Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. hile PMC discontinued its “green line,” due to unrelated problems, a number of other companies are now actively marketing similar ammunition. At the same time, some of the earlier military contracts for lead-free frangible ammunition created product opportunities in the civilian market. The military was far ahead of the curve in seeing the benefits of ammo with no lead and no ricochets. A number of companies offer lead-free frangible ammunition, however, some of them restrict their sales to the military and law enforcement. Over the years, we’ve used a number of brands here, and presently use Fiocchi, BVAC Inc., International Cartridge, SinterFire and UltraMax. We do sell lead-free frangible ammunition to customers and that will increase as more calibers and brands become available for commercial sales. The only negative result of this long green road has been higher ammunition costs. Lead-free, frangible cartridges are expensive, about the same cost as major brand hollow points. Requiring the use of lead-free, frangible ammunition has driven up the cost of shooting at our range. And not having cheap range ammo available has clearly cost us a Tom Allen (left) assists a customer who gives an few customers. M-16 a workout using lead-free ammo on The On the positive side, we have no Gun Store range. W Increased, Safe Business lead to dispose of (other than a tiny bit from the one lane), virtually no lead in the air and no ricochets. Our employee blood lead levels are now at the population norm. The bulk of the residue from our traps can go in the dumpster, as can our vacuum filters. The entire store is cleaner. Customers and our neighbors are safe from being contaminated. Now, the only time an OSHA or EPA inspector shows up is to be a customer. We advertise fairly heavily the fact that our range is “lead free” and since we made the switch to “being green,” overall business has increased each year. That has drawn the attention of other range operators. The two days before the SHOT Show in February, we were swamped, mostly with dealers “kicking our tires” and learning what we’re doing. That’s okay. We’re glad to share what we’ve done if it helps others. 9 Not Grandpa’s Old Angle-Head. applicants using calibers that are not yet available lead free, which only amounts to about 200 rounds a week. At this point, some of our ammunition still comes with small amounts of lead in the primer, as truly reliable, completely lead-free primers are not always available. Other than these small exceptions, we are completely lead free. Despite this, we still use most of the lead protocols: HEPA vacuums, rubber gloves and respirators to clean the range, using rubber gloves while cleaning or repairing our rental firearms, and requiring a lot of hand washing. The Gun Store uses a number of lead-free, frangible brands including SinterFire, which now offers only bullets, International Cartridge and Fiocchi. www.shootingindustry.com Circle No. 213 on Inquiry Card