Strange gun range rules?

[BigFatGuy]

1: I'm a newbie to firearms and this board
2: I live in Compton
3: i'm a law abiding, logical adult. ;-)

I've been looking at ranges the my area that rent firearms, and they all seem to have two rules that seem a bit strange to me:

1: if you bring your own ammo, it must be FMJ
2: in order to rent a gun, you must be a party of two. no solo rentals

since FMJ penetrates better then softer tipped rounds, shouldn't a range prefer something like frangible ammo that will have less chance of punching through their roof/backstop/etc?

and, what's the deal with no solo rentals? Is it some kind of suicide prevention thing or something?

[gunsmithcats]

FMJ doesnt spatter as much in case someone cant aim for ***** and hits metal. The min 2 party rental is yes, prevent suicide. Unfortunately it happens more often than you think. Once you own a gun though, they don't require two party for rentals.

[gunsmithcats]

oh welcome btw!
Hope you have a good experience.

[dmax11]

Many handgun ranges that rent will only rent if your not alone or already have a gun and bring it with you. It is for suicide prevention

The 1st rule is odd its usually the other way around esp at indoor ranges

[Ed_Hazard]

1: I'm a newbie to firearms and this board
2: I live in Compton
3: i'm a law abiding, logical adult. ;-)

I've been looking at ranges the my area that rent firearms, and they all seem to have two rules that seem a bit strange to me:

1: if you bring your own ammo, it must be FMJ

The ranges trap system is designed for FMJ. It traps the whole bullet instead of haveing a bunch of shards throwing sparks.

2: in order to rent a gun, you must be a party of two. no solo rentals

Cuts down on suicide rentals.


since FMJ penetrates better then softer tipped rounds, shouldn't a range prefer something like frangible ammo that will have less chance of punching through their roof/backstop/etc?

and, what's the deal with no solo rentals? Is it some kind of suicide prevention thing or something? Yup

Welcome to Calguns.

[Lucky Scott]

Welcome.

[Silverlake223]

Frangible ammo is very expensive. Be happy you can shoot FMJ!

[23 Blast]

Welcome to Calguns.

Yes, lots of ranges don't allow lead bullets. Jacketed only. I don't know about the restriction on FMJ only, but at my range, JHP is okay, just no lead-only bullets.

The two person rule is a suicide precaution, as mentioned, but I typically go solo and have never had a problem renting guns. As long as you already own a gun, they'll typically let you rent guns. They just don't want completely inexperienced newbies handling a pistol for the very first time to get their "education" at their range's expense ( and the possible expense of their other patrons)!

[BigFatGuy]

oh welcome btw!
Hope you have a good experience.

Thanks!

(BTW, if any of you have dealt with a newbie on TheHighRoad.org named "ahriman", that's me. That name was taken/illegal here)

[j.primo]

You can rent a firearm solo if you already own one because if you were going to commit suicide, you'd shoot yourself at your own place instead of using their gun and making them look bad. But main reason is suicide prevention.

[FNH5-7]

Like other have said, the gun rental is a suicide prevention rule.

[five.five-six]

when I go into the range and see a n00b behind the counter I always like to ask if I can rent the most powerful gun they ave and buy just one bullet

[DaveFJ80]

1: if you bring your own ammo, it must be FMJ
2: in order to rent a gun, you must be a party of two. no solo rentals

Aside from what everyone else already said, I'll add this.

If you do rent a gun from a range, most likely they're going to make you buy their ammo that they have. They will not allow you to bring in your own ammo and shoot it on their rentals. Therefore, the only time you'll need to bring your own FMJ ammo is when you bring in your own gun to shoot.

[ty423]

when I go into the range and see a n00b behind the counter I always like to ask if I can rent the most powerful gun they ave and buy just one bullet

haha thats mean.. you should also ask for a lane far away from people and where you can be alone...no targets either.

[Greg-Dawg]

Respect the range and you will also receive respect.