thumb|right|Target practice on bowling pins.

Bowling pin shooting is a shooting sport (primarily for handguns) in which the competitors race against one another to knock standard bowling pins from a table in the shortest elapsed time. Pin shooting is often described as one of the most enjoyable shooting games and one of the easiest means of introducing a new shooter into regular competitive shooting. Pin shooting appeals to both genders. There are many female pin shooters and many distinguished female pin shooters.

History

Massad Ayoob credits the origin of bowling pin shooting with Richard Davis in the mid-1970s. The sport peaked in popularity between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s.

Rules

Depending on the caliber of handgun used and the table employed, the pins must be knocked backwards up to to be knocked clear of the table and onto the ground. The pin shooting tables typically consist of one of the following varieties:

  1. 3 pins placed on a waist high table, with 2 additional pins placed on a second tier over the others at each end, forming a crude "U."
  2. 5 pins placed on a flat table, with the pins being placed from the back edge, or rear of the front edge.

Targets used can vary, but are usually tenpin bowling pins. Steel targets or electronic targets are also sometimes used.

Pin shooting is conducted with both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols in calibers ranging from .22 Long Rifle to .500 S&W Magnum, among many others. Bowling pin competition is often recognized to be a big-bore event in which large caliber or high-power handguns such as the .38 Super, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, Frequently, no allowance is made for shooters who shoot lower-power handguns, though some range officers may permit the distance to the back of the table be reduced to for "minor" calibers like 9mm Luger and .38 Special so that these "minor" calibers can approximate head-to-head equivalency with "major" calibers. There are even less common types of matches that allow carbines or submachine guns.

Timed: Some ranges conduct matches in a timed format, where a shooter clears three tables in an observed time, and the averages of the three tables are computed in a simple mean. The shooter with the overall fastest average wins the match.

King of the Hill: Two shooters conduct a round. The winner shoots against a new shooter, though a sixth pin is added to the winner's table, while the challenger shoots the regular five pins. If the winner takes the subsequent round, a seventh pin is added to the winner's table, until such time as a challenger will be able to clear five pins than the King's ever-growing allotment. When the King of the Hill is beaten, the challenger becomes the new King, and a sixth pin is added, and the round continues until the participants arrive at a stopping point. Magazine restrictions are typically removed for King of the Hill matches.

The pins

Bowling pins are often discarded by bowling alleys after a certain amount of use, at which time pin shooters collect them for use in pin shooting. Modern plastic coated bowling pins are very resilient, and can absorb many rounds before becoming too splintered or unbalanced to function as targets. Generally pins start out as targets for the centerfire handguns, then when they start to disintegrate they are saved for use as shotgun targets.

At the start of the event, or when a fresh pin is introduced, a smaller-caliber handgun may be able to remove a pin with comparable authority as a large-bore handgun. As rounds are shot, however, the pins will add weight, as the pins become filled with lead bullets. When the pins add weight, smaller-caliber handguns suffer a great disadvantage, as the smaller round loses ability to move the pin, while the large-bore guns are easily able to clear a bullet-laden pin from the table with speed.

Pins that will no longer stand on their bases have their heads sawed off down to become rimfire targets for the .22 match, where the "pin tops" are engaged by the shooter. Given the very light weight of the "pin top," the .22 is quite capable of removing the target from the table with a single well-placed shot.

The goal of pin shooting

Pin shooting is competitive, practical shooting that sharpens one’s handgun skills under time pressure.

References

Further reading

  • Ayoob, Massad (1982). Hit the White Part. Police Bookshelf, Concord, NH, 03302, .
  • Ota, Mitchell A. (1991). Pin Shooting: A Complete Guide. Wolfe Publishing Co., Prescott, AZ, 86301, .
  • Rec.guns guide to pin shooting
  • South African Pin Shooting Federation
  • Indianapolis Bowling Pin Shooting
  • Desoto, Kansas Bowling Pin and Steel Shooting