please school me on ammo

[navin r]

Long time gun owner here, 53 year old, since being in Cali. (11 years) just went to a local SoCal indoor range, bought a couple boxes of handgun ammo and used it up; easy. (And re-took an NRA handgun safety course recently.)
Now I'm putting together a couple AR's; new to that; I'm going to become a regular at SoCal outdoor ranges with the AR and handguns.
It seems most SoCal outdoor ranges don't allow "steel jacketed ammo"; OK, no problem, except when looking at ammo sources it's not always clear to me whether it's "steel jacketed".
How do you avoid steel jacketed ammo? I don't want to buy a bunch of ammo and then not be able to use it at the outdoor ranges.
Is almost all 556/223 remanufactured ammo made from former military cases steel jacketed?
I did some searches on Calguns and couldn't find much on this; any assistance is appreciated.

[Merc1138]

Most ammo isn't. It's usually the commie stuff that is, or in some cases copper jacketed but with a steel insert in the projectile(steel penetrator) is the stuff to avoid.

[CAL.BAR]

Well you can use steel (or bi-metal) rounds at On Target In Laguna Niguel or Raahaughies in Corona. On the bi-metal if you are paying less than .50 a round for it - it's probably bi-metal. If it has a steel case (i.e. a magnet sticks to it) it is probably bi-metal. Stick with brass cased major mfg stuff. American Eagle, PMC etc. you may not be able to find any or will pay through the nose to get it, but it will not be bi-metal.

[8mmFMJ]

Most ammo isn't. It's usually the commie stuff that is, or in some cases copper jacketed but with a steel insert in the projectile(steel penetrator) is the stuff to avoid.

That's the stuff I like!

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHaFfiwUMEKY&ei=S7r1UKb1M4bmiwKv4IDQCw&usg=AFQjCNHKK5sFBL-S9oGtwXv01nPOxGMFDQ&sig2=_yz-Wp3NL1JMm-WWErZYww

[Eljay]

The wording the stores use is "attracts a magnet" or "doesn't attract a magnet". If they don't specify on surplus ammo assume the worst.

[8mmFMJ]

Assume the worst? How about y'all sell me your copper jacketed 7.62x39 stuff?

Plinking 1/2 inch steel is way too much fun!

[RonnieP]

@Navin R

You say Socal, do you mean the L.A area or the S.D area? If you are in the S.D area, go look up South Bay Rod & Gun club. It's a BEAUTIFUL out door range and you can shoot whatever ammo you can buy legally in California.

Yearly Membership is $75 and you can shoot as much as you want, daily non member fee is $20.

[navin r]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen, it's annoying most of the ammo sales places aren't real specific about what each type is; you have to also try to look it up on the ammo manufacturer's web site.
As if it wasn't hard enough to find ammo period; I hope that changes after the panic dies down.
I was talking the L.A. area but thanks for the info.

[8mmFMJ]

If your willing to make a day trip out of it PM me. I know some beautiful and remote spots about 60-90 minutes from you.

[HalfMeltingEyes]

When it comes down to 5.56, you're good to go with just about anything marked "M193/XM193/XM193K/etc" those are your typical 55gr FMJs.

PMC .223 and Fiochi .223 are safe. (I know there are more, but these are the only ones I can name at the moment)

If you don't want magnetic ammo.

Stay away from anything marked "M855" those have steel penetrators in them and usually have green tipped bullets.

Also stay away from Russian/com bloc .223 ammo like Wolf, Silver Bear or Tula as they have bi-metal jackets.