Pin Shoot tomorrow

At Marion County Fish & Game Association.

MCFG allows for a “minor” category on pin shoots, which is usually shot w/9mms and .38s, where the pins are placed a foot closer to the back edge of the table than they would be if you were shooting a “real gun”. My plan for tomorrow is to shoot minor, mostly because I need to practice reloads with my carry and home defense guns, both of which are Beretta 92 style guns. I say “style” because one is a Taurus Pt-92, and the other is an actual Beretta 92. That and I’m a little short on .45 ACP ammo.

My quandary, dear reader is what bullet to use. I have at my hands the choice between 115 grain, 124 grain, and 147 grain 9mm rounds. The kinetic energy figures for each round is as follows:

115 gr FMJ: 1150 FPS at the muzzle, for about 330 foot lbs of energy.

124 gr FMJ: 1130(ish) FPS at the muzzle, for about 350 foot lbs of energy.

147 gr FMJ: 1000(ish) FPS at the muzzle, for about 325 foot lbs.

Update: Curse you, typo.

Based on those numbers, it seems like my best bet would probably be the 124 grain rounds which are super accurate (for whatever reason) from my Pt-92. Plus, I’ve got 5 mags for that gun, so I figure if I miss I’ll just shoot a lot of rounds really fast and hope that I can keep up by volume of fire.

Shooting pins with a 9mm is tricky, even with the extra foot of distance they spot you versus the bigger guns, you have to hit it just right to get a knock down. Since the bullet is lighter and faster, your margin for error with a 9mm is a lot smaller than it would be with say, a .45 Colt or a .44 Special.

I’ll have a report up on Monday, complete with horrible amateur cell-phone video.

4 Comments

  1. The best thing is to hit center of mass, I used to clean the tables (slowly) with my Browning High Power. I’m not that good a shot.

    The issue here is not energy, it is momentum. That is why the 40’s and 45 do better, more momentum.

    I cut my time down by a third when I used a Marlin Leveraction in .357 Mag.
    Accuracy counts

  2. Power factors are:

    115 gr FMJ: 1150 FPS at the muzzle, for about 330 foot lbs of energy. 132PF
    124 gr FMJ: 1130(ish) FPS at the muzzle, for about 350 foot lbs of energy. 140PF
    147 gr FMJ: 100(ish) FPS at the muzzle, for about 325 foot lbs. 147PF
    Power factors are momentum. I’d say go with the most momentum. just my $.02 worth.
    Formerflyer

  3. 100(ish) huh?!? That’s smokin!!

    Sorry, I’m not mocking you. I agree with formerflyer and would recommend the 147 grainers.

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