"Clean Fire" ammo -- suggestions?

O

OhioGuy

New member
The range I've joined holds an indoor shooting league with tactical training drills, twice a month. Sounds awesome and I might give it a whirl. The requirement is 100 rounds of "clean fire" ammo for each trip--explanation being that since much of the firing happens in front of the stalls, downrange, the ventilation isn't as good and they only want lead-free powders and primers in the rounds. They do not allow reloads on the range. (Said it's stipulated in their insurance policy).

Makes sense (I assume this is a legit concern for indoor ranges?)

I've only found a few "clean fire" (in the name) options, all online, except for the Syntech ammo from Federal which they carry at several stores around me. Apparently "Speer Lawman" is kind of the standard for clean-burning action? There are a few others. None terribly cheap.

Question for you masters of ammo:

1. Are there good, inexpensive (relatively) brands and sources of 9mm ammo that would meet the criteria of lead-free powders and primers? What I'm especially wondering is whether there are "clean" options that simply aren't marketed as such.

2. My range said that ammo purchased at their range qualifies--I'm pretty sure he was referring to Federal target ammo ("white box") which, so far as I can tell, is not advertised or marketed anywhere as being lead-free. The only clearly designated "clean" ammo I can find on Federal's website for target use is their Syntech, which goes for around $16/box.
 
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If that's a range requirement, first thing I'd ask is for their list of all of the approved ammo that meets that spec. Asking us for recommendations, doesn't to a thing if it doesn't meet theirs.

FWIW, my guess is it's just another way of saying, "you got to buy ammo from us".
 
Killing an assailant in self defense should not have concerns for cleanliness of fire ammo. If the lead in the primer is of concern, what about the lead that brought the assailant to the ground...lead poisoning is not his/her concern, but life itself.
 
Killing an assailant in self defense should not have concerns for cleanliness of fire ammo. If the lead in the primer is of concern, what about the lead that brought the assailant to the ground...lead poisoning is not his/her concern, but life itself.
Click to expand...

I'm not worrying about my assailant getting lead poisoning.

The reason for the question was that my range has tactical training classes and leagues that practice downrange from the firing line, where their ventilation isn't as good, so they require that target ammo be lead-free so people aren't inhaling heavy metals.
 
Win Clean is the Winchester line of lead free primers with Total Metal Jacket (TMJ) bullets. There is another brand name for clean ammo but I forgot what it is. You can do a search on the ammo search engines to fine the best prices for this type of ammo.

I also belong to a range in Ohio that has the same requirements but we shoot weekly and use 50 rounds for a course of fire.
 
Speer Lawman and Federal American Eagle both come with a clean version.

Both are more expensive than their non clean counterparts.

Speer Lawman is naturally a TMJ, the base of the bullet is copper so there is no vaporizing of lead when fired.

I shoot Lawman exclusively for this reason. I would do the clean versions, but they can be 16 and up for 50rnds.
 
I only shoot lead free, and no it's not for the benefit of the bad guy, only me. SinterFire makes frangible leadless ammo in most calibers. Their "Greenline" versions also have a lead-free primer. The frangible round also eliminates the risk of ricochets. I have used a lot of the Fiocchi 9SFNT (Stands for Sinterfire non-toxic) which is a 100 grain Sinterfire round with good results. The powder is very clean burning in this one, making pistol cleaning easier afterward. It also has a lead-free primer. What I've found is few places stock these so you have to order on-line, therefore it's a good idea to buy in bulk to reduce shipping costs. Lead-free will always cost more than cheap rounds, so don't expect to have the same per round cost.

Fiocchi 9SFNT at Lucky Gunner (also available at Midway):
http://www.luckygunner.com/9mm-100-gr-frangible-fiocchi-50-rounds

SinterFire's Website:
https://www.sinterfire.com/Default.aspx
 
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