 Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 Do not shoot bowling pins with you C&B revolvers. I shoot stout loads in my 44’s and the round balls come straight back at the shooter. No more bowling pins for me. DC
Doc X Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Slapshot said: One of the old bowling pin loads for 38 I have read about uses a 200 gr bullet. I used to use a 220gr semi wadcutter loaded in .357 brass. Would only fit in a N or L frame Smith due to OAL although a friend used them in a Python. We ran them at 850-900 fps so they would clear a regulation Second Chance pin table, not just a knock over, it had to move the pin 3 feet straight back. The load worked ok, but a 230 grain 45 acp still did better. To use a cowboy gun on pins I'd stay with .45 Colt.
Doc X Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said: Never had the pleasure of shooting pins but would love to..... How many rounds can they take before there cactus? A lot, but you have to watch how long you use them. The biggest danger of ricochets is from a hit dislodging a buried round and sending it off to parts unknown.
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 On 1/16/2022 at 11:36 AM, Cypress Sun said: Count me out. Seen to many bullets come back due to light loads. Thanks, but no. Light loads are not a problem I face. :-)
Cypress Sun Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 30 minutes ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said: Light loads are not a problem I face. :-) Me either. I stand behind someone bigger than me, with my back to the pins.
Chantry Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 As already mentioned, light loads and anything less then buckshot is bad. The least powerful factory ammo I've seen used was 9x18 Makarov. It knocked the pins over, but not off the table and did not ricochet back at the firing line. It's best to have the tables as close to the berm as possible, glancing hits can travel much farther than one would expect and most neighbors take a dim view of their homes being hit by gunfire. In general a pin will take quite a bit of punishment and the plastic cover will hold the pin together for quite a while.. I've pushed a 200 gr JHP at 1770 fps and the bullet did not exit a unshot pin. On the other hand I hit a well used pin with a 45-70 loaded with a 550 gr hard cast flat point at about 1200 fps and it blew the top of the pin about 30 feet in the air.
Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 13 hours ago, Diamond Curly SASS#57086 said: Do not shoot bowling pins with you C&B revolvers. I shoot stout loads in my 44’s and the round balls come straight back at the shooter. No more bowling pins for me. DC Here's something I hadn't considered ... good thing you spoke up, I dearly love my Old Army, and given the chance, I just might have tried that!
Mustang Gregg Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 That sounds like a fun shoot. We used to have regulation pin shoots at the Table Rock Gun Club. I reckon that some of the light .38 loads that we see at SASS shoots may glance back at the firing line. Mustang EDIT: Whatever you do---NEVER NEVER NEVER SHOOT A BOWLING BALL WITH YOUR REVOLVER! Ask me offline why I say that.
DeaconKC Posted January 18, 2022 Posted January 18, 2022 On 1/17/2022 at 9:12 AM, Cholla said: if it is going to be a side match, require full power loads and have fun. No spotters are required as the rules require pins to be off the table. The first shooter to clear the table wins. That would be fun since I normally run Schofields!
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