RFGL Range Allows FMJ Rounds
A visit to the gun range closest to northwest Regina yielded an important takeaway: You can use your FMJ rounds at Condie, unlike in some previous years.
Regina Fish & Game League (aka Condie Gun Range, they go back to 1954 and have more recently run events like Project Mapleseed 2022 and First Shot clinics) range regulations do not prohibit the use of Full Metal Jacket ammunition any longer.
There are already bins for brass and steel cases located around the range at Condie to help make “brass sorting” easier, but in this instance we’re describing only the bullets rather than other components in the cartridge (primer, case, powder).
After speaking with some of the Range Officers on hand, they confirmed that FMJ ammunition is now welcome at the club. This is great news for students who have been looking for affordable ways to shoot, and offers our students a quick chance to learn about what Full Metal Jacket bullets are, and how/why they are different from more frangible hunting ammunition.
A shooter fires his rifle downrange, ahead of the 2022 hunting season at the RFGL Condie Rifle Range near Regina SK [Sept 25, 2022]
The bullet was invented in 1882 by Swiss Colonel Eduard Rubin while he was working for the Swiss Federal Ammunition Factory and Research Center.
The use of full metal jacketing in military ammunition came about in part because of the need for improved feeding characteristics in small arms that used internal mechanical manipulation of the cartridge in order to chamber rounds as opposed to externally hand-reloading single-shot firearms. The harder metal used in bullet jackets was less prone to deformation than softer exposed lead, which improved feeding. That also allowed bullets to withstand much higher velocities caused by the decrease of the caliber.
It is sometimes thought that military use of FMJ ammunition was the result of The Hague Convention of 1899, Declaration III, prohibiting the use in international warfare of bullets that easily expand or flatten in the body. However, jacketed bullets were adopted by most European militaries during the late 1880s and early 1890s, about a decade prior to the Hague Convention.
By design, fully jacketed projectiles have less capacity to expand after contact with the target than a hollow-point projectile. While this can be an advantage when engaging targets behind cover, it can also be a disadvantage as an FMJ bullet may pierce completely through a target, leading to less severe wounding, and possibly failing to disable the target. Furthermore, a projectile that goes completely through a target can cause unintentional collateral damage behind the target.”
FMJ bullets represent a major cost savings to shooters, but for many years gun ranges have banned them. Sometimes cited as a source of range fires, they would be far from the only rounds to do so. FMJ rounds have been blamed for range damage when used in inappropriate circumstances; the copper-washed lead cores tend to throw sparks.
When shooting FMJ rounds at hard targets (think steel targets or a rocky area) it is quite possible for rounds to ricochet dangerously in unfortunate and unlucky circumstances, so extra care should be used when selecting appropriate targets.
News of locations where shooters can expend commonly-available ammo (like FMJ-type bullets) comes welcome to Saskatchewan shooters, who have been left with little in the way of choice rounds due to ammunition shortages and cost increases due to inflation. Hunting cartridges often cost dollars per round, and calibers like .300 Winchester Magnum, .243 Winchester, .30-06 have been hard to obtain recently in North America.
RGSL complies with all directives from the CFO, RCMP, and government/support agencies in order to help keep Saskatchewan safe!
RGSL runs Non-Restricted and Restricted gun license safety courses in Regina and Saskatoon. Check RGSL’s list of upcoming courses.
