Common brands of steel-cased ammo are TulaAmmo, Brown Bear, and Wolf. While I dont generally recommend steel cased ammo, its not going to hurt your rifle in limited amounts. A steel case is also prohibited because a magnet will attract it, thus making it more difficult to check for steel-core ammunition. Non brass ammo is my JIC prepper ammo. Registered. The other problem with steel cased ammo is that the cases dont expand the same way that brass cases do. My HK USPc owners manual specifically states: CAUTION: HK firearms are designed to function with quality manufactured brass cased ammunition. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Not one mention of reloading. You save a few dollars, but usually give up good accuracy. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and, Read More 5 Helpful Tips for Disabled ShootersContinue, Getting a new gun is not the easiest thing. Also, they dont want steel mixed with that for obvious reasons. Why would shooters pick steel-cased rounds over standard ammo? Copyright 2020 Windham Weaponry, Inc. All rights reserved. Many shooters began to see the value of steel-cased ammo when $299 Saiga carbines were able to chew through the stuff without a single hiccup. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Mossberg 500 vs 590: Which Shotgun Is Right for You? Why Should You Practice Dry Fire Shooting Drills At Home? The same considerations can be utilized with pistol ammunition, especially when used in semi- and full-auto firearms. Its a bolt gun and doesnt care. Sounds like a good argument - until you remember that the steel in your chamber is MUCH harder than the In fact, they argue that aluminum casings are actually more reliable than brass casings because they are less likely to corrode. Another problem with steel cased ammo is a lot of it seems to be somewhat underpowered which can cause short stroking issues. A tapered case fares much better during extraction, since once the seal is broken and the case moves even the slightest amount to the rear, friction between the case and the chamber is appreciably attenuated. This is because brass cased ammo can be reloaded multiple times, and it is possible to reload ammo for around the same price per round as steel cased ammo can be bought. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 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. (Video) HERE'S WHY YOU CAN'T SHOOT STEEL CASED It was never engineered to be reloaded, while it isRead more . Aluminum Cased Ammo: Bad for Your Gun? - YESTACTICAL Some shooters believe that aluminum cased ammo can cause damage to your firearm. Required fields are marked *. On the one hand, some people believe that aluminum cased ammo can cause damage to your gun. If the gun is broken in first with brass cased ammo this helps seal the gas system somewhat which will make the lower powered steel cased ammo work a bit better. Does putting water in a smoothie count as water intake? Steel cased ammo is said to be less expensive and brass cased ammunition more reliable. The ferrous bi-metal jackets found on most steel-cased ammo will not damage the rifling of your AR and are perfectly safe to use on any rifle-rated backstop. doubleclick.net - browser supports cookies. Nope. In semi-automatic firearms, this affects the timing of the cycle of operation, particularly in the extraction phase. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Even then, is the small savings worth the time and patience that it takes to reload? Is steel cased ammo bad for your gun? If depends on the quality of the ammunition and the quality of the firearm. Some lots of ammunition have too What are the disadvantages of brass ammo? Most of the curved section of the bullet has a Secant (VLD-style) ogive for low drag. If you are a reloader, dont bother with the steel cases. There isnt always an explanation for the rules. Our Sitemap. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Forever, you could not find a kind word being said about steel-cased, Russian ammo. For example, some ranges may state steel casing, but in fact, mean steel jacketed or steel core. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Generally speaking, its not gonna hurt it. Another often overlooked advantage is the spent cartridge cases can be policed up with a magnet. Pretty sure that anyone reading the article, especially this bunch would know that. Steel casings are therefore coated with a lubricant. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. Higher velocity bullets, such as the .223 Remington, will usually cause more wear. Not really it always says that its Berdan primed, not Boxer. But shortly thereafter, many found that the rounds werent performing as accurately, or reliably in their American firearms. It may not have been match-grade or the cleanliest ammo, but the Soviet calibers ran perfectly in Soviet-designed firearms. Or should you stay away from it? Anything Wrong With using Polymer-Coated Steel Case Ammo Thats the only real advantage of the ammo. Our Thoughts on Steel Cased Ammunition WebSteel case ammo shouldn't damage your gun, though some guns will have reliability issues with it. Steel-Case Ammo: Bad For Your Gun? - An Official Journal Of It even sometimes says that it ISNT reloadable for those that dont understand it from the names. 