{"id":1479,"date":"2023-09-24T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T15:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1479"},"modified":"2023-09-24T15:50:48","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T15:50:48","slug":"pin-shoots-30th-anniversary-the-armory-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1479","title":{"rendered":"Pin Shoot\u2019s 30th Anniversary – The Armory Life"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Massad Ayoob<\/a><\/p>\n

R<\/span>etired physician Jeff Sourbeer loads the maximum allowed eight rounds of .45 ACP +P into his Springfield Armory XD-45<\/a> and holds it on the rail before him, flanked by another shooter on either side. At the start signal, he raises the gun, aligns the Tactical Advantage sights, and, with five shots, blasts five bowling pins off a three-tiered steel table 25 feet away. As he lowers the XD, he realizes his competitors are still shooting.<\/p>\n

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Armed with his Springfield Prodigy, Massad Ayoob runs a 9\u00d712 at the 2023 Pin Shoot. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He has won his first heat in the morning shoot-off, his first gunfire at his first Pin Match. It is an experience countless shooters have shared since founder Richard Davis began the event in 1975, known as the Second Chance Shoot from then until 1998, and revitalized in 2017 and continued through today as The Pin Shoot. It is among the most iconic events in the shooting sports.<\/p>\n

[Be sure to read Massad Ayoob\u2019s Guide to Pin Shooting<\/a>.]<\/em><\/p>\n

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Massad Ayoob\u2019s primary Pin Gun is a Plaxco-compensated Springfield Armory 1911-A1 in .45. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Pin Shoot encompasses pistol and revolver, service sidearm and target gun. Pump shotgun or auto, buck or slugs. Pistol caliber carbine or .223, and even events for .22. Two- and three-person team events. And, to fill in downtime when pin-setters are putting the targets in place, a Trivia Quiz for prizes.<\/p>\n

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Competitor Jeff Sourbeer fires his first shot at his first Pin Shoot with his Springfield Armory XD45. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The serious prizes, of course, are in the shooting. A total of 150 or so shooters in 2023, which marked the 30th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary of the event, vied for more than 80 guns in the prize table displays along with ammo and other goodies. The lion\u2019s share of the guns were Springfield Armory products, that company being the much-appreciated lead sponsor of late.<\/p>\n

A Beginner\u2019s Guide<\/h2>\n

If it\u2019s your first time, it\u2019s helpful but not necessary to go with someone who has already been there. Don\u2019t worry about stories of people waiting too long to shoot. That was in the distant past.<\/p>\n

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You never know what you may see at a competition. Ned Christiansen wins a Pistol Caliber Carbine shoot-off with customized 9mm Sterling<\/a> he won at a previous Pin Shoot. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year, founder Richard Davis\u2019 son Matt, who runs it today along with his now 80-year-old dad, put in computerized scoring and scheduling. The few glitches were quickly squared away, and despite a rainstorm that cost several hours of shooting, things were soon running smoothly with strategically placed computer monitors announcing each shooter\u2019s scheduled times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first thing you want to do is to spend some time on the website,\u00a0www.pinshoot.com<\/a>.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see the different pin arrays. Read the rules carefully for what is and is not allowed for hardware in the many matches you\u2019ll have the option of shooting over the several days.<\/p>\n

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If you don\u2019t have a past pin-shooter as a mentor, they\u2019re easy to find once you get there. The website also has scores posted in each event from 2017 to 2023. As you go over them, note the names that appear each year. I think of those men and women as the OGG\u2019s \u2014 the\u00a0O<\/strong>riginal\u00a0G<\/strong>uys and\u00a0G<\/strong>als who have shot there for years and are happy to show new shooters the ropes.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be able to identify us: We shooters all wear our names on the back of our hats or shirts so the time-keepers know who they\u2019re scoring. (Just don\u2019t grab them right before or right after they\u2019re scheduled to shoot.)<\/p>\n

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Young folks are well represented at the shoot: meet Valo Christiansen and his girlfriend Kaitlyn Williamson. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ll meet Deb and Pam Higgins, the official historians of the shoot. You\u2019ll see Jeff and Kim Chudwin, whom I consider the \u201cpower couple\u201d of AR-15<\/span> riflery. Jeff was a winner here before he won the National Patrol Rifle Championship so many times I hear they have a trophy named after him, and Kim won that same title\u00a0before\u00a0<\/em>she became a first place winner at the Pin Shoot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Springfield Armory Pavilion is a gathering place during the Pin Shoot. The company is the primary sponsor of the shoot. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And you\u2019ll meet a helluva lot of other fine men and women who share your passion. What is now the Springfield Armory Pavilion is, like the bleachers above the range itself, a place to socialize. The shoot is held in Central Lake, Michigan, a wonderful lakes region resort community that you\u2019ll be visiting at a perfect time of year.<\/p>\n

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Massad Ayoob reconnected with Johnny Robbins, right, who won the shoot overall when he was just 13 years old. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The community supports the shoot: the local Lions Club comes out every day to fix the excellent lunch that is included with your entry fee. The area abounds with lakeside cabins and comfortable resort apartments. Many attendees camp out. It has all the makings of a family vacation.<\/p>\n

A Wonderful Opportunity<\/h2>\n

This is the place where some giants in the gun world first came to fame. Bill Wilson made his bones here when he won as a young man; ditto Jerry Miculek. Men like Jerry Barnhart were already champions when they won here, and their pin-shooting victory proved their versatility. But sometimes, the winner comes by surprise from nowhere.<\/p>\n

If you had been there this year you could have met Johnny Robbins, who was 13 years old when he came here with his father Jack and won overall high shooter in the mid-1970s.<\/p>\n

The 2024 winner could be \u2026 you.<\/p>\n

Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in and discuss this article and much more!<\/em><\/p>\n

Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n

Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n

Featured in this article<\/span><\/h5>\n

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PinShoot.com <\/h3>\n


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By Massad Ayoob Retired physician Jeff Sourbeer loads the maximum allowed eight rounds of .45 ACP +P into his Springfield Armory XD-45 and holds it on the rail before him, flanked by another shooter on either side. At the start signal, he raises the gun, aligns the Tactical Advantage sights, and, with five shots, blasts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}