Steel cased ammunition pros and cons, experiences?

[Jchrisls]

So, as u may already know, I'm new to the game. When I purchased my AR from a local shooting range/ gun store, one of the first thing I was told was " never fire steel cased ammunition in this". I was never told why, and dont wish to fall victim to a bias or superstition based on someone else's single experience. So I pose the question...

Can/will it damage your firearms?
Have you ever run it through yours?
Has it run well?
Did you see any long term negative effects?

I searched the forum price to no avail.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

So, as u may already know, I'm new to the game. When I purchased my AR from a local shooting range/ gun store, one of the first thing I was told was " never fire steel cased ammunition in this". I was never told why, and dont wish to fall victim to a bias or superstition based on someone else's single experience. So I pose the question...

Can/will it damage your firearms?
Have you ever run it through yours?
Has it run well?
Did you see any long term negative effects?

I searched the forum price to no avail.

I used it in a Mini 14 I had. Worked well enough. When I discovered that the bullets were steel jacketed with a copper wash I stopped using it cuz it will wear out your barrel. Basically it's military ammo for a government entity with a bottomless checkbook for new rifles as needed. Maybe they're concerned with chamber wear from steel on steel.

 

[Catskillkid]

I believe it's because steel cased ammo has a tendency to jam. For what it's worth I run steel cased ammo through my Saiga (basically an AK) all the time with no issues. ARs tend to be a bit more finicky but I haven't had any issues. Again, the caveat is I haven't run much steel case through my ARs.

 

[Chevusa]

The old steel case stuff was junk and could cause problems and corrosion. They say the new stuff is fine and if you get a deal on it to go for it. As for me, I'm a brass guy.

 

[spat]

So, as u may already know, I'm new to the game. When I purchased my AR from a local shooting range/ gun store, one of the first thing I was told was " never fire steel cased ammunition in this". I was never told why, and dont wish to fall victim to a bias or superstition based on someone else's single experience. So I pose the question...

Can/will it damage your firearms?
Have you ever run it through yours?
Has it run well?
Did you see any long term negative effects?

I searched the forum price to no avail.

Pros:

It's cheap.
You can police your "brass" with a magnet.

Cons:

It's usually lower quality (i.e. it's cheap).
It's much harder to reload, so not worth the effort (usually berdan primed)
I've never seen it, but I've heard that after *a lot* of rapid fire, with a *very* hot chamber the laquer coating can stick and cause extraction problems.


I have run plenty of steel anmo, I would have no reservations about continuing, as long as you don't care about the limitations above.

 

[Jchrisls]

The old steel case stuff was junk and could cause problems and corrosion. They say the new stuff is fine and if you get a deal on it to go for it. As for me, I'm a brass guy.

I've only been a brass guy due strictly to the advice (?) given by the seller. I have found some steel case ( thanks again @BDinPutnam ) but with the investment in this particular firearm I've been leery.

 

[spat]

The old steel case stuff was junk and could cause problems and corrosion. They say the new stuff is fine and if you get a deal on it to go for it. As for me, I'm a brass guy.

There are a lot of "real cheap ammo" pitfalls, and real cheap ammo tends to be steel cased, because that's an obvious place to save money.

But most of those problems aren't related to the steel case, but to the cheapness or old milsurp nature.

You can get corrosive primers or steel core bullets in brass cased ammo too, it's just more likely in steel cased.

Most of the steel case I see for sale now is recent production with none of those problems. 30 years ago when a lot of it was WWII surplus it was a different story.

I don't think *anyone* has made new ammo with corrosive primers in a long time.

 

[togmaster]

It's fine for high volume training and plinking. When you shoot a lot the cost savings outweighs any precieved shortcomings.

 

[fnfalguy]

From an AR manufacturer.

Our Thoughts on Steel Cased Ammunition - Windham Weaponry Online. AR-15 Manufacturer

Pretty much daily I get the question “Is it okay to shoot steel cased ammo in my Windham Weaponry AR15?” With ammunition in short supply and good ammo priced very high, many people are buying cheaper steel cased, bi-metal jacket ammunition from Wolf, TulAmmo, Herter’s, etc. While I don’t...

www.windhamweaponry.com

and from testing 4 different ARs, steel case did create more issues from what I skimmed. YMMV

Brass vs. Steel Cased Ammo - An Epic Torture Test

 

[meketrefe]

Can/will it damage your firearms?
Have you ever run it through yours?
Has it run well?
Did you see any long term negative effects?

