From what I can tell and have seen/read..since steel is less malleable than brass, the cases dont fireform as well to the chamber when fired. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. By comparison one was as accurate as the other in group size. Does steel cased ammo damage your gun? The same considerations can be utilized with pistol ammunition, especially when used in semi- and full-auto firearms. Aluminum is a softer metal than lead, so it will not produce as accurate a bullet as lead. I have a friend the reloads 223 steel cases better him than me. Thus, inspecting a gun before buying is a crucial thing. Under federal law it is perfectly legal to make, sell and purchase armor-piercing ammunition as long as you have the proper licensing. In a world where all ammo is accurately loaded, finely-tuned gas systems are ideal, the gun has less felt recoil, lasts longer, and requires less cleaning. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Another often overlooked advantage is the spent cartridge cases can be policed up with a magnet. Envision the contact surfaces with the chamber as the cartridge case is being extracted. The only way that shooting steel casing would not save you money is if you reload your own ammo. I have some steel cased ammo in a few calibers556, 762x39, 9mm, .45because it's got incredibly long shelf life under adverse conditions. I tried the winchester steel case ammo. Instead I donate them now and I actually get more money and it is less work. Registered. In addition, steel is more penetrating than lead since it does not expand as much. @jh45gun Your statement above non bi-metallic seems to be saying that the case is bi-metallic. My Blog does steel cased ammo hurt your gun This is partly due to the design of the tapered case, which enhances extraction regardless of case-material composition. It caused alot of feed problems in my Kimber Ultra Carry II 3". The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. Thats the only real advantage of the ammo. After draining the fluids, taking out the battery and all the plastic and seats and removing the shocks it was more work than it was worth. In answer to your question specific to the. This is because most steel-cased ammo uses a mild steel core, and is difficult for ranges to differentiate from armor-piercing steel-core ammo which would Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Theres nothing about steel-cased ammo that says this has to be the case however, Hornady proved that with their competition-ready Steel Match ammo that is produced with all the quality and attention to detail that any of their other premium offerings are made with. Only issue I have heard, working in a LGS: Some guys where rapid firing a Glock 22 and apparently the TULAMMO they were shooting is coated with laquer and it gummed up the chamber after the gun got hot. And you will start to notice reliability problems if your firearm is not properly maintained. So, it is important to follow the manufacturers instructions for cleaning and maintenance, regardless of the casing type. I doubt anyone will stick around after a firefight to police up their brass. In rifle calibres bi-metal jackets, which are common with steel cased ammo, will cause faster barrel wear, but the barrel life on a 9mm is so long you'll likely never wear it out regardless of what you shoot. With a little fouling, it is easy to see how the more-tapered 7.62x39 mm would be easier to extract than the 5.56 NATO. And it does not corrode, so it can be used in humid and saltwater environments without issue. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The primary, and really only, benefit of shooting steel cased ammo is the price. Again, however, I am not really certain whether that is the case. Bulk purchases of non-standard ammunition support a wide variety of U.S. military assistance programs, as well. In my own experience, the accuracy of steel cased ammo in my rifles really is not that much worse than lower-end brass cased ammo. The steel case doesn't seal as well so you will get more carbon fouling in the gun. Read More Why Should You Practice Dry Fire Shooting Drills At Home?Continue, You may end up seriously hurting both yourself and those closest to you if you conceal a firearm in the wrong way. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Then, Hornady hit the market with their steel-cased ammo. The brass case expands inside the chamber, the steel case does not and so there is a lot of blow back. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Having said that, I don't use it in my high end guns, Here are two excellent articles regarding the issues with steel cased ammunition that I always recommend. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. When hes not reviewing guns or shooting for fun and competition, Jim can be found hiking and hunting with his wife Kimberly, and their dog Peanut in the South Carolina low country. This tangent section of the ogive results in the bullet being much less sensitive to seating depth. If you want ammo that might put you through some exercises in clearing a jammed round, then TulAmmo is great. The reason is because steel is not as malleable as brass and therefore does not create as good of a seal between the shell casing and the chamber. While brass is a copper alloy, stainless steel is an iron alloy mixed with chromium and nickel. The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net to collect statistical data such as the number of visits, average time spent on site, and what pages have been loaded, for targeted advertising. It's important to point out one of the reasons why ranges are banning steel-case Russian ammo: some of it has copper-washed steel. Despite its rarity, some gun ranges still prohibit steel-cased ammunition. This is apparent in higher-pressure cartridges. Americas oldest Second Amendment News outlet. Steel is harder on these guns than brass, so it can jam. Some Glocks will indeed eat anything, others not quite. Steel cased ammo is definitely not known for its accuracy. If you are buying ammo for home defense or your carry weapon, then DO NOT BUY TulAmmo. Winchesters USA-Forged steel-cased ammo performed as well or better than comparable brass-cased ammo in my guns. Practice makes perfect, and there is no better way to practice your shooting skills than dry fire drills. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. It does not corrode or rust, even in extreme environments, It can be recycled endlessly without losing any quality or strength. Experiment a little and see which type works best! However, it is much, Read More How To Inspect A Gun Before Buying?Continue, Guns have all kinds of different parts. The round would cost the business a lot of money to maintain, so the costs could be reduced by banning the round. All of my ARs and my Mini-14 eat up steel cased ammo with the same, or better, reliability as they do with brass-cased rounds. At what point is the marginal product maximum? However, some shooters believe that the softer metal can cause more wear and tear on your guns barrel and chamber. (emphasis mine) For further information on ammunition selection, contact HK Customer Service HK does not sell ammunition, so they have no dog in the cost of ammunition argument. Why would shooters pick steel-cased rounds over standard ammo? A: Yes. