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Hanging at the range

27K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  Wistex 
#1 ·
We tied some bowling pins on strings and hung them by the impact area at our club range...
Folks preferd shooting them with rifles.
 
#5 ·
Ryan, while this is going to sound like I'm being a smart aleck,

Old Bowling alleys! Hang out around a few of them and ask them if they have any old pins for sale. Many times they'll give them to you for a buck or two a piece.
 
#6 ·
Yeah, seems pretty straight forward :) I guess I was more wondering if they usually charged and how much. Thanks.

Called a local alley and they said that they have a bunch $2 each or $15 for 10 pins. I think I will have to stop in and pick up a couple cases. They sound like a fun target to plink at.
 
#9 ·
Bowling pins are very hard, and depending upon what gun is used, and the direct angle, I have seen bullet splatter come back to the shooter. If you are 30 feet or more from the pins, you shouldn't have a problem, just be sure to wear eye protection.

Now, should you ever decide to shoot a bowling ball, that's a whole 'nother story! Unless its armor piercing, I haven't found a bullet yet, that from a handgun, would penetrate! they all bounce off it!
 
#10 ·
870shooter said:
Bowling pins are very hard, and depending upon what gun is used, and the direct angle, I have seen bullet splatter come back to the shooter. If you are 30 feet or more from the pins, you shouldn't have a problem, just be sure to wear eye protection.

Now, should you ever decide to shoot a bowling ball, that's a whole 'nother story! Unless its armor piercing, I haven't found a bullet yet, that from a handgun, would penetrate! they all bounce off it!
180gr .308 Cal bullets at 3100fps will take care of bowling balls. 00 buck bounces off.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk
 
#12 ·
This is very surpriseing. I was a pin shooter for years. 5 pins at 33 ft on a metal table, two levels 3 and 2. There called race guns. Mostly 45s. I have 2 race guns left Both 1911s 1 40.SW 1 45. custom brls with comps.
5 guys on the line and race to clear the wood. great fun. ran out of pins, then they wanted to much money for them so the range quit. I shoot clays now
 
#13 ·
I used to shoot bowling pins one a week at my local indoor range. 2 shooters competed against one another. 7 pins on a table @ 12 yards. 25 seconds to knock all of them off the table. If you used an auto, the first mag was only 6 rounds. After that, you could load as many rounds as the mag held. Most shooters used 45s and reloaded them hot. And yes, they penetrated the pins. After 10 or so rounds, the pins were so heavy, they were very hard to knock of the table. Lots of fun.
 
#14 ·
back in the eighties I shot bowling pins at the second chance matches in Michigan and around the country. used 1911's and S&W 25-2 revolvers with 230 grain full metal jackets. those days CCI made them with aluminum cases and the power factor was 215. Price was $8.95 box of 50. they did not bounce back, they stuck. we used shotguns with full power OO buck and no bounce back. heck once at garden city Kansas, I shot a 20 ga 1100 with homemade "buck shot" loads; 9, carefully set in the hull by hand, # 4 buckshot. too much fun though as I shot up all those during practice before the match started. no bounce back with those either. times were much faster to clear the pins off the 4 FT X 8 FT table; 2 seconds plus or minus 0.2 seconds with the little 20 ga loads as compared to some best times with 12 ga factory 00 buck at 2.62 se

the standard distance was 25 feet as it was a speed contest.

some folks shot soft lead bullets and did have problems with bounce back. dittos with reduced recoil buck shot. so with the popular light loaded soft lead ammo, now days, people are having trouble with bounce back.

at my home range I had a steel (t-1) silhouette rack of 5 pins to practice on. they were reset with the pull of a rope. again the standard distance at the time was 25 ft. I also made some "pins" of half height 4X4 blocks of wood. fun targets and lots of exercise resetting the "pins."

are there any ranges now that shoot the old standard distance of 25 feet with full power ammo?

wistex
 
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