Saturday, April 25, 2009

Bowling Pins Must Die.

It's time to head off to Marion County Fish & Game for the monthly bowling pin shoot. I think I'm going to be shooting my Para LTC 9 in minor today, since I have plenty of Winchester 147gr JHP and Federal 147gr HydraShok that I bought for the sole purpose of shooting pins. If you like shooting a 9mm handgun at bowling pins and you see surplussed LE 147gr hollow points at a gun show for 50rds/$20, you snatch them up. The heavy bullets have a lot more pin-clearing momentum than 115gr or 124gr projectiles, and the JHP configuration reduces the chances of the bullet skidding off the pin on an off-center hit and leaving a "wounded" pin on the table.

I wonder if Massad Ayoob's book about pin shooting, Hit the White Part, is any good?

17 comments:

  1. RE: Hit the White Part. It was originally published in 1982, so it's a bit dated (I don't know if there's a newer edition), but informative nonetheless. At your experience level you may not gain a lot from it, but in the spirit of "one cannot know too much about a critical endeavor" I'd recommend it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I shall see you there. I'll be running the new Lethal Dipshit Action gun with the bigass magwell and light firing pin.

    In case it goes tits up, I'm bringing the Gun Blog 9mm.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good luck and shoot straight.

    See you in a few hours.

    Shootin' Buddy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, I'm so bummed! I wish I could be there. Good luck! Take some pix, somebody!

    ReplyDelete
  5. At my position behind a lawn mower, I'll be thinkin' of y'all!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Once I left a wounded pin on the table, so I dispatched it with one .22 round behind the ear. I was not invited back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. HTWP is very good as an introduction to the sport, and as an overall fun read. It's probably not necessary for an 'advanced' shooter, but then I've never claimed to belong to that tribe! Who was it said that an 'advanced' training course meant doing what you did in the 'basic' training course, but with your knee on fire?

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, I obviously won't be there, being 3000-odd miles away.

    Instead, I'm going to the Fun Show.

    WV: tracqu. What Napolitano wants to do to us right-wing extremist gun-nut veterans.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tam, try to find yourself a copy of Pin Shooting: A Complete Guide by Mitchell T. Ota. It's out of print, but I found it to be an interesting book.

    I got to shoot at a match with Mitch once, and I have to admit, he well knows what he's about - he handily defeated all comers. Nice guy, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What's the start time for the blog-shoot tomorrow at Eagle Creek?

    All The Best,
    Frank W. James

    ReplyDelete
  11. hmmm, I could steal some money out of Mrs Ahab's purse and go to Eagle Creek...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amazon has a copy of "Pin Shooting: A Complete Guide" for $79.

    ReplyDelete
  13. "What's the start time for the blog-shoot tomorrow at Eagle Creek?"

    I'm probably going to show up with Shootin' Buddy sometime in the 11:30-12:00 time frame. I think Bobbi will be there earlier.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hit the White Part is a pretty good primer on pin shooting. Somewhat dated, but the basic principles are sound. It will give you the background and theory to understand WHY you should shoot WHERE you should shoot and HOW you should shoot the pins in WHAT order with WHICH kind of equipment. Internalize the basics and then apply to your specific competition.

    This is how smart people who are good shooters can sometimes beat great shooters. I was never as fast as the master-blasters, but I was pretty fast and I had better strategy and tactics, and I won a couple state titles. Pin shooting is right up there with strapping on a Pitts S2B, straddling a rice-rocket or hunting Cape Buffalo as my all-time favorite things to do.

    Formerflyer

    ReplyDelete
  15. I enjoyed HTWP. But I read it before I had ever shot at a pin. At your level I suspect you would get some enjoyment out of it but not a whole lot of improvement in your times.

    ReplyDelete
  16. By all means read HTWP. Even great shooters can benefit from the tips on how to select from the prize tables. Also, there are some interesting old photos of Rich Davis in his element at the Second Chance pin shoots. Tam, we miss you here in Knoxville.

    ReplyDelete
  17. shooting pins sounds like a fun thing to do

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.