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The old Soviet Bloc countries have manufactured and used used steel ammunition in their AK platforms since day one, the AK / SKS is somehow designed to But I do question the hypothesis, unless demonstrated, that a new steel case increases wear over brass. The ammunition was mostly manufactured by Tula Cartridge Plant in Tula, Tula District, Russia from 2005 to 2009. The other real downside is that steels coefficient of friction is greater than that of brass, so when the spent casing is being extracted from a hot chamber, it requires more force to break the initial bond. This in turn means more force is exerted on your firearms extractor which can lead to premature breakages if the gun wasnt designed for the rounds in the first place. And a sloppy chamber adds to bad performance in accuracy. Would shooting the steel cased ammo damage the pistol in any way? This may not seem like a whole lot, but if you are doing a lot of shooting, it will add up quickly. Your email address will not be published. In semi-automatic firearms, this affects the timing of the cycle of operation, particularly in the extraction phase. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Russian primers have also proven to prove vulnerable to being punctured, which results in the hot gases of the powder detonating rushing back through the punctured primer onto the bolt face, which can significantly damage the firearm. The money you saved on steel What are the disadvantages of steel cased ammo? Paper target scraps or gun powder residue might also ignite. Not only One of the biggest misconceptions is since steel is harder than brass or aluminum, it must be harder on the gun as it travels through the cycle of operation. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. The steel used in the cases will still be softer than the type of steel used in receivers and extractors of Opinions vary, but I think the prevailing wisdom is that Yes, steel cased ammunition is hard on extractors. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The benefits in favor of steel-cased ammo are mostly economic, making it cheaper to shoot than conventional brass offerings. This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. One of them is the excellent LuckyGunner test. Any sparks from a steel round might also spark a fire, which is more likely. The same considerations can be utilized with pistol ammunition, especially when used in semi- and full-auto firearms. So, I disagree with all steel case ammo is great. Cast aluminum is perfect for this job. I have had very few issues with reliability when using steel-cased ammo. WebAnswering: Is steel cased ammo bad for your gun? More work is involved if theyre berdan primed but it can be done. This causes carbon build up between the case and the chamber wall. Because steel is cheap and readily available, and the steel required to make shell casings is bottom of the barrel recycled steel. The chamber abso It was never engineered to be reloaded, while it isRead more . What does it mean when your boyfriend takes long to reply? Another advantage of steel casings is that cartridges are extracted more efficiently than brass casings. No issues with Steel (Tula or Wolf) and full power striker springs, occasional FTE with aluminum and I had one yesterday with Fiocci brass. Other than that we can use just about anything. I think it is generally dirty ammo. As its name suggests, steel-cased ammo utilizes steel for its shell casings instead of brass (or in the case of older Soviet ammo, bi-metal). Registered. Some of it is sealed with lacquer that stinks. Maybe NOT, POF 5PK MP5 The Budget Reverse-Stretch Semi Auto from Pakistan, Ammo InStock: PMC Bronze 223 Rem 55 Grain FMJ Ammo 1000 Rounds $397.00 FREE S&H, Survival Deal: Thyrosafe Potassium Radioactive Iodide Tablets $21.95 FREE S&H, Gun Deals: Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol 12 Gauge Shotgun $949.00 FREE S&H, Brownells Coupon Codes www.brownells.com Updated Monthly. There are times when rules are unclear. While a more expensive option than brass, steel is a very durable, resilient metal. This is because most steel-cased ammo uses a mild steel core, and is difficult for ranges to differentiate from armor-piercing steel-core ammo which would quickly destroy targets. WebWhat Steel Cased Ammo Does To Guns! Modern production steel-cased ammo is not corrosive, even when Berdan primed and it will not destroy your extractor. But for people who reload, shooting steel cased ammo may actually be more expensive. In fact, they argue that aluminum casings are actually more reliable than brass casings because they are less likely to corrode. Forever, you could not find a kind word being said about steel-cased, Russian ammo. Steel cases cannot be collected and sold like brass cases since they cannot be reloaded. It is not uncommon to find steel-cased ammunition made in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union using steel-core bullets, which are steel slugs encased in a thin layer of lead. This causes additional blowback, which causes more residue buildup in the action. Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Further, HK specifically says: All USPs are approved for use with +P and +P+ ammunition as it appliesRead more . So, yes, steel-cased ammo will wear your AR-15 out faster than brass ammo will. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Since steel cases work-harden and lose their elasticity, you cannot resize them to hold another bullet since they lack the elasticity that brass cases possess. No one is perfect. I seen problems with stuck cases in AR type rifles. If you are a reloader, dont bother with the steel cases. Some people shoot nothing but steel cased through their firearms, while others will not touch the stuff. Survival | Will Steel Cased Ammo Hurt Your gun? Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Is My Flash Hider or Muzzle Brake Removable. Brass Ammo Pros & Cons Brass ammo is generally considered to be better than steel-cased ammo because it creates a better chamber seal than steel. Over time, this can result in decreased accuracy and increased jamming problems. Don't worry, AKs won't get hurt by the steel case. Is it safe for my gun? Due to the lower price of steel-cased ammo, steel-cased ammunition is popular. There is literally no danger to your firearms steel parts when using aluminum cased ammo.