Ammo: What to buy and what to avoid for shooting ranges?

[Mystery]

I'm thinking of joining a range as a member sooner or later and having own bullets would be economical.
That's one question on itself. Do most of you guys join shooting ranges or just go somewhere else?
Few local ranges are offering monthly membership with very low initiation fee.

I read a lot of ranges ban steel and lead etc... bullets.
I checked some 9mm boxes at Walmart today and price ranges from $17 and up for 100 rounds.

Is there a general guideline on what ammo is widely acceptable and what's not so I can stock them up when prices are good?
I'm talking about 9mm for now.

Thanks

[willie]

Range policies vary with the range. Practice ammo from any one of several makers is good. Check online. Some ranges may require that you buy theirs. Some may not allow hand loads. Visit each to see with whom you have good chemistry.

[RJ]

These days I generally order by 1,000 round case from www.sgammo.com.

Typically, I buy reliable brass cased 115 gr or 124 gr by Federal, Speer, S&B etc.

For SD ammo I use Federal HST 147, also from SG. I add a box to my order.

Walmart is a good place to get started with a box or two and I’ve bought some Winchester White Box there as well. It works also.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RJ]

Sorry - Too early in the morning. Forgot to answer the question. Moar coffee.

I have joined several local ranges over the years. I’m not currently a member.

The first one I joined was a very fancy large range with a big supply of rental guns. I spent almost a year shooting most of the common choices they had.

Ranges vary a good bit. Might be an idea to try a well-rated option near you first and see how it goes.

Check with them on ammo limitations but mine are generally ok with good quality brass cased ammo from a recognized brand.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alpha Sierra]

Is there a general guideline on what ammo is widely acceptable and what's not so I can stock them up when prices are good?
I'm talking about 9mm for now.

General guidelines for ammo that will most likely be accepted at most shooting ranges where you pay by the hour to shoot:

• Full metal jacket (FMJ) bullets
• Brass cartridge cases
• Factory-made

Any ammo that meets all three criteria is very likely to be acceptable wherever you go.

Outdoor ranges and gun clubs are much more tolerant and I have never been to or been a member of any outdoor gun club where cast lead bullets and/or handloaded ammunition was not acceptable.

[SkippySanchez]

You'd be hard pressed to find steel core handgun bullets. Most indoor ranges prohibit steel core or steel jacketed rifle bullets and test them with a magnet, but handgun rounds don't impact their bullet stops like rifle rounds anyway.

Some ranges don't want you using steel case ammo, but that's because they would have to sort through all (your) brass before they sell it. It has nothing to do with safety. Some won't even let you pick up your OWN brass.


-------------------------------------------
I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

[Cookie Monster]

Rich has the down low. Buy it by the case online. Ammoman is my go to but for no good reason.

[Jim Watson]

As said, check with the individual range, policies vary.
Some require factory loads, some require factory loads bought there, some require cheap bulk reloads bought there (I would avoid that one unless it were all there was or offered some substantial advantage to offset junk ammo.)

The two commercial ranges I am a "member" of do not care; I shoot the same reloads that I make up for IDPA and USPSA. I can even recover my brass from my lane.
I picked some Tula boxes out of the trash at the indoor range to use for reloads. That is interesting, it is not only steel cased but the bullet is described "Jacket Material: Zinc (Will attract a magnet)" which means it is really galvanized steel. The modern rubber mulch bullet trap apparently doesn't care, it is "rifle rated" too.

Shop around. Rural King had a sale and rebate deal going on that was the cheapest Federal I have seen in a long time. I buy .22s from Target Sports; they have competitive prices on centerfires, too.

[Darth_Uno]

I buy from Luckygunner, just because I'm in IL and they've already got my FOID card on file (that's an IL-specific requirement). Their prices are as good as any. Any brass-cased FMJ should be fine, as far as functioning in your gun and being allowed at the range.

Some ranges say no steel cased ammo because (for rifle rounds) that's an indicator it may have steel in the bullet as well, and damages their backstop. While that's not really an issue with handguns, it's just easier for them to say "no steel cased ammo" period.

[OlongJohnson]

My issues with one particular pistol and its extraction woes have led me to inspect a good number of cases. That, and what I have seen when opening boxes in stores, leads me to not buy Winchester anymore. It's garbage.

I don't buy brass-jacketed pistol rounds. If you look up material properties, even 10 percent zinc brass (about what it takes to get it to be yellow rather than red) is about twice as hard and strong as plain copper (very rough number, but directionally useful for discussion), so it will unavoidably wear your barrel faster. Whether that means the barrel is only good for 100k rounds rather than 200k rounds may be relevant to a discussion of whether it matters, but the lowest prices I've ever seen on big-name 9mm have always been with red copper jackets anyway. Same with steel case. I never see it as cheap as the brass case gets when the big factories decide to drop the price and move some metal.