Can/will it damage your firearms? There is good steel case and bad steel case. old steel case can be corrosive (primer compounds) so
guns may be cleaned thoroughly. More modern steel case might not be corrosive but some brands from eastern countries use bullets with
very hard metal jackets that are much harder on the barrels. Steel can also corrode from inside or outside so beyond the mild tarnishing
can become unsafe to shoot at some point. if it is preserved in the original sealed containers should last for many years and if it is opened
should be in a very dry and clean place like any other ammo and guns anyway.

Have you ever run it through yours? Yes, occasionally.

Has it run well? Yes. Steel can be dirty and the bad steel can be very very dirty so that added to the cheap manufacturing might show
give you DUDs here and there.

Did you see any long term negative effects? It depends, if the focus is hearing more bangs for less money no but if the focus is to produce
consistent accuracy rather than shooting more rounds then the rounds are not the first top choice for consistency.

Keep in mind some folks sell steel ammo at almost the same cost of certain brass ammo. The question is the brass ammo also somewhat
decent or total junk that is also the case with certain ammo. When one looks for bulk deals at the right time there is little or no savings
from steel in smaller purchases, the same thing that happens with bullets. Like some people think that buying copper coated bullets are
a lot more cheaper than some jacketed bullets but the fact is at times in buying in bulk one can adquire 5K bulk bullet deals for almost
the same price as cast / copper coated and it is a lot better in the long run.

Other considerations is that some of the Russian/eastern bullets like some x39 rounds have cores that are so stout that ricochet like
crazy so I see those people shooting random objects in ranges and that is a huge risk.

Also if one sees a 5.56 55gr Norinco steel from the early days those are horrible powders but for whatever reason their bullets tumble
like crazy so they make a number in coyotes and other critters for a reasonable (at least old cost) ... very hard to find these days.

So when it comes to steel get a good deal or pass on it. It also all depends on what someone wants to do with it and expectations.

Some people like to spread dinner plates at 50 yards call of duty style and some others like to go for marksmanship and extend ranges
and accuracy. ...and everything else in between.

 

[Calculon]

IMO a firearm should shoot anything you put in it or you have a potential issue on your hands. Maybe I’m just lucky but my rifles run everything without a hiccup. Never had a problem with steelcase. On the other hand there are guys on this site that would rather kiss hrc than run steel case as they’ve seen/experienced issues.

During high demand times like we’re in now you need to be able to run whatever you can find. Modern steel/bimetal ammo should perform fine. Sure it may be dirtier and less precise but it depends on your planned use. Defensive? Target? Plinking?

Lots of studies out there with mixed results. Some claim that steel/bimetallic cases are just as soft as brass based on Brinell testing. Some claim that they may stick in chambers due to different elasticity than brass. Most say that steelcase will wear out your barrel faster but the money you save over time will pay for a new barrel several times over.

Buy it, shoot it, see how it runs.

 

[Acer-m14]

my Mosin eats steel case ammo .. my 223 Savage bolt did not like it .. 3 shots and it would lock up .. bruised hand . hammering the bolt back ,..
it would run using 2 steel and then a brass .. then back to steel .. then i just said fkit ..lets try someting .. i gave it a little brass cleaning brush on the drill with some hopps in the chamber .. now it eats tula steel and brass ..

my mini14 eats anything you feed it with factory mags .. Grrrr ..

 

[Elwood]

Pros:

It's cheap.
You can police your "brass" with a magnet.

Cons:

It's usually lower quality (i.e. it's cheap).
It's much harder to reload, so not worth the effort (usually berdan primed)
I've never seen it, but I've heard that after *a lot* of rapid fire, with a *very* hot chamber the laquer coating can stick and cause extraction problems.


I have run plenty of steel anmo, I would have no reservations about continuing, as long as you don't care about the limitations above.

I’ve seen the poly coating/lacquer gum up AR chambers twice. Both times were during strings of rapid fire, and only when the guns were hot then left with a round chambered but not fired right away. Both times the gun had to be broken down and a cleaning rod stuffed down the barrel to pop the round out. My take away from that is don’t let a steel round with poly/lacquer in the chamber sit in a hot gun, may glue itself in.
Also only hard primer I’ve come across was in Wolf steel case, failed to fire twice, third time went boom, made the mistake of taking out earplugs between 2nd and 3rd pull of the trigger. Won’t ever make that mistake again.

 

[GOPerfect]

I will only used stell case in wheel guns. I would never use them in my Ar's

 

[Podmonkey]

the only advantage of steel cases is low cost.
The issue with steel case "gumming" up chambers actually has nothing to do with the polymer or lacquer coating but rather the fact that steel is a less ductile material than brass. When fired the brass case flows readily, almost like liquid into the microscopic imperfections of the chamber wall providing a tight gas seal, when the pressure is removed the brass case snaps perfectly back tonits original shape. A steel case is not as able to do this and the resulting problems are twofold:
1- there is not as tight a gas seal and this allows some ofnthe high pressure gas to seep between the case and chamber walls which causes a carbon build up

2- The steel case does not entirely return to its original dimension after the chamber pressure drops.

This can cause issues with sticky cases and extraction problems as well as increased extractor wear due to the increased effort required on even a successful extraction.

Firearms designed to run steel case ammunition will have relatively steeply tapered chamber walls to mitigate these issues and therfore will run steel case happily. Firearms designed for brass case ammunition typically have less tapered chambers and are thus more susceptible to the peculiarities of steel cases.
All that said an AR15 should run steel case ammo, with the caveat of increased extractor wear.
Ordinarily I shoot brass case ammo but in times like these you just have to settle for what you can get.

 

[Marine Cpl]

I have had steel cased lacquer Wolf get stuck in the chamber as well when hot on my old Bushmaster when I had it. That stopped when Wolf went to the powdered finish. Afterwards I’d get the occasional dud but it was much better.

 

[1075tech]

I don't have any steel cased 223/556 so I'm not sure about the ones I may or may not have.

My Grendel's all run steel case just fine. Never had any issues with it other than accuracy.

I haven't put any steel cased in my Grendel bolt action yet.

 

[Toecutter]

Steel doesn't expand which causes the chamber not to seal . Fouling gets in the chamber and can cause cases to stick . Which can cause jamming and extractors breaking.
If you keep you gun clean its usually not an issue.

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

You'll only know if your AR likes steel if you shoot it. Some do. Some don't. The modern steel case stuff is actually very soft so it won't damage moving parts. The barrel... I always say this when the topic of wear comes up. 99% of people will never shoot their guns enough to really see any ill effect. So if true that the bi-metal jackets wear your barrel out faster (don't know if I believe that) you most likely will never shoot enough to see if it's true. Also keep in mind that many ranges won't let you shoot steel cased ammo.

 

[Podmonkey]

A quality AR should run steel. There will be greater strain onbthe extractor and heavy use of steel cased ammo will accelerate the replacement of that part. This isn't much of a problem though since replacement extractors and srings are cheap abd easy to replace. Bi metal bullet jackets will accelerate barrel wear but the extent of this depends on barrel material and construction.
a stainless steel match barrel with cut rifling will likely suffer the greatest loss in life while a 4150 cold hammer forged, chromed or nitrided barrel might see only a small amount of extra wear.
I wouldn't let any of these issuse deter you from using steel cased ammo. My biggest issue with it is Russian 5.56 ammo is often underpowered and inconsistent. But again, in this time of scarcity just grab whatever you can get really. Myself, I'll just keep a lookout for a half decent deal on a case of good ol' brass M193. I have completely given up on 9mm, I refuse to pay $.50 or more a round.

 

[Jchrisls]

A quality AR should run steel. There will be greater strain onbthe extractor and heavy use of steel cased ammo will accelerate the replacement of that part. This isn't much of a problem though since replacement extractors and srings are cheap abd easy to replace. Bi metal bullet jackets will accelerate barrel wear but the extent of this depends on barrel material and construction.
a stainless steel match barrel with cut rifling will likely suffer the greatest loss in life while a 4150 cold hammer forged, chromed or nitrided barrel might see only a small amount of extra wear.
I wouldn't let any of these issuse deter you from using steel cased ammo. My biggest issue with it is Russian 5.56 ammo is often underpowered and inconsistent. But again, in this time of scarcity just grab whatever you can get really. Myself, I'll just keep a lookout for a half decent deal on a case of good ol' brass M193. I have completely given up on 9mm, I refuse to pay $.50 or more a round.

This. Mine is a SS barrel. Have some 223 and 5.56 in brass. Guess I will stay with brass. Thanks everyone.

 

[Blimey]

Brass is better but for most of us we’ll never shoot enough steel to notice the increased barrel wear.

 

[meketrefe]

We forgot to mention that certain cartriges were designed to be made of steel or otherwise brass.
For example lets take the x39. It was a new round designed to be made of steel and and the AK47 was designed all around that new round.
A new round the 223 was designed to be made of brass and a new firearm was designed around that new caliber and not the other way around.
Chamber specs, barrel length and twist was all part of those initial developments.
Certain rounds are not geometrically ideal for steel and rough comditions use.
It doesnt mean manufactures cannot make an equivalent in steel, nickel, polymer and other alternatives but the round cannot be optimize for those because ot was not origially designed with that criteria in mind so they might have lilmiting factors like something as simple as the taper angle of the chamber in question.
The 5.45x39 was also designed to besde of steel and you can see this characteristic when compared with the 5.56.
Same goes for a 308 vs the 7.62x54R.
These are facts considered in the engineering of the new rounds and weapons systems.

 

[spat]

You'll only know if your AR likes steel if you shoot it. Some do. Some don't. The modern steel case stuff is actually very soft so it won't damage moving parts. The barrel... I always say this when the topic of wear comes up. 99% of people will never shoot their guns enough to really see any ill effect. So if true that the bi-metal jackets wear your barrel out faster (don't know if I believe that) you most likely will never shoot enough to see if it's true. Also keep in mind that many ranges won't let you shoot steel cased ammo.

I've seen ranges that ban steel core ammo, but never one that banned steel cased.

Any idea what their rationale for that was ?

 

[Vapor]

Pro- it's cheap

Con- everything else.

It won't destroy an ar-15 magically, but critical components may wear faster. Chrome lined bores are less affected by bi-metal jackets.

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

I've seen ranges that ban steel core ammo, but never one that banned steel cased.

Any idea what their rationale for that was ?

Yes. Steel cased ammo is somewhat synonymous with bi-metal jackets ("steel core"). Yes there are people that think ammo like wolf is actually steel core ammo. That's one of those misinformations that have been floating around forever. When I think steel case I automatically think of wolf or tula which have bi-metal jackets. Same goes with certain other guns. For instance I once went to Davis to shoot my AK (pre nonsense era) and the owner asked me what I was shooting. I told him an AK and he automatically assumed I was shooting something like wolf. I had to show him that the ammo was reloaded brass cased rounds. Even after showing him he was still suspicious and ran a magnet over the ammo. EVEN then he was still reluctant to let me shoot. Funny thing is you could sneak green tips in, that are actually steel core ammo and no one would probably be the wiser. A because you're shooting an AR (synonymous with brass cased ammo) and B they would see brass casings being ejected.

 

[STS556]

Last summer someone gave me 200 rounds of .223 steel case ammo. I don't know what brand it was. I shot all 200 rounds through my AR with no problems. I don't know if 200 rounds is enough to gauge any problems but all is still good with the rifle I shot it through.

 

[Jchrisls]

I've seen ranges that ban steel core ammo, but never one that banned steel cased.

Any idea what their rationale for that was ?

I was told steel core destroys backstops. Makes sense.
I assume steel case is denied as brass is an income stream for a range.

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

I was told steel core destroys backstops. Makes sense.
I assume steel case is denied as brass is an income stream for a range.

This is what I was alluding to in my post above. True steel core ammo is very rare in civilian hands. A bi metal jacket wont damage backstops anymore than copper jackets. It's all about range and velocity. But there are ranges that ban "steel core" because it will damage their backstops. They are simply ignorant to facts. Then there are others that say that the bi-metal jackets can spark and cause fire. I'd actually give that some credence. The whole revenue stream thing is false since the majority of ranges let you bring your own ammo.

 

[spat]

I was told steel core destroys backstops. Makes sense.
I assume steel case is denied as brass is an income stream for a range.

Steel core has several issues on a range.

It's harder on a backstop.

It's far more likely to ricochet rather than just deforming against a hard surface.

And It's far more capable of starting a fire.

I won't disparage a range owner who objects to steel core ammo.

Steel cased on the other hand there is no reason to ban that I can think of other than ignorance.