Free For All Friday 2-27-2015: Steel Core Ammo, Cylinder Spin, and lots more!

I’ve spent the last week updating and migrating my servers. We’re on completely new hardware in a completely new datacenter. This means that, with the exception of occasional updates to the site’s software, there will be almost zero downtime moving forward. This is awesome for you, as the reader but it’s also great for me because it means I won’t be getting notifications at 3:00 am telling me I need to go fix a hung server. A well rested noob is a good noob.

We’ve got a lot of questions this week so let’s jump in to it!

About an hour from my house there is a free public outdoor 100 yd. range, which I have always went to. However, some indoor ranges having been popping up a lot closer to my home. I haven’t been to one yet, but a friend of mine told me that when he went, they used a magnet to “test” his ammo, and told him he couldn’t shoot the cheap steel cased ammo there, because of the back wall of the range. I’ve never heard of this, could you clear up my confusion here? -JD

This is quite common at shooting ranges that allow rifles. They’re not so much looking for steel cased ammo as they are looking for steel core ammo. The thing is, most steel cased ammo is also steel core so..yeah. There is steel cased ammo that is also lead core but it’s difficult to detect with the usual methods the main one being holding a magnet up to the rounds. Brass, lead and copper are non-ferrous meaning magnets won’t stick to them. You could hold a magnet up to just the bullet part but the steel casing can create a false positive. Most places err on the side of caution and just pass a magnet over the whole thing. If it sticks, they won’t let it in. Many people will claim that this is so they can sell you their overpriced range ammo and there may be some merit to that in some cases but also look at it from the ranges perspective. Ranges aren’t cheap to set up. At the same time, indoor ranges aren’t in the middle of nowhere like outdoor ranges typically are. If their backstop setup says “no steel core”, they don’t risk it. All it would take is one lucky shot to punch through the wall (which, is more than possible depending) and that range could be shut down. Then all that money and time they’ve spent on the range is down the drain.

This question only requires a one word answer, but feel free to elaborate. Do all revolver cylinders turn counter clockwise only? (From the shooters perspective) -Mike H.

I completely lack the ability to answer a question with a single word. I’m serious, it’s physically impossible for me. To answer your question, my research has shown that revolver cylinders turn counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise below the Equator. To answer your question in a non-smart assed way, the direction of cylinder rotation varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. It’s really down to how the designer figured out how to fit all the mechanics into the frame. Colt makes a few revolvers that rotate clockwise and Ruger has a few that spin that way as well.

Any tips on carrying full size or compact handgun in an office/business-casual environment, specifically in Florida? I’ve seen tuckable IWB holsters, but I’m worried the belt clip/loop would be a bit too noticeable. -Joel M.

Before I answer, make sure you’re legally allowed to be carrying. I’m in Florida as well and there are only a couple places where you can get in massive trouble for carrying. Everything else comes down to a question of “job security vs. safety”. The intricacies of that are another article in and of itself but still, it needs to be said. To answer your question: Very few people ever examine other people’s belts. Even if they do see belt clips, chances are they’re not going to think “gun” right off the bat. Unless, of course, you’ve spent extensive time telling everyone you know at the office how you carry all the time etc etc etc. At that point…yeah that one’s on you. They might put 2 and 2 together in that case (the first rule of concealed carry club is you don’t talk about concealed carry club). Barring that, there are some things you can do to help the odds. First off, make sure the clips on the holster are the same color as the belt you’re wearing. Secondly, flaring out the shirt a little around the waist can not only hide the shape of the gun (which is important) but also obscure the belt clips. Finally, just for some confidence building, wear the empty holster to work a few times. If someone does indeed notice it, you can say you were in a hurry when you were getting dressed this morning and forgot to take the empty holster out.

Side note: I hesitated every single time I had to type “clip” during your answer. The gun world has got me so programmed to say “magazine” instead of “clip” that I can’t even say “paperclip” without initially trying to say “papermag”. #GunWorldProblems

Is there ever going to be cheap American made 5.45×39? -Aaron H.

As soon as there is a market for it, then it shall be done. Right now, there’s not much of a need because surplus foreign ammo is so popular. Not to get political but if there was ever a ban put in place similar to the M85 ban that’s being considered, I’d expect at least one or two domestic manufacturers to step up. In the meantime, there is always the option of gun show reloads, of course.

What do you think of police trade-ins, and in your experience what can be expected in terms of extras with them? -Josh V.

Police trade-ins (a.k.a. former police duty pistols) should be looked at the same way as any other used weapon. You can find great deals on them but the quality of the gun is going to be directly affected by how well the former owner took care of it. If at all possible, field-strip the gun down and look at the internals. Dry fire it a couple of times. Really do your due diligence because usually by the time they hit police trade-in, they’re no longer in warranty…if there was a warranty in the first place. As far as accessories, I’ve never seen them with more than just the gun and a magazine or two. All in all, it’s a possible way to get a darn good deal on a weapon though “Buyer beware” is in full effect.

You’ve recommended glasses that you have. may I ask for the company that sells those and is there any kind of gear (glove) that would make arming the gun any easier? It’s killing my skin. -Adam

Warning: Shameless self promotion has been detected in the answer to this question. The glasses I use are made by Remington and just so happen to be for sale in our Amazon store on its main page or in the “Noob Necessities” category. The ability to swap out the lenses to different colors is very useful indeed. I use the darker tinted lenses for outdoors and the yellow tinted for indoor ranges. The red tint is fantastic to use for skeet and trap shooting as it makes the clays stand out more. As far as “arming the gun”, I’m going to assume you’re talking about loading the magazine. Loading magazines can be painful after a bit and some magazine (I’m looking at you, Glock) are downright thumb killers. There was a long time where I wouldn’t even load a mag all the way because the last couple rounds were just too much of a pain to get in. Then I got an easy loader. I don’t want to sound like a commercial for these things but I adore these devices. I can load a magazine faster and with less pain. These are also available in our Amazon store and, more than likely, at your local gun store. Have I ever mentioned that buying from our Amazon store helps out the site? I’m not sayin’ nothin’, I’m just sayin’.

Thanks for the questions!

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