Originally Posted by
Sidheshooter
I used to love shooting pin matches in my college days. I am a little surprised to hear reports of success with 9mm loads from folks—with the loads that were readily available back when the first Bush and the first Clinton were a thing, 9mm had a tendency to zip right through the pins. Slow, heavy, and "barrier observant" is the order of the day.
.45acp was the clear favorite. Since I was a poor music student, I shot the matches with the only gun I had: a 4" NY-1 K-frame .38, loaded with cor-bon’s 158 LSWCHP +P+. The soft 158 lead slugs moving at an easy 1000fps took the pins off, if I got the hits.
I’ve told this story here before, but I’m happy to spout it again since it’s germane:
The very first time I ever shot a pin match, I was understandably a little nervous. I was younger than most at the match, being an undergrad, and looking around, it seemed to me like I was horribly undergunned with my little K-frame .38. I figured that all I could do is get the best hits I could and let the pin chips fall where they may. At the go signal, I raise my NY-1 wheelie, center the FS, and press my very first shot. The 158gr cor-bon slug center punches the pin—and I mean dead center—and then arcs directly back, hitting me on the bridge of my nose right under my shooting glasses, drawing blood. By all accounts, I shook my head once, and then cleared the rest of the pins, one shot per pin.
The range master—who happened to be simply rugged’s Rob Leahy—called cease fire on the range and a bunch of people who saw the slug return came running up to see if I was alright. I was, of course, minus a cut on my nose—the LSWCHP had dumped all its energy on the pin, and flattened out into a nickel-sized lead disc, which Rob picked up off the ground and handed me "Here, this is for your medicine bag."
And that’s my first pin shoot experience, and that is also how a then-liberal music major became pretty good friends with Alaskan/Arizonan patriot Rob Leahy.