Air Gun Bowling: The Cure for "Plinker's Boredom!"

[SmilinKev]

Okay, so I am clearly both BORED and CRAZY! Still, I've created (re-created?) a great way to pass time in friendly competitions with myself and friends: Air Gun Bowling! This post gives you the info you need to set up your own Air Gun Bowling Alley and play the game.

When I get tired of shooting paper or silhouettes, I can always go bowling! I've had enough fun with it to justify the founding of the "AIR GUN BOWLING ASSOCIATION" (for short, "AGBA"). Any of you who are interested are welcome to join and participate. It's free. There are no dues. The sole purpose is to have fun! If there's enough interest in the AGBA, I'll get a ".org" domain and e-mail system that will allow us to do "electronic postal matches." For now, however, I simply invite you to take 30 minutes, build yourself an airpin rack, and have fun! After you have tried it, E-MAIL ME IF YOU WANT TO JOIN THE AGBA. [Simply by sending the e-mail to me at smilinkev"at"gmail.com, you automatically and immediately become a full-fledged member, with all the honors, rights, privileges and responsibilities appertaining thereto. I'll stay in touch with you and, if there are enough of us to justify it, we'll take the AGBA world-wide via our own domain on the web!]

As shown in the photos below, I made a "deck" for a rack of "bowling pins" - one that slides in the front of a pellet trap, but could be freestanding if used outdoors - by using some scrap wood (11" of 2x4 and an 11" piece of old pine paneling), a drill, two 2" wood screws (to join the horizontal piece of paneling - at its center - to the vertical piece of 2x4), 10 neon golf tees and 10 neon "pencil topper" errasers. Your local "dollar store" is the cheapest place to buy a "starter" supply of tees and erasers, although I'm now buying the erasers in bulk quantities!

At the end of the 10-meter shooting lane in my garage, the "air pin rack" fits neatly into any of the three slots in the tri-level stand I bought at Home Depot five years ago for $12 (itself surrounded on top, back, left and right by scrap plywood that keeps ricochets and other flying stuff contained). There's a photo of it all at the end of this post.

The rack consists of ten pencil topper erasers, each one balanced atop a golf tee anchored in a wooden board, that are laid out in an equilateral triangle (one that has an interior angle of 60 degrees at each of its three corners). This rack is the set of air pins used in air gun bowling.  Just like the pins in regular bowling, each air pin has an individual number from 1 through 10. This makes it easy to determine which air pins are left after your first shot (unless you have a strike that knocks them all over!).  The numbering system also allows splits and other spares to be easily identified (for example, the 7-10 split or the 6-9-10 spare). 

The dimensions for the air pin rack were created by taking the standard measurements for a regular rack of 10 bowling pins and reducing those dimensions by a factor of 8. For example, the center of each bowling pin in a standard rack at your neighborhoods bowling alley will be 12 from the center of each of its adjacent neighbors and each air pin in an air gun bowling rack will be 1.5 (12 x 1/8) from its neighbors.  There's a diagram below that shows you the most important dimensions:  (A) the center of each air pin is 1.5 inches from the center of each of its adjacent neighbors; (B) the center-to-center distance between any pair of air pins that is aligned one directly behind the other [the 2 and 8, the 3 and 9, and the 1 and 5] is 2 and 5/8 inches; and (C) each side of the air pin rack's triangular perimeter measures 4.5 inches (again, measured center-to-center).

The game follows exactly the same turn-taking pattern, scoring system and general rules as regular bowling, but instead of rolling a ball, you shoot a pellet. The length of the lane for Air Gun Bowling is 10 yards/meters (indoor), 25 yards/meters (outdoor), or any distance other upon which the participants agree and that is SAFE (taking into consideration the muzzle velocities of the air guns being used, the back- and side-stops, the possibilities for ricochets, etc.). Any air rifle or air pistol (spring, gas piston, single- or multi-pump pneumatic, CO2 or PCP powered) of .177 or .22 or .25 caliber, with open sights or optics (including dot/reflex sights) of any power, may be used. The purpose of the game is to have fun with the gun(s) you like to shoot not to spend time quarreling about equipment. If you want a level playing field, then all participants can agree (for example) to use no more than 6X magnification on their scopes or whatever else suits them. Basically: Dont argue, just have fun!