3 What are the disadvantages of steel cased ammo? | An Official Journal Of The NRA, First Look: Primary Arms MD25 Red Dot Sight, I Carry: Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 Metal Pistol in a KSG Armory Holster, First Look: New SCR Rifles From FightLite, One-Handed Practice | An Official Journal Of The NRA, 3 Self Defense Myths That Just Won't Go Away | NRA Family, Old Sheriff's Funniest Felon FAILs | NRA Family, Fun Friday: Old Sheriff's Favorite Dumb-Criminal Moments | NRA Family, Top 5 'I Carry' Videos of 2022 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, VIDEO: A1F Editor Features in I Carry for Shooting Illustrated | An Official Journal Of The NRA, I Carry: SCCY CPX-2 In A Blade-Tech Klipt Holster | An Official Journal Of The NRA, X-Vision Optics Launches Thermal Impact Scope | An Official Journal Of The NRA, First Shots: Colt CBX Precision Rifle | An Official Journal Of The NRA, New For 2022: Savage Arms 1911 | An Official Journal Of The NRA, NRA Women | Understanding Sectional Density (SD), 10 Most Versatile Long-Range Hunting Cartridges | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Fiocchi USA Appoints David Blenker As New CEO After Anthony Acitellis Retirement | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Behind the Bullet: .17 HMR | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Coyote Hunting Basics | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Physical Therapist's CCW Advice: Strong-Side Hip Carry | NRA Family, Preview: Full Forge Gear Hurricane | An Official Journal Of The NRA, New: Magpul Barricade Stop | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, How to Properly Clean and Store Your Rifle After Hunting Season | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Winchesters New King Buck Classic Youth Sporting Clays Event Will Have $10,000 In Prizes | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, USA Shooting Trap, Skeet Athletes Competing At 2023 ISSF World Cup Qatar | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, Team Federals Derrick Mein, Vincent Hancock Land 2023 USA Shooting National Team Spots | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal, I Carry: Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 Metal Pistol in a KSG Armory Holster | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Product Preview: Holosun SCS-MOS Green | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Gun Of The Week: Davidson's Exclusive Ruger-5.7 Red-Dot | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Find More Great NRA Publications Perfect For Every Interest, Discover Everything That The NRA Has To Offer. 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. Steel Cased So, it is important to follow the manufacturers instructions for cleaning and maintenance, regardless of the casing type. It will still bend and deform under pressure, just like regular aluminum. Cast aluminum is perfect for this job. Vortex to take over customer service and support for the app. Most shooting ranges will not let you use steel-cased ammo at the range. It can happen in many different ways, but most often, it happens when someone is cleaning a gun or showing a gun to friends, and they accidentally pull the trigger. Coffee good, coffee bad, dark chocolate bad, dark chocolate good, eggs bad, eggs good. I took one car to the crusher years ago. The steel used is a very soft mild steel vs. the very hard feed ramp and chamber. However, I keep it out of my precision ARs and I do not hunt with it. Wolf Ammunition is NOT bad for your gun. However, it is much, Read More How To Inspect A Gun Before Buying?Continue, Guns have all kinds of different parts. Is My Flash Hider or Muzzle Brake Removable. Steel rounds also have a greater chance of backfiring. Are steel cases bad However, this is not the case. In fact that's all they use in the Comblock countries. The jury is still out on this one. The steel case has a coating, which cushions against wear. Its only maybe $1 more per box but its worth it. This grit and mess gets between the case and chamber wall and acts like sand paper. The shooting ranges do obviously recycle the lead. Another often overlooked advantage is the spent cartridge cases can be policed up with a magnet. I've read horror stories about steel cased ammo, but I've shot it a ton of it with zero problems. Yet, the tapered 9 mm case enhances extraction once the chamber seal is broken. If I had a junk yard it would be worth it. 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. 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. I have a friend the reloads 223 steel cases better him than me. YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. Steel-cored rounds have a much greater likelihood of damaging a backstop than lead FMJs do, so theyre nearly universally prohibited on indoor shooting ranges. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. In reality, its not the steel cartridge case thats the problem. And it does not corrode, so it can be used in humid and saltwater environments without issue. Perhaps the biggest drawback to steel-cased ammo is that it is not easily reloadable. This cookie is used to keep track on user informations and reports it to Alexa analytics service. what's the point? Any sparks from a steel round might also spark a fire, which is more likely. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association. But if you skimp on cleaning your guns, you might want to be careful if doing a lot of shooting with steel cased ammo as carbon buildup may start to cause reliability issues. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. YouTube - Store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. Answering: Is steel cased ammo bad for your gun? Opinions vary, but I think the prevailing wisdom is that Yes, steel cased ammunition is hard on ex The lacquer will soften, and if the round sits in the chamber as it cools, it can make extraction more difficult in firearms not designed with a generous chamber. Steel is harder and less malleable than brass so its a lot harder to accurately resize the cases after firing. The primary, and really only, benefit of shooting steel cased ammo is the price. This build up can cause stuck cases. M855 is often called green tip ammo for its special color coding (the full metal jacket is painted green at the nose). On the other hand, the 9 mm, especially in military loads, is twice the pressure of the .45 ACP. Over time, this can result in decreased accuracy and increased jamming problems. My best guess at the time was that it was because the rangers only wanted the brass ammo, which they could recycle; they could resell and make money off of. Up to 100 rounds, the more the better. Thus, inspecting a gun before buying is a crucial thing. I have a Glock 17 that has yet to see brass cased ammunition. It is pretty dirty & tends to leave some lacquer when the gun heats up. The Berger Hybrid design incorporates two different shapes within the nose. