My HK USPc owners manual specifically states: CAUTION: HK firearms are designed to function with quality manufactured brass cased ammunition. 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. Steel cased ammo is non reloadable. Occasionally, people use a gun range and do not pick up after themselves, leaving shells on the ground after they have fired. Using gas-powered cycling systems on firearms makes the extraction less effective. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. So, it expands to snugly fit the walls of the chamber. The Berger Hybrid design incorporates two different shapes within the nose. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and, Read More 5 Helpful Tips for Disabled ShootersContinue, Getting a new gun is not the easiest thing. It is not possible to reload steel cases. Pretty much daily I get the question Is it okay to shoot steel cased ammo in my Windham Weaponry AR15?. Keep in mind that cleaning your guns is more important when shooting mainly steel-cased ammo. There isnt always an explanation for the rules. 1 Why is steel case ammo bad for your gun? The casing is usually made of steel. The same considerations can be utilized with pistol ammunition, especially when used in semi- and full-auto firearms. Aluminum, on the other hand, can be poured into a mold and will not fill all of the spaces. However, some shooters believe that the softer metal can cause more wear and tear on your guns barrel and chamber. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. There are times when rules are unclear. 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. (Video) HERE'S WHY YOU CAN'T SHOOT STEEL CASED Customer Service at Springfield Armory had this to say about using steel cased ammo: BTW, as long as we are talking about it, what are the benefits to steel cased ammo ? Why is it imperative that different gauge shotshells not be mixed together? The taper aids extraction considerably. Well, it depended on the action and type more than anything. 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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 build up can cause stuck cases. the case is steel and the bullet has a mild steel jacket with a thin copper coating. 5 What are the pros and cons of using steel-cased ammo? Because of this, most if not all steel ammo comes with a coating to help extract easier and stay free of rust which can also cause extraction issues. Pure greed is what it is when it comes to indoor ranges. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. In reality, its not the steel cartridge case thats the problem. Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: A guy who works at my LGS said some of the russian steel cased stuff has a coating that can leave a gummy residue in the chamber once the gun starts heating up. Another often overlooked advantage is the spent cartridge cases can be policed up with a magnet. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. There is literally no danger to your firearms steel parts when using aluminum cased ammo. So, there is no benefit to using cast aluminum over regular aluminum when making bullets. Bullets With Steel Cases Versus Bullets With Steel Cores, Concealed Carrier Stops Mass Shooting After Being Shot in the Head Himself, DampRids on Gun Safes (Should You Use Them? Steel is harder on these guns than brass, so it can jam. Bill, I know that there has been testing on it, though I dont have them bookmarked. YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. Wolf and the like are so dirty to shoot. However, I keep it out of my precision ARs and I do not hunt with it. The solution was simple they over-gassed their guns. YouTube - Store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen - 2. Its no secret that the cost of shooting ranges is high. 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. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. It is only the jacket which is bi-metallic, NOT the case. This is apparent in higher-pressure cartridges.An example would be in comparing 7.62x39 mm and 5.56 NATO. Using steel in the entire bullet is impossible because it would damage the barrel. In short, the bullets offer maximum aerodynamics from a bullet that is also forgiving about seating depth, making them an ideal projectile for hunting in conditions where shots can be on the long side and one that will shoot well in more rifles. Aluminum cases are less expensive to produce than brass cases, so they are often used in budget-friendly ammunition. The benefits in favor of steel-cased ammo are mostly economic, making it cheaper to shoot than conventional brass offerings. Is Steel-Cased Ammunition Really All That Bad? ~ VIDEO It should be noted that the rule about the use of steel core ammo can also be applied to outdoor ranges. The former is utterly reliable in most platforms in which it is chambered. Steel with the same weight and shot size contains more pellets than lead, making loads that contain more shot than necessary. At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide which ammo casing is best for you and your firearm. I do. They argue that the softer metal of the casing can wear down your guns The firearm can be functional and perfect, but it can also be damaged, faulty, or even outright broken, or non-functional. An example of commercial, Russian-made steel-cased, but non-corrosive 7.62x54mm ammunition. Unless you plan to reload the spent cases, Id say the steel is fine for general purposes, leaving price as the only consideration. I seen problems with stuck cases in AR type rifles. I have had six show up here in the last two years saying that they had an AR that was not working right. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Is steel cased ammo bad for your gun? - Quora 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. 20 years ago we would read an article about how bad eggs were for cholesterol and now we read that they are not that bad and it is ok to eat two a day but dont eat the bacon. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? I used to shoot steel cased ammo through my Ruger P97 all the time, too. 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. This may be true in some cases, but it depends on the make and model of your firearm. Anything Wrong With using Polymer-Coated Steel Case Ammo However, steel-cased ammo has become popular in recent years primarily due to the substantial price difference between it and brass-cased ammo. I doubt anyone will stick around after a firefight to police up their brass. However, using steel casings with outdoor ranges should not be a problem. Opinions vary, but I think the prevailing wisdom is that Yes, steel cased ammunition is hard on extractors. 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. i don't use steel case Russian crap. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu18.htm, http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/. Sounds like a good argument - until you remember that the steel in your chamber is MUCH harder than the steel of the shell. (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. What are the disadvantages of steel cased ammo? WebSteel case ammo shouldn't damage your gun, though some guns will have reliability issues with it. Our Thoughts on Steel Cased Ammunition generally not that bad, depending on what the coating is, you may have to clean the chamber more after shooting. The main drawback is that you can In a nutshell, steel-cased ammo is good to go. More work is involved if theyre berdan primed but it can be done. God I hate ammo snobs. Steel cased ammo is not bad for AR-15s. It is only bad for people who suck at math. People will claim that the steel will w Steel cartridge case use in handguns (as well as long guns) has been the source of controversy since their inception. The softest of steels has a surface hardness at least 2 1/2 times the surface hardness of annealed brass (on the Brinell scale), that being the case, unless the chamber was manufactured for the use of steel, from a metallurgical standpoint, steel will erode the chamber over time, not just the extractor. Experiment a little and see which type works best! 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 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. One difference between steel-cased rifle and pistol ammo is the working chamber pressure. This is true of PSA, SIG, Anderson, Colt, and basically everyone today. The ammunition was mostly manufactured by Tula Cartridge Plant in Tula, Tula District, Russia from 2005 to 2009. Registered. The other manufactured downside is that some companies will tell shooters that using steel-cased ammo voids their warranty. It depends what you shoot it out of. Steel cases are hard on a firearm. When they are fired,like any other case, the expand to seal the chamber. Bu 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. Will Steel Cased Ammo Hurt Your Gun | The Armory Life Forum The main concern is that the soft metal of the casing can lead to wear and tear on your firearms barrel and chamber. 4500 15th Street East My understanding is that you cannot reload the steel cases. WebWhat Steel Cased Ammo Does To Guns! WebDoes steel cased ammo hurt your gun? Shoots really good in all my glocks, burns fairly clean, same as WWB does and at $28 for 150 rounds, i`ll buy/shoot it anytime. 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. Yet, the tapered 9 mm case enhances extraction once the chamber seal is broken. The Best Firearm and Firearm Accessory Reviews. Penetrator rifle rounds similar to M855 are available as well, and they do have steel core. For most people, it doesnt really matter at all. I've reloaded .45 ACP steel cases for years. This is partly due to the design of the tapered case, which enhances extraction regardless of case-material composition.Although the 5.56 NATO cartridge is slightly tapered, it is not nearly as forgiving as the 7.62x39 mm in a dirty chamber during extraction. Higher velocity bullets, such as the .223 Remington, will usually cause more wear. The issue I had with steel was I experienced a hard lock almost every 60 rounds or so, which required a hammer and steel rod to rectify, as you all know. 2. Does steel cased ammo damage your gun? [Solved] (2022) what's the point? Lets take a closer look. Also, make sure to keep your chamber clean. But for people who reload, shooting steel cased ammo may actually be more expensive. Are steel cases bad Thats the only real advantage of the ammo. The only items that are true is that steel-cased ammo runs dirtier (steel cases don't expand and seal out fouling as well as a brass), and you just have to clean your gun more often. The guns are just slightly over-gassed to ensure reliable operation with underpowered cheap ammo. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. 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. My experience with steel cased ammo in a Mosen Nagant was the coating was heated up with the explosion of the round in the chamber melting the coating and after a few rounds you couldnt get a round to chamber because there was too much coating in the chamber. Are Berger hybrid bullets good for hunting? Benefits. And it is true that it is more dirty than brass. What are the pros and cons for steel shell cases, more specifically, Winchesters USA-Forged 9 mm, 115-grain (Item WIN9S), 150-round pack? U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- COVID 19 and Joe Biden suck, they have driven the price of ammo through the roof, even previously-affordable steel-cased stuff. bigdogbuc Banned Joined Mar 22, 2012 2,112 Posts 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. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. Thats why I bought an under-seat rifle rack from 4WheelOnline. In general, any type of ammunition can be harmful to your gun if it is not properly cleaned and maintained. The round would cost the business a lot of money to maintain, so the costs could be reduced by banning the round. Foreign manufacturers often use powders that are dirty and contribute to the chamber fouling.Steel cases have different expansion and contraction characteristics from brass or aluminum. Another good reason, and maybe the best reason you cant shoot steel ammo at the range, is that the bi-metal or steel bullets will damage the floor, walls, and ceiling and can damage the bullet traps. While the steel used in the ammos casings is relatively mild, and thus not terribly hard, it is still harder than brass. Steel tends to keep the chamber sealed slightly longer, causing the case to stick in the chamber as the action is unlocking and attempting to extract the fired cartridge case. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. However, a lot of folks wont use aluminum Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. While I dont generally recommend steel cased ammo, its not going to hurt your rifle in limited amounts. Your email address will not be published. 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. How can I stop being frustrated while reading? That way you wont get stuck with a bunch of ammo that you cant use if it doesnt work in your particular gun. You save a few dollars, but usually give up good accuracy. I don't shoot match grade ammo in a field grade gun nor do I shoot bulk grade ammo in a match grade gun. Brass shells may be collected by some ranges, reloaded, and resold. These rounds are often maligned for performance, reliability, and being generally inferior to brass-cased ammo. Cast aluminum is perfect for this job. Therefore, understanding why certain rules were created will enable you to better perceive how a gun range operates and what factors are involved with using and operating a gun range. In semi-automatic firearms, this affects the timing of the cycle of operation, particularly in the extraction phase. A: Yes. They either cant afford the rounds or cant find the rounds at all and whenever they can, the majority of the rounds are steel-cased. The only way that shooting steel casing would not save you money is if you reload your own ammo. But dont get me wrong, they arent over-gassed to the point of negatively impacting performance. My Blog does steel cased ammo hurt your gun Steel cased ammo use in a revolver Find it here bigdaddyunlimited.com/login.php. Pre-Covid, steel cased .223 ammo could be found 10-50 cents less per round than brass cased ammo. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. Bullets with steel cases differ from bullets with steel cores. Generally speaking, its not gonna hurt it. Thus you have less blowback into the chamber and the receiver. I was told that it would tend to wear the ejector quicker because it was harder than brass. By comparison one was as accurate as the other in group size. Does the Russian military use steel cased ammo? No issues with Steel (Tula or Wolf) and full power striker springs, occasional FTE with aluminum and I had one yesterday with Fiocