Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How many of you guys shoot bowling pin matches?

I know Waders does, and also found out Swifty52 did, but how about the rest of you guys? My club had a bowling pin shoot last saturday and we had a great time. I love shooting with these guys because they shoot very well. During practice last week, I turned in some pretty good times, but i did get my azz handed to me a couple times at the shoot last Saturday. It goes like that, as you guys know. If you have ever shot head to head matches. One thing about bowling pin matches, is nothing is ever a given. If you don't practice much (like me), it's anyone's game. What was funny is a guy running a 9mm won 2 of the "large bore" division shoots. Yeah, most guys were using 45 ACP's and 44 magnums, but the guy running the 9 kicked azz. He's an ex Army airborne ranger buddy of mine and he shoots very well. The next thing that was funny was I won 1 out of the 3 matches with my 9mm. My last match for the final win took me 6 shots to take 5 pins off the table. Not too bad when the pins are heavy with all the lead in them, from the rimfire and mid bore matches. With the extra lead in them, they do not want to roll off the table, so you have to hit them just right.. Here's some practice rounds I did earlier last week. These were shot with my Ruger mkII target model with a 5" stainless barrel and Bushnell red dot scope. Pistol pictured below:



Practice round #1 with Ruger mkII 22lr
Practice round #2 Ruger mkII 22lr
Practice round #3 Ruger mkII 22lr
Practice round #4 Ruger mkII 22lr


Practice round with CZ P09 9MM

If you guys shoot pins, post your experience. How fast do you take them off the table? How far are they away from you? We shoot them at 13 yards. Like swifty52 says, they are a "kick in the pants"....

no one around here holds pin shoots these days. Back in the nineties, it was a regular Wednesday night event. I had great success with my 25-5, using the .45ACP conversion cylinder, and handloads. The full moon clips made it a snap to reload.

We shoot them at 13 yards.

Wow, actual rules are 25 ft. from the firing line to the front of the table. You are making it harder. One of the reasons pin shoots around here died is the price of pins went way up. When I started in the 90’s used pins were 2.50 per 10, then it was 10 for 10, last I knew they paid 2.00 per pin. Pricey for as many as you went through especially if not enough shooters entered. Good to hear you had fun, I always did.
There was one guy who was on the national rock your glock circuit with sponsorship, he was the one to beat. Watched him go 5 for 5 with a snub nose 38 special as fast as he could pull the trigger. Normal #1 in any class he entered.

Thanks for your response. My club usually likes to make things more interesting. At 25 feet, anyone would be able to hit the pins with regularity. At 13 yards, it's still pretty easy, but it sorts out the wheat from the chaff... If you know what I mean.. I think that gets some guys, when they are used to shooting them at the regular 25 feet. Here's a pic of the redneck set-up we use:

^^That's 13 yards from the front edge of the table to the little milk crate stands we have set up.

The other thing that throws guys off is the head to head competition. I've seen some really good shooters fall apart because they can't handle the stress of having to shoot against someone else. This is all great fun and also great training and practice... Never a bad thing to get out and do some shooting. I don't generally shoot pistols, but figured I'd share.

There are a few guys that use those pistols in my club. They shoot very well. The fun thing about these shoots is the interesting choice of pistols that come out of the woodwork. I've seen some guys use their 44 magnums with red dot sights. Strange looking revolver when it has a red dot on top. One guy brought out a 45-70 revolver, but we told him to leave it at home because it would blow the damn pins apart with the first shot... Like swifty said, pins are getting harder to find...

We shoot pins twice a month. First is center fire pistol, then it changes to 22 pistol then maybe long gun, then revolver only. Keeps it interesting. I haven’t won a match since 2017 😳 I ‘m in my middle 70’s now, can’t keep up with the young shooters anymore. We have several very good shooters. Ours are set up at 18 yds, 5 pins and a stop plate. We shoot against another shooter. Double elimination, so everyone gets to shoot twice. Lots of different firearms used, I use a 1911 and a S&W 44mag mostly. On a center fire rifle night I used my .30-40 Krag once. Won a relay, think the other guy thought it was going to blow up. 😂 It’s a lot of fun. Here is some pictures of our set up.







Look close and you can see some deer on the backstop. We have to wait till they leave. 😂

Awesome! Now that is what I'm talking about. I like that you guys are shooting them further out. 18 yards would be a bit more challenging than 25 feet or even where we shoot them at 13 yards. I've also heard of other clubs shooting at the stop plate after all the pins have fallen off the table. Thanks for sharing!

Those practice runs with the 22, uncanny wicked.

I've done it a lot over the years and you're doing it wrong.

Your pics look like a plate rack with bowling pins - the narrow board makes it easy for a pin to fall off and the longer distance actually makes it easier by reducing the amount you have to traverse to shoot all the pins.

Use five pins and a 4'x8' table, spread out the pins on a line 3 ft. from the back edge of the table. Shoot at 7 yards. It's a test of accuracy, speed, and power. That one shot per pin with a .22 crap will end right quick - you might have to institute a time limit.

You may want to look at the pics a little better. My club uses a 4x8 sheet of plywood. My video's suck, but when I practice, it is with a 4'x5'6" long sheet of plywood. That way it fits in the back of my truck bed when I take it to the range.

Thanks man. We have some good shooters in my club, so if you want to win, you have to hit them with 1 shot per pin and take them off the table with each shot. If you miss with 1 shot, you are almost guaranteed to lose. Sometimes we will change it up a bit and only run 5 rounds per mag. That makes you focus a little bit more.

Used to shoot a couple times a month about 25 years ago.
My best time from fire to last pin on the ground was 2.57 with a comped micro Buckmark.
Best times with 38 Super, 45 auto and revolver were in the low 3 second range.