"NO RELOADS!" at new gun range... really?

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I've been around all sorts of shooters In South Africa, UK and USA. There have been noobs and veterans, young and old.
In my opinion you run a far greater risk from being hurt by a noob renting a gun with factory ammunition than by a guy who has been shooting for a while and is now using handloads at the range.

However as others mentioned, there are range certification/insurance issues and also damage to the premises and equipment.
If shooting alongside a person who handloads is by itself an increased risk of bystander injury, then there must be evidence from the blackpowder community of increased injury rates whilst firing those guns at the range.
I just don't buy it...
 
The indoor range near my house does not allow steel cased or steel ball ammo of any kind. Not even on russian weapons such as a Makarov. Guess what? I don't go to that range.
 
What if you accidentally drop your magazine?
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What if you drop your car keys?
Sorry, can't imagine going to a range that says if I drop my personal property on the floor, that it belongs to them - I paid for that brass - it's MINE.
As for no reloads - it might be lawyer driven, insurance company might be uptight. I go to a free outdoor range run by the city. Clean and well maintained, and I use my home cast lead bullet reloads all the time. :)
 
steelerdude99 said:
I thought this was a thread to about a new range not permitting reloads. Bashing "Shall Issue" Carry permits would be another topic (but why?).

chuck
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Attempted analogy, posted with heavy sarcasm, I realize I didn't give any indication about the sarcasm in the post so it could be misleading...semi-regulars of THR will know I only bash shall issue when explaining why it is stupid to require a license or permit to carry at all as we should be doing so called 'Constitutional Carry'
 
Earlier this year, I sold a gun to a nice couple. It was a small .357 revolver. When I asked if they needed ammo, the husband said that he had plenty of reloads.

About four hours later, the man brought the revolver back to the store. The cylinder had locked up. He had a bad reload, and (luckily) the bullet had stopped between the cylinder and the barrel extension. If the bullet had travelled just another 1/2", the bullet would have been stuck in the barrel, and the next shot would have sent another bullet straight into the stuck bullet and likely would have blown the gun up in their hand. They got lucky. He has been reloading for years, but had one bad round.

I guess the point of the story is that any one can have a bad day reloading. In today's litigious society, small business owners cannot be too careful. Especially when you own a business that can be inherently dangerous as a shooting range. Don't think they're dangerous? Next time your there, look around your booth for all the oops marks. The round that went into the ceiling, the wall, through the table, etc. Most of the ranges I've been to have had at least a few. Sometimes, the insurance companies will set the rules. And in this industry, finding insurance is a big enough paid, so you tend to comply. Honestly, if I ever opened a range at my little shop, I may ask for no reloads as well. I don't know.

If I were frequenting a range as a customer, I probably would continue to use it if they said no reloads. Although I understand the rationale, I would NOT continue to support a range that only allowed you to shoot their ammo. We all have a line in the sand, that would be mine.
 
k9kev88 said:
Reminds me of a similar place in Birmingham, AL that had a large sign on the wall: "If it hits the floor, it belongs to the store!"
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It is Hoover actually. And there are a ton of reasons why I don't go there anymore. Range Nazis are just one of the reasons. They have made it worse and don't allow any outside ammo to be used, only what they sell before going on the line. The easy way I found around that is keep a few empty PMC boxes (what they sell) and put your own ammo in it. Yep, bought that ammo here.

The only things I don't like about my current range are its too far to drive and can only shoot paper targets. So I will probably look for another just for that.
 
I used to hold matches at a range and one day while I was setting up, there was guy on the line shooting a 1911 style pistol. I didn't pay much attention at first but after a few rounds I noticed that the report of the rounds were quite loud for a .45. I stopped and watched him as he shot. He loaded up a new magazine and shot one round and the slide didn't recoil. He took a cleaning rod from his pocket, dropped it into the barrel and then took a small hammer and beat the hell out of the rod to get the fired casing out of the chamber. This happened 4 times while I watched. I don't know how hot he had that ammo loaded but it must have been hot! I didn't get anywhere near him while he was shooting. I really expected the pistol to come apart and take his hand with it. He was a danger to anyone near him. There's always an idiot that make it hard for every one else.
 
Last 2 replies are not good. Pretending to accept and doing an end around is dishonest and helps to keep those rules in place.
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LOL! Just don't shoot at them places then, but don't judge. It's pretty darn low on the scale of evil.
 
Some of the ranges I used to frequent were NO RELOADS, and then there were a few that were LEAD BULLETS ONLY-NO JACKETED. Reloads were encouraged here, as most were lead anyway, and you could certainly tell where the old traps were. You play by the rules or you don't go, but at one time, there were far fewer ranges. Wasn't much choice then. Now, at least in my old area, there's far more to choose from.
 
Every range I have ever shot at has their range rules and regulations. Here are are rules where I currently shoot and have a membership:

Regulations:

Range Regulations:

1. We reserve the right to deny use of the range to anyone appearing to be impaired by Drugs, Alcohol or otherwise.

2. Anyone under the age of 21 must be accompanied by someone 21 or older.

3. No One is permitted down range at any time for any reason.

4.No smoking, food, drink or chewing gum on range.

5. No more than 2 shooters are permitted in a stall at one time.

6. You must shoot only at your own target, No cross stall shooting
permitted.

7. No shooting at carriers, side walls or items on range floor.

8. Small targets must be on cardboard target head level or below.

9. Shooter may only fire one gun at a time.

10. Do not throw live or defective ammo down range. Please turn it in at the counter for disposal.

11.PLEASE PLACE ALL TRASH IN TRASH CANS PROVIDED.
Safety Regulations:
1. Hearing & eye protection must be worn at all times while on the range.

2. Keep muzzle pointed down range at all times.

3. When taking out or putting away firearms, keep muzzle pointed in safe direction.

4. Keep you finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

5. Handle all firearms like they are loaded at all times. (Every gun is “Always” loaded.)

6. Use only the correct ammunition for your gun.

7. Be courteous and mindful of your fellow shooters’ safety.
Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun Regulations:
1.We reserve the right to inspect all cases & ammo.

2.All rifle ammo will be inspected. (Soft point or lead round nose only. No steel core, armor piercing or full metal jackets.)

3. All rifle targets must be shot at 25 yards. (Full length of range.)

4.All rifles and full stock shotguns must be shot from shoulder or bench rested.

5. High power rifles may be shot with soft point or hollow point ammo and 1 round in magazine at a time. Target must be back the full 75 feet.

6. No full auto high power rifle.

7. No steel shot or solid copper slugs.

8. No rapid fire with pistol grip shotguns.

9. Pistol grip shotguns – buck shot or personal defense rounds only!

10. No picking up brass except for your own.
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Anytime I choose I can find another range. Read into that it's their sandbox and if you don't like the rules find another sandbox. Nobody is twisting anyone's arm to shoot at any range. If I couldn't shoot my own loads then I would not shoot there. However, it is their range and rules.

Ron
 
A lot of these ranges have selling ejected brass as part of the income stream.

The no reloads policy seems a bit unreasonable. There should be a partition between firing lanes capable of deflecting a ND or a blow up or the for profit range is negligent.

I keep my use of indoor ranges to shooting .22LR or touching off my wheel guns. I'm not giving up re-loadable brass.
 
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This gives me an appreciation for my local range where I can shoot all normal ammo including .308 or 30-06 in FMJ or even green tip M855 5.56 with no rules about rates of fire (they even rent machine guns for like $10), allow you to work from the holster, allow brass or steel or aluminum cases, can pick up all of your own brass or brass of a shooter next to you if they say you can have it (just don't take anything that has bee put in one of the range's buckets), etc
 
With regards to the revolver, how does the spent brass situation work? Do they lay claim to that as well?
Do they have any legal backing to be able to claim spent brass?
 
The range I go to won't allow fmj on the rifle range. Pistol range is ok though. My brother won't shoot there because of that. He shoots .308 and .233.
You are allowed to pick up your own brass off the ground, they have brass deflectors and a bucket that catches about half of my kimber brass. I would not use a range where you forfeited your brass.
 
Warp ! You obviously missed the point of a "shall issue " law ! Florida is a shall issue State and we don't have very many permit holders accidently shooting anyone at the grocery store ! Over 1 million permits issued ! Kevin
 
SEE IT LIKE A NATIVE said:
Warp ! You obviously missed the point of a "shall issue " law ! Florida is a shall issue State and we don't have very many permit holders accidently shooting anyone at the grocery store ! Over 1 million permits issued ! Kevin
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Shall issue is an unConstitutional infringement on the supposed Right to keep and bear arms.
 
Warp said:
This is why Shall Issue carry laws are bad. That idget behind you in line at the grocery store might accidentally shoot you.
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That is also why they should ban driving being you could go thru an intersection and a guy could T bone you. never know what kind of idiot could be on the side of you
 
Warp said:
Shall issue is an unConstitutional infringement on the supposed Right to keep and bear arms.
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I would agree with that insofar as I am against any regulation of carry, whether concealed or open, but it ("shall issue") sure beats "may issue" , which is the only alternative other than outright prohibition of carry. All "shall issue" means is that the local permitting authority is mandated to issue a carry permit as long as the applicant meets all legal criteria that permits ownership of a firearm.

"May issue" puts the issuance of a carry permit solely at the personal whim (I won't say 'discretion') of the issuing agent, usually the county sheriff. He can refuse issuance just because he doesn't like your politics, or the color of your hair, who you married, or what kind of car you drive, and not because you don't meet legal criteria for ownership.

Now, back to topic.

To the OP, where in NC is this new range? Triangle to me means Winston-Salem, G-boro, High Point area. I live about an hour west of there. Does this new shooting facility allow rifles (assuming this is an indoor facility)? I don't mind so much having to shoot factory ammo in my pistols, as it gives me a source of brass for later reloading, but 95% of my rifle ammo is reloaded (by me). I think I'd just take my business elsewhere, there are other ranges in the area, Salisbury being just one that isn't too far from you.
 
bangswitch said:
I would agree with that insofar as I am against any regulation of carry, whether concealed or open, but it ("shall issue") sure beats "may issue" , which is the only alternative other than outright prohibition of carry.
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It absolutely is NOT the only alternative
 
OK, so some of you say bringing reloads anyway is "low road" and doesn't solve the underlying problem.

So being the creative fool that I am, I present to you... a workaround.

https://www.atf.gov/files/forms/download/atf-f-5310-12.pdf

$30 for 3 years, buys you your very own Ammo Manufacturing FFL.

You don't have to SELL anything. But if you're challenged about "shooting reloads" you can show them your Ammo Manufacturing FFL and tell them to stick their rules where the sun don't shine.

"This here is factory ammunition, chief, and I own the factory."

;)
 
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