Shot a bowling pin match today. Finished about halfway down, which sounds unexciting until you remember that not that long ago I was finishing dead last. Folks, try not to injure your head, recovery takes forever.
Pin matches are a contrast between the auto loaders and the revolvers. With an auto, speed is king. 5 rounds to knock over 5 pins, then 10 rounds or more to get them off the table. With a revolver, you bring the biggest one you've got, preferably with the number 4 in the size, or the word "magnum" in the name. Both, if you can manage.
Take your time, remembering that there's only 5 pins, and you have a spare bullet if you need it. No matter how hard you try, you can't miss fast enough to win.
I had two 5-round tables today, that's 5 rounds, and 5 pins on the ground. Yay me!
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5 comments:
Never killed a bowling pin, but I understand the concept, good shooting.
230 gr. wadcutter in a .38 spl case is good medicine too. 900 fps motivates pins properly and some revolvers have 7 or 8 round cylinders just in case. :-)
230 gr @ 900 fps would make a .38 spl equal to a .45ACP. I find no load data for that heavy a bullet, although I have a friend with a mold for a 200 gr he uses in his .357 mag.
R&R Bullet
233 Goffena Rd
Chadron NE 69337
800-865-1312
I like the 230 WC over 5.6 gr. of VV N 350. Gets 900 fps (207PF) .38 Spl brass seated to the crimp groove.
Some folks use Blue dot
Excerpt from an exchange I was having with the folks at VV while I was doing the load development: "Just got back from the range a few minutes ago. It started raining, else I'd still be there. Here are some preliminary results. Actually I may have enough data that I don't need to dig much further, but I probably will if time is not a problem.
I used my wife's new S&W 686 plus (7-shot), 6 inch barrel. It was sent to mag-na-port for dual traps (4 holes of braking) and installation of a patridge front sight with the McGivern gold bead. This required machining. When it returned I did an action tuning job. Then I loaded up some rounds and headed out.
I used Federal (no. 100) Small Pistol Primers in every instance.
Winchester .38 Spl Brass
R&R 230 grain Lead Wadcutter seated to the crimp groove. COL 1.458 inches Bullet is about .8925"
4.2 grains V V N350, Moly-Kote on bullets, V average = 719fps Sd= 10 fps
4.2 grains V V N350, regular lube on bullets, V average = 726 fps Sd= 8 fps
5.3 grains V V N350, regular lube on bullets, V average = 853.8 fps Sd= 10 fps
6.4 grains Blue Dot, regular lube on bullets, V average = 8 74 fps Sd= 8 fps (this was reference)
Accuracy is superb. I had loaded some with 5.0 gr. of VV N350 but left them behind in my race to beat the rain. So have no data. I wanted to check linearity of velocity versus charge weight response. I find this is useful in avoiding high pressure situations.
I plan to load 5.4 or 5.5 grains for competition as a power factor of l95 is considered minimum for bowling pin shooting and we need to allow for some tolerance in the reloading equipment.
I'll let you know how it works if you are interested. This pinbuster bullet has really made the .357 Mag a viable competitor in this game.
Cheers,
Norm
A useful bit of information. I know several folks who will be interested in this.
Thanks.
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