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Again, however, I am not really certain whether that is the case. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The 556 has little taper. But is there really a difference between the two types of ammunition, particularly over a long period of time? I had some issues with some Russian made .45 cal steel cased ammo. No problems. So if you are going to use steel cased ammo I recommend breaking the rifle in with decent brass cased ammo first. Some of it is sealed with lacquer that stinks. Stand a cartridge of each design beside each other vertically and compare the sidewalls. They have a nice feature that tells you what range the shipping is(low,medium,high). My understanding is that you cannot reload the steel cases. No. It's annealed to be soft. A lot of old surplus stuff was laquer coated and could gum up chambers. If a round was fired in a hot chamber and coo For now on I will stick to brass cased ammo only. But dont get me wrong, they arent over-gassed to the point of negatively impacting performance. This was even more the case a few years ago when most companies made sure their guns were precisely gassed. The reason it is not easily reloadable has to do with the steel cases being harder and less malleable than brass but also due to the fact that steel-cased ammunition is Berdan primed. 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. If I were to try ANY steel cased ammo, it would be the new Hornady stuff. This can, however, be compensated with coating, but some worry that this coating could build up in your firearm and create long-term issues. You can reload them. Its that way with everything if you noticed. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. What Steel Cased Ammo Does To Guns! | The Gun Owner The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. I have found that my AR does quite well with steel case, where as my Mini-14 has trouble holding 4 MOA. I received 35 dollars for it. 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 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. The pellets weigh one-third less than lead pellets of the same size. I have never had a problem with it in my pistols. Accidental shootings are a big problem, and they happen all over the world. A variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. Guns are not put under as much stress as an engine block, but it is still important that they are made with a strong material. These rounds are often maligned for performance, reliability, and being generally inferior to brass-cased ammo. Different shooters prefer different ammo casings for different reasons. steel case ammo Steel is less dense than lead. As long as I do some research beforehand, I feel more confident, and I dont take the chance of my reputation getting damaged. How can I stop being frustrated while reading? 2. Steel Cased Ammo It needs to be strong enough to withstand a lot of stress. The former is utterly reliable in most platforms in which it is chambered. Tacoma, Washington 98424 USA, 2023 Rainier Ballistics | The Journey To The Top Demands Peak Performance, What is a Bull Barrel Bull Barrel Variations and Benefits. Is aluminum cased ammo bad? But in the end I will stick with brass because it just isn't work a couple of dollars difference in price to fight with your piece while you are at the range. Is Steel-Cased Ammunition Really All That Bad? ~ VIDEO People with disabilities are still capable of shooting a gun, contrary to popular belief. By comparison one was as accurate as the other in group size. It is also possible for steel jacketed ammo to ignite dustings of unburnt powder found on the floors of indoor ranges when it sparks when it hits a hard surface, making it a fire hazard. No, not for any well made gun. Other than that we can use just about anything. So, should you shoot steel cased ammo through your rifle or pistol? 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 As a result, these guns have short or fast cycle times. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites. As for the increased wear on the barrel, my logic is that I will have saved plenty of money by shooting steel cased ammo that I could buy a new barrel and still be ahead. Use of steel or aluminum cased cartridges is not recommended and could adversely affect safe and reliable functioning. For example, a steel-cased .45 ACP is essentially a straight-walled case, but the working pressures are around 20,000 psi which make extraction easier. The projectiles typically have an lead core, not steel. a 12-gauge shotshell can be chambered into a 20- gauge shotgun and result in serious personal injury. The same considerations can be utilized with pistol ammunition, especially when used in semi- and full-auto firearms. Copper bullets may be lighter than lead bullets, but they are also harder. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. steel rusts, so cases have to be lacquered to control corrosion. The range may use a magnet to determine whether the ammunition is steel core or not. Brass is better at this sealing action because it is more malleable than steel. WebSteel cased ammo is safe to use in modern firearms because the steel used in the case is very soft. The steel used in the cases will still be softer than the type of steel used in receivers and extractors of Unlock the Benefits of Knowing Your Winchester Serial Number, Complete Buyers Guide to the Sig Sauer P228. There is a higher risk of sparks and a fire starting with steel core rounds. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Your Arsenal build will be fine with it. Steel cases are more difficult (if not impossible) to reload. Envision the contact surfaces with the chamber as the cartridge case is being extracted.