Indoor ranges not allowing steel or aluminum ammo.

stchman said:

I keep seeing on forums with members saying that their local indoor ranges don't allow steel c ased or aluminum cased ammo.

Am I just lucky that the ranges I go to allow steel or aluminum ammo?

I know that some of the Internet folks claim that steel cased isn't allowed as it is a fire potential as they use some steel in the making of their bullets, but aluminum ammo? This HAS to be a case of the don't want to be bothered with sorting the brass out.

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Also the fact that disallowing steel and aluminum cases knocks out your ranges major competition for ammunition sales.

I've been to indoor ranges that don't allow steel ammo. They keep a magnet on the counter to check the ammo that you have with you. I also belong to one that has no restrictions. They all let you shoot hand loaded ammo. You don't have to buy their ammo.

stchman said:

Really, so when you get ready to go shoot they ask you to pull out all your ammo so they can check it with a magnet?

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Yep, at one of them. I don't shoot at ranges that don't allow hand loaded ammo. If you have to but their ammo to shoot , out the door I go.

Several reasons for it. One, some ranges believe that it speeds erosion of their backstops which are not cheap. Second, depending on the range's cleanliness, unburnt powder on the floor left by shooting activities can ignite with sparks. Brass cartridges and bullets are non-sparking. Third, they get little from recycling for steel and aluminum and mixed lots of metals are given less compensation by recycling places. Fourth, it also prevents jokers from using armor piercing or other other types of destructive ammo that tear up a range. Still a bit of that stuff around and some people are either ignorant or malicious.

Oh, and this is an edit, I suspect that the same folks using the blaster grade ammo might not be that careful where they aim trying to do mag dumps and the like. It makes sense that they would seek out the cheapest crappiest ammo that they could find.

Some people think it is a hoot to destroy stuff and make noise which might not be the best for the range. A lot of unmonitored ranges suffer all kinds of destructive idiocy by such folks.

The poor sod using the stuff because of a very limited budget gets the blame and the restriction so a lot of ranges might ban the cheap stuff to discourage those that do that sort of thing. Same reason that certain restaurants play specific genres of music at differing levels of volume as it tends to drive away certain unwanted folks while attracting others.

The range I prefer also uses a magnet and does not allow steel-cased. Other than that, in your own guns you can use whatever you want. In the rental guns they require to use their ammo, which I think is reasonable.

Think it has more to do with keeping steel and aluminum out of the recycle. Don't most ranges keep brass that hits the floor?

That, noise, and unknown air quality are why I wouldn't shoot indoors.

The indoor range I belong to has very good ventilation. And it's not any nosier than the out door ranges I belong to. But I must shoot at a managed range as I don't own enough property to shoot at home or know anybody that does that I trust to shoot with.

One of my indoor ranges uses a magnet on my ammo, but it is to eliminate the use of steel-cored armor piercing bullets, not steel cases. The former can really tear up a backstop. You are allowed to keep your own spent brass as long as it is behind the firing line - which is a safety matter since the range has no cease fire time.




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The two indoor ranges I frequent will not allow ammo with steel core bullets. It tears up their bullet catch system. They do allow steel and aluminum cased ammo. They will check your ammo with a magnet if you aren’t sure of your ammo or you have ammo from certain manufacturers that make steel core ammo. Members, like myself, do not get ammo checked.

stchman said:

Really, so when you get ready to go shoot they ask you to pull out all your ammo so they can check it with a magnet?

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Local shop I used to live near did that. I asked the reasoning out of curiosity. It was a lot less to do with the case as it was the bullet. The logic was that if a magnet picked it up then it might have a steel core that would damage the backstop, so it’s a lot simpler to give it the magnet test than it is to argue with people over whether they can shoot it or not.

Steel case vs steel jacketed vs steel core............not necessarily the same thing.

The range I go to checks your ammo. Generally I just open the bag and I say “all brass” and they’re good with it. They explained that they sell the brass by weight and if steal or aluminum is found in the mix by who ever is buying it, the price goes down by about 2/3. I have no reason to doubt them. That being said, they routinely sell brass ammo for $7.99/$8.99 per 50 of 9mm. I can’t complain too much about that.

Please specify, steel and Aluminum cased, or steel/aluminum projectile? Steel projectiles can spark when hitting types of backstops, I've seen it. Mandating brass cased ammo means the recycling company pays more for steel/aluminum free product.

dogtown tom said:

Steel case vs steel jacketed vs steel core............not necessarily the same thing.

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Well said.

I've never been to a range that cared about what the casings of the cartridge were made of.

The bullet is another story.

The rationale of aluminum or steel getting into the range's recycle stream is real. Recyclers typically pay the price of the least desirable metal in the mix. If you want top dollar you are going to have to control the contents of what you are selling. If that means controlling what is shot or sorting makes no difference to the buyers.

Whatever their reason, it is their range so it's their rules. At least they let you bring in your own ammo. I've been to one that prohibited all outside ammo, and another that had to check any you bring in to enforce a no reloads and no armor piercing policy.

Some places just have more rules. This is one of the bigger indoor ranges around Chicago open to the public. They are specific enough to name and check the brands of ammo allowed on the range.

https://megasportsfirearms.com/range-info

stchman said:

I've never had an indoor range inspect my ammo ever. Sounds like a bunch of Nazis.

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No, they don’t want some yahoo shooting AP stuff at their backstop.

And yes, on occasion folks do bring those in and shoot. My fav indoor range doesn’t want AP or green tip/penetrator AR ammo because it’s only a 25 yd range and they’ll do damage to the plates at the end of the range if the bullet misses the pile of ground rubber that is in front of the backstop.

I shoot my reloads there all the time, with that they have no issues.

Stay safe.

1MoreFord said:

The rational of aluminum or steel getting into the range's recycle stream is real. Recyclers typically pay the price of the least desirable metal in the mix. If you want top dollar you are going to have to control the contents of what you are selling. If that means controlling what is shot or sorting makes no difference to the buyers.

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^^^^

This.

stchman said:

I keep seeing on forums with members saying that their local indoor ranges don't allow steel c ased or aluminum cased ammo.

Am I just lucky that the ranges I go to allow steel or aluminum ammo?

I know that some of the Internet folks claim that steel cased isn't allowed as it is a fire potential as they use some steel in the making of their bullets, but aluminum ammo? This HAS to be a case of the don't want to be bothered with sorting the brass out.

Click to expand...

Most indoor ranges are more expensive to runt you first imagine. They make shooting more affordable by keeping and selling the spent brass. Sorting aluminum from brass is a further expense.

So, pick your poison, higher fees for range use, or abandoning spend brass at the range.