The 600 yard range at Red Castle has a nice big berm where you can set up your mats, spotting scopes, and equipment for shooting at steel targets at the various intermediate ranges.
Earlier this week, my son and I had just completed a sighting-in session with our .223 ARs at the bench rest range and were going to check our work on the steel silhouettes at 100 and 200 yards. My son started shooting first, while I spotted for him.
After six or eight shots, we were visited by a man who wanted to make sure we were using the right ammo for that range. The sign nearby said,
"No magnums"
"No armor piercing"
"No tracer"
The man asked if we were using soft points. No, I said, we're shooting FMJ and hollow point. He said, well, you can't use FMJ.
I don't know the guy, but he repeated a least three times that he was a club officer. I told him that was good, but I didn't remember any prohibition against FMJ when I took the club's range orientation course a couple years ago.
He said it's in the rules book, and he offered to show me. In fact, he said, HE is the instructor for the range orientation now.
By this time my son and I were a little soured on the way the day's shooting was ending, so we packed up our gear and left the range.
I did not stick around for the club officer to show me chapter and verse in his rule book. But I have a fundamental question, which I may address at the club's monthly meeting:
Since when is FMJ considered 'armor piercing'?
No Magnums? I get that. Big boomers can definitely tear up the steel targets.
No tracer? I get that, also. We're guests on the Zink Ranch, and prairie fires are a concern.
No armor piercing? I get that, too. Same effect as the magnums, possibly.
But disallowing 55gr FMJ from a .223? At a hundred yards or more? Is that a realistic prohibition?
I've been a member at Red Castle going on three years. I attend most of the monthly meetings. And I read the monthly newsletters put out by the club. Somewhere I missed this policy of equivalence between FMJ and armor piercing.
If you're a club officer reading this forum, please comment. If anyone has experience or expertise in this area, please weigh in with it. I'm willing to learn and be enlightened.
Cap'n Bill
Earlier this week, my son and I had just completed a sighting-in session with our .223 ARs at the bench rest range and were going to check our work on the steel silhouettes at 100 and 200 yards. My son started shooting first, while I spotted for him.
After six or eight shots, we were visited by a man who wanted to make sure we were using the right ammo for that range. The sign nearby said,
"No magnums"
"No armor piercing"
"No tracer"
The man asked if we were using soft points. No, I said, we're shooting FMJ and hollow point. He said, well, you can't use FMJ.
I don't know the guy, but he repeated a least three times that he was a club officer. I told him that was good, but I didn't remember any prohibition against FMJ when I took the club's range orientation course a couple years ago.
He said it's in the rules book, and he offered to show me. In fact, he said, HE is the instructor for the range orientation now.
By this time my son and I were a little soured on the way the day's shooting was ending, so we packed up our gear and left the range.
I did not stick around for the club officer to show me chapter and verse in his rule book. But I have a fundamental question, which I may address at the club's monthly meeting:
Since when is FMJ considered 'armor piercing'?
No Magnums? I get that. Big boomers can definitely tear up the steel targets.
No tracer? I get that, also. We're guests on the Zink Ranch, and prairie fires are a concern.
No armor piercing? I get that, too. Same effect as the magnums, possibly.
But disallowing 55gr FMJ from a .223? At a hundred yards or more? Is that a realistic prohibition?
I've been a member at Red Castle going on three years. I attend most of the monthly meetings. And I read the monthly newsletters put out by the club. Somewhere I missed this policy of equivalence between FMJ and armor piercing.
If you're a club officer reading this forum, please comment. If anyone has experience or expertise in this area, please weigh in with it. I'm willing to learn and be enlightened.
Cap'n Bill