Of course, if you hit a golf tee, you get a 0 for that entire frame . . . since it is the equivalent of smashing a bowling lanes automatic pinsetter with a ball you rolled too soon! HIT THE ERASERS, NOT THE GOLF TEES!

At the end of her/his turn, each shooter retrieves the fallen air pins (and, if necessary, golf tees), replaces those that are too damaged to balance steadily, and resets the air pin rack for the next shooter. Any pellet that ricochets into the air pins from another surface is scored as a gutter ball for 0 points. Any air pin that falls because of wind, vibrations, heavy metal music played at a volume of 11, earthquakes, etc., before a shot has been fired will be reset without penalty. If it falls a long time after a shot hits, it doesn't count toward the score for that shot. Make up other rules as you see fit . . . .

Most of all, have fun!  Again, send me an e-mail if you try Air Gun Bowling and want to connect with other folks who enjoy it, too.

Keep smilin' and keep shootin',
Kev

[Petey]

Now that's an Entertainment center!
Very creative.

Welcome to the GTA!

Happy Shootin To Ya!
Petey.

[ezman604]

Now THAT'S inventive, interesting and fun. Gonna have to make a run to Wally World for some school supplies, if they have any left.
Thanks for posting!!!!
SAFE & Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

[amb5500c]

I've seen how bowling ball return systems operate. What kind of contraption have you come up with to return and reshape your pellet?
Richard

[SmilinKev]

Thanks for the cheerful feedback, guys!

Petey, I like your label:  "entertainment center."  Now I have a new way to disguise my air-gun-related purchases:  "Oh, that $254 charge was for stuff we needed to keep the 'entertainment center' working, Honey!"

Dave, you'll find great deals on the pencil erasers at Wally World . . . although you might have to do battle with a platoon of playground-hardened fourth graders in order to capture the wildly popular ones that come in neon colors.  The AGBA appreciates your commitment and salutes your courage!

Richard, you have given me a whole new project for this winter:  a "ball return" system, for Air Gun Bowling, that will collect the squashed pellets from the bottom of the trap, recast them in molds identical to the ones for the JSB Exact Express 7.87 grainers I use, and refill my empty tins.  Since I've also been encouraged to come up with an "automatic pinsetter," I might even find a way to combine the two systems.

[Watch this space (especially sometime around January 15, 2013, when I'm likely to be REALLY bored) for news of my spectacular demise in an accident involving molten lead, overloaded electrical circuits, repurposed motors from old Erector Sets, thousands of pencil erasers and hundreds of golf tees.  Can't you just see the headline now?:  "ILLINOIS MAN KILLED IN FIERY EXPLOSION - 'Looks like some sort of weird suicide bombing rig backfired,' say ATF agent"]

Keep smilin' and keep shootin',
Kev

[dk1677]

Very clever!

[cnjl3]

Looks like fun!

[airgunandy]

I like it.

[fortyshooter]

That's a great idea!! I might try that but upscale it a bit with those aluminum MillerLite bottles for pins!!

[SmilinKev]

That's a great idea!! I might try that but upscale it a bit with those aluminum MillerLite bottles for pins!!

Wonderful idea for an "upgrade" - especially for an outdoor rack of "pins" for Air Gun Bowling!  I think you're a strong candidate for a lifetime appointment to the position of "Director of Research and Development" for the Air Gun Bowling Association.  [Don't quit your day job, however, since the job doesn't come with any pay or benefits! ]

Keep shootin' and keep smilin',
Kev

[ShakySarge]

All the ideas are looking great to me! I may be setting up a few different models!!! Now, the question would be the best material for it! Maybe something thick enough to fly back but also soft enough to allow the pellet to fly through.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Matt

[gamo2hammerli]

Looks like fun, have any pellet flew back at you because of the rubber target?  Or they just continue on after an impact.

Welcome to the GTA.

[Tater]

Looks like fun, have any pellet flew back at you because of the rubber target?  Or they just continue on after an impact.

Welcome to the GTA.

This, and how long before the erasures get mangled?

Welcome aboard too!

[SmilinKev]

Looks like fun, have any pellet flew back at you because of the rubber target?  Or they just continue on after an impact.

Welcome to the GTA.

Good question!  I haven't had even a single bounce-back - and I've been shooting at 10 meters with everything from a soft-hitting Avanti 853CM (at about 440 fps and 3.8 ft lbs energy at the muzzle, with a .177 JSB Exact Express 7.9 grain pellet) to a heartier Theoben SLR98 (at about 680 fps and 14.8 ft lbs energy at the muzzle, with a .22 JSB Exact 14.35 grain pellet).  The pellets either punch straight through the thin, hollow base of the eraser - or tear a chunk out of the solid top of the eraser and continue on into the trap.  I've hit a golf tee, once in a while, and it's the same story:  the pellet snaps it off, at the point of impact, and keeps moving forward.  The "action" in the rack of air pins comes from the struck eraser bouncing around, not from the pellet caroming.

I'm not sure what would happen with a much higher powered air gun, but I assume that (as long as the trap or backstop is up to the job) the results would be the same.

The key to this result is undoubtedly the fact that the erasers are NOT anchored in any way to the golf tees - and the tees are just sitting loosely (and to a relatively shallow depth) in their anchoring board.  If the rubber erasers were, for example, glued to a hard board, then the results might be very different.  So, to be safe, just balance the erasers on top of the tees!

Required “Ralphie Disclaimer”:  This tip about “Air Gun Bowling” was offered by Kevin McClearey, who accepts NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER if you put your eye out (or otherwise injure yourself and/or another person) or damage your eyeglasses (or any other property) while attempting to play the game!  Use common sense and take responsibility for your own decisions and their consequences.  And watch out for the Bumpus Hounds that live next door!

Keep shootin' and keep smilin',
Kev

[SmilinKev]

Looks like fun, have any pellet flew back at you because of the rubber target?  Or they just continue on after an impact.

Welcome to the GTA.

This, and how long before the erasures get mangled?

Welcome aboard too!

Another good question!  If you're using a .177 pellet at moderate speed, then you'll probably get 4 or five hits on an eraser before it needs to be replaced.  However, it really depends on where your pellet strikes.  As long as the eraser's base will allow it to balance on a golf tee, I keep using it!  Every once in a while, of course, I seem to unintentionally hit some sort of "button of mass destruction" spot on an eraser - and it just becomes a thimble-sized pile of rubbery bits . . .

Keep shootin' and keep smilin',
Kev

[fortyshooter]

That's a great idea!! I might try that but upscale it a bit with those aluminum MillerLite bottles for pins!!

Wonderful idea for an "upgrade" - especially for an outdoor rack of "pins" for Air Gun Bowling!  I think you're a strong candidate for a lifetime appointment to the position of "Director of Research and Development" for the Air Gun Bowling Association.  [Don't quit your day job, however, since the job doesn't come with any pay or benefits! ]

Keep shootin' and keep smilin',
Kev

Then you would need a "Director of Refreshments" to keep replacement pins coming down the stacker!

[HighPerf]

Bullseye Bowling looks fun but there has to be other crazy games guys have come up with?


like setting up points for reset targets or something like reverse jenga?   a stack of cans and you try to knock down as many as you can. points for bulls-eye and you get to go again?

i was also thinking of a different take on bowling.  pins set up just like regular bowling but add a row of hanging pipes in front of the pins.  hit the pipes, they swing and knock the pins down?  what you think?  should allow you to pick up a 7-10 split?

[Nikoman]

I noticed that you don't skimp out on the traps. Those are the highest quality 22LR bullet traps you got there and they don't run cheap!
I have a couple of those Champions myself but I had to fill mine with duct seal because I shoot in a residential area and they're really noisy without it.
Love your setup, I was trying to come up with some ideas for my second trap area and I'm getting really tired of punching paper.
Thanks for sharing this!

[1377x]

nice set up!
sounds like fun!

[Lee4019]

You think that maybe those 4 dollar peg games at cracker barrel is the right dimensions?