The box doesn't tell me. I need to know because my gun range won't allow steel or aluminum cartridges
a magnet can help to determine if it's steel, since brass isn't magnetic. as for aluminum, they'll have aluminum look to them, they never paint them to allow you to identify them, so silvery grey isn't what you're looking for. essentially, as long as the case isn't magnetic and isn't shiny grey, you should be fine. on a side note, I don't really understand why a gun range would forbid steel and aluminum cased ammo, unless they're trying to force the customers into buying the range's ammo instead of less expensive surplus or aluminum cased ammo. PS: Sirbobby, some ranges have a it touches the ground it's ours policy and they do strictly abide by it, if you pick up spent brass, they give you a warning and if you do it again, they throw you out and ban you from the range. they own the property and range and make the rules. I would always read their rules before applying for a membership or even going there.
Brand would help. Including aluminum tends to imply that the case construction is all that you are worried about. There are three common materials that cases are made from, aluminum, brass, and steel. If the case is clearly brass colored without a coating on it, it is brass. If it is a silvery metal, it is definitely aluminum, unless it is polished shiny, in which it would be a nickel plated brass case. Steel cases can be hard to determine visually. Many times they are coated with zinc, copper wash, other metals or lacquer. If a magnet will attract the case, it is steel, or at least definitely not brass. The range may be worried about steel core bullets. If a magnet will attract the bullet, it is steel cored.
First - the only ranges that care - are indoor ranges. And 99.99999% of them do not allow 308 rifle caliber fired indoors!! Second - the range does not care what the case is made out of - they are caring about what the bullet is made out of. Most lead bullets are soft and do not hurt a backstop - steel ones do. You should have included the name of the range - we could have helped you more.
You mean casings. You can tell as steel will have a coating of lacquer and aluminum will look like aluminum. The bullet itself will always be lead with a copper coat unless otherwise specified.
A magnet will tell if there is steel. Usually the concern is only for steel in the projectile, not the case. Indoor ranges are worried about damage to their back stop. Outdoor ranges may be concerned about starting fires due to sparks. If a range told me the cases could not be steel or aluminum, I would find another range. They probably want to keep the shells you leave on the ground, but don't want to have to separate the reloadable from the non-relaodable. That makes them bums.
