I haven't shot pins for about 20 years, and then I used a revolver. Read about a match coming up.  Got me thinking.

Here are the conditions for a table:

6 pins
6 shots max
Pins must leave the table

Classing put all cartridges over .32 in the same pistol / DA revolver group.

If you were going to pick a sub $750 pistol for this, what gun and cartridge would you choose, and what load would you use?

Is reloading the gun allowed? If so, a 1911 in 45 ACP. Factory ammo? 230gr hollow points. Reloaded ammo?  230gr hollow points or 230gr. flat points if I could find them. Otherwise 200gr, LSWC.

If reloading the gun is not allowed, I would go with a S+W DA revolver in 45 LC. The 45LC cartridge can be loaded with 250gr flatpoints that clean pins off the table without being Godzilla loads that are slow to recover from.

Gringop

Pins is one game where bigger is definitely better.  45 ACP.  45 Colt is you're a wheel gunner.

I'd go with the S&W 610.  I want one badly and with some 200gr XTP's or some cast bullets it should work nicely.

Momentum knocks down pins.  The favored calibers are usually things like .45acp or .44 special.  Bullet choice would be for the heavier end of the spectrum, with a big fat HP to bite the pin, or if shooting cast lead a large flat meplat.

.44 Mag is pretty commodious for this purpose.   Heavy .45 ACP slugs are also acceptable.

S&W 625.  I believe I saw one recently in the ee.

If you get some good pins shooters, time is an issue.

An auoloader will beat a revolver then.  Sure you can get larger bullets in the longer cases but you'll have greater recoil and a longer trigger pull.

I love my 610 and 625, but a personally modified entry level 1911 should be the ticket.

230 grain jacketed flatpoints for the densest bullet to slack those pins over.  Lead is nice but is too soft for my liking.

My club has the same conditions for pin shooting.  I took home top prize at the last pin shoot (I am really not much of a top shot) but I was using a Glock 17 long slide.  I really think that 6" barrel gave me an edge over someone shooting a Glock 19 with a 4" barrel.

Also at my club the placement of the pins changes if you are shooting a 45, .40 or 9mm.  If you’re shooting a 45, the pins are placed at the front of the table, which means you have to be precise with your shot otherwise the pin will fall onto the table and you will waste another shot to knock it off.

If you are using a 9mm on the other hand, the pins are place near the rear of the table, so a direct hit will knock the pin off the table.

Another gun that I shoot well for pins and plates is a old Smith & Wesson model 28 with a 6" barrel.  They are not that much in demand so you can find them pretty cheap and with 38spl loads there is almost zero recoil.

I say look into the Glock 34

WTF?

The whole point of shooting pins is that it takes power to knock them off the table. So you must shoot a gun with enough muscle to move the pins or be damn fast to chase them off as they roll around. Setting pins on the rear pretty much negates the challenge  of shooting pins.

Oh well, not my match.

Gringop

I hear yeah man.

The rules should apply to all shooters.

When we shoot plates, where you have a 9mm or a 44 mag, if the plate falls, it falls.

The pins should be placed in the same place for everyone.

Heck, I'd just encourage everyone to go bigger on their calibers.

At least .401 or larger or don't expect to knock much off of the table.

Right tool for the job and all that!

I hear you.  I belong to two ranges and this is the only one that host pins shoots and this was my first time shooting pins for prize $$$.  Anyway I was all set to use my HK 45 Tactical and Kimber 45 but once I saw how the range masters set the pins up by caliber I grabbed the Glock 17L.

Believe me it was a CF of a shoot.  But at least I won some moolah