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.
Massad Ayoob credits the origin of bowling pin shooting with Richard Davis in the mid-1970s. [1] [2] The sport peaked in popularity between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s. [3]
Depending on the caliber of handgun used and the table employed, the pins must be knocked backwards up to 0.9 metres (3 ft) to be knocked clear of the table and onto the ground. The pin shooting tables typically consist of one of the following varieties:
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, [4] .357 Magnum, [1] 10mm Auto, .41 Magnum, [5] .44 Magnum, [1] .45 ACP, [1] and .45 Colt. [1] Other large-bore handguns have the greatest advantage in removing the pins from the table. [6] 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 0.6 m (2 ft) for "minor" calibers like 9mm Luger and .38 Special so that these "minor" calibers can approximate head-to-head equivalency with "major" calibers. [6] While handloaded ammunition is regularly employed among pin shooters, it is considered a serious breach of etiquette and sportsmanship for a shooter of a "minor" caliber to handload "minor" ammunition to levels approaching "major" calibers, thus taking unfair advantage of a rule intended to allow novice shooters to participate. Shooters who shoot "hot" "minor" ammunition should declare such to the range officer and shoot targets from the regular pin placement.
Some ranges conduct centerfire handgun competition based on class. When classes are employed, three classes often are recognized: revolver, stock, and pin gun. Magazine capacity may be limited to 8 rounds in most competitions in which magazine-fed guns compete only against magazine-fed guns. In events where revolvers compete with magazine-fed guns, magazines are restricted to seven shots, out of respect for the customary six-shot revolver cylinder. The "pin gun class" is for highly advanced, often very expensive "race guns" in which almost all manner of enhancement is allowed, including optical sights (generally red dot sights) and compensators. zz The pins are placed far enough away from each other that they are unlikely to interact when hit, so a separate shot is needed to down each pin. The broad spacing and different levels make it challenging to move from target to target. Indirect hits will result in pins lying on their sides on the table in a situation known as "deadwood," where multiple shots may be required to clear the pin from the table. "Deadwood" is further complicated in that one deadwood pin may be lying next to another deadwood pin, interfering with a clear path to knocking either deadwood pin from the table.
Generally, .22 Long Rifle competitions shoot the tops of the pins, known as "pin-tops," which are lighter and more easily knocked down by the light, comparatively low energy bullets. Occasionally, a .22 match may be shot by placing pins at the very back of the table so that the comparatively light .22 hit will still knock the pin off the table. Some matches are also shot with a semi-automatic or pump-action shotgun, usually firing buckshot. As shotgun rounds quickly disintegrate the pins, such matches are customarily reserved for the end of a match, when a supply of pins unfit for handgun matches may be put to final utility. [7] There are even less common types of matches that allow carbines or submachine guns. [1]
Bracket-style: "Bracket-style" is shot in pairs of shooters. Each shooter will have his or her own table of pins, and the winner of the round is the shooter whose entire obligation of pins hits the ground first. Pins that are merely in flight do not count until they hit the ground. It is similar to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which shooters are paired against one another, with the round winner advancing to the next level, until an overall match winner is determined. Matches conducted along such lines are tremendously exciting, as a top shooter may fumble, pause or have a momentary equipment failure, allowing a lesser shooter to claim the round. "Bracket-style" competitions often contain a concurrent "losers' bracket," where the losers in the "winners' bracket" compete for a lesser bracket win. "Bracket style" has sometimes been referred to as a "gun drag race". [8]
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.
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 and authority.
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.
Pin shooting is competitive, practical shooting that sharpens one’s handgun skills under time pressure. While winning is the ultimate goal and obviously rewarding, all pin shooters can expect an event that will improve their skills in the company of fellow shooters who are supportive.
A revolver is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges, before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are commonly called six shooters or sixguns. Due to their rotating cylinder mechanism, they may also be called wheel guns.
A wadcutter is a special-purpose flat-fronted bullet specifically designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities typically under approximately 270 metres per second (890 ft/s). Wadcutters have also found favor for use in self-defense guns, such as .38 caliber snubnosed revolvers, due to shorter barrel lengths, lower bullet velocities, and improved lethality. Wadcutters are often used in handgun and airgun competitions.
.22 Short is a variety of .22 caliber (5.6 mm) rimfire ammunition. Developed in 1857 for the first Smith & Wesson revolver, the .22 rimfire was the first American metallic cartridge. The original loading was a 29 or 30 gr bullet and 4 gr of black powder. The original .22 rimfire cartridge was renamed .22 Short with the introduction of the .22 Long in 1871.
The Colt Buntline Special was a long-barreled variant of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which Stuart N. Lake described in his best-selling but largely fictionalized 1931 biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. According to Lake, the dime novelist Ned Buntline commissioned the production of five Buntline Specials. Lake described them as extra-long Colt Single Action Army revolvers, with a 12-inch (300 mm)-long barrel, and stated that Buntline presented them to five lawmen in thanks for their help in contributing local color to his western yarns.
The Smith & Wesson Model 500 is a five-shot, double/single action large-caliber revolver produced by Smith & Wesson, firing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge.
The Smith & Wesson Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson that was introduced in 1957 on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for .357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame .357, usually known as the Smith & Wesson Model 27. A stainless steel variant of the Model 19, the Smith & Wesson Model 66, was introduced in 1971.
Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rifles fired freehand without support out to 500 meters, and with large bore handguns from the prone position with only body support out to 200 meters. Competitions are also held with airguns and black-powder firearms. A related genre is shot with bow and arrow, the metal targets being replaced with cardboard or foam. The targets used are rams, turkeys, pigs, and chickens, which are cut to different scales and set at certain distances from the shooter depending on the specific discipline.
NRA Precision Pistol, formerly known as NRA Conventional Pistol, is a national bullseye shooting discipline organized in the United States by the National Rifle Association of America. Emphasis is on accuracy and precision, and participants shoot handguns at paper targets at fixed distances and time limits. Other organizations in the United States and Canada have established rules and keep records of similar disciplines, including the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) in the United States.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or a similar small space.
The Smith & Wesson Model 17 is a six-shot double-action revolver chambered for .22 LR. It is built on Smith & Wesson's medium-sized K-frame.
The Thompson/Center Contender is a break-action single-shot pistol or rifle that was introduced in 1967 by Thompson/Center Arms. It can be chambered in cartridges from .17 Bumble Bee to .45-70 Government.
North American Arms is a United States company, headquartered in Provo, Utah, that manufactures pocket pistols and mini-revolvers, also called mouse guns. The company was originally named Rocky Mountain Arms when it was founded in 1972. In 1974 it was bought by new owners who renamed the company North American Manufacturing (NAM) and then North American Arms (NAA).
The Smith & Wesson Model 64Military and Police revolver is the stainless steel version of the Model 10.
S&W Centennial is a family of revolvers made by Smith & Wesson on the "J-Frame". Depending upon caliber, the cylinder holds either 5, 6, 7, or 8 cartridges. Centennials feature a fully enclosed (internal) hammer, which makes them Double Action Only (DAO) firearms. Like all other "J-frame" Smith & Wesson revolvers, they have a swing-out cylinder. Centennial models have been made in different versions like PD "Personal Defense", LS "Lady Smith", and M&P "Military & Police"
SIG Sauer of Newington, NH United States manufactures a full line of 1911 styled handguns. The earliest models were very faithful to the John M. Browning designed Colt M1911 Pistol which became the United States standard sidearm and served in that capacity for some seven decades before being replaced by the Beretta M9 handgun.
The Smith & Wesson Model 60 revolver is a 5-shot revolver that is chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum calibers. It was the first revolver produced from stainless steel.
The Ruger SP101 is a series of double-action revolvers produced by the American company Sturm, Ruger & Co. The SP101 is a small frame and all-steel-construction carry revolver, with a five-shot ; six-shot ; or eight-shot cylinder.
The Smith & Wesson Model 640 revolver is a 5-shot snubnosed revolver that is chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum caliber introduced in 1989. Like other "J-frame" Smith & Wesson revolvers, it has a swing-out cylinder, but this model features a concealed hammer, and is part of the Centennial line.
The Smith & Wesson Model 52, sometimes referred to as the 38 Master, is a semi-automatic pistol developed by Smith & Wesson for Bullseye shooting. It was one of the first semiautomatic pistols chambered in .38 Special with flush-seated, full wadcutter bullets. The shape of the rimmed cartridge limited the magazine capacity to five rounds. A variant, known as the Model 952, in 9 mm Parabellum, is still produced in limited quantities by Smith & Wesson's Performance Center. The Model 52 was discontinued in 1993 when the machinery to manufacture the pistol broke down and it was deemed too costly to replace.
John August Taffin is an American author from Boise, Idaho who writes several columns for gun magazines including Guns, Gun Digest, Sixgunner, Shoot! and American Handgunner. A former math teacher from 1964 to 1995, Taffin is regarded as an authority on single-action revolvers, handloading, handgun hunting, big-bore revolvers, and metallic silhouette shooting. Taffin has authored five books and over 500 published articles. His monthly published gun columns include: Siluetas, Campfire Tales, The Sixgunner, and Taffin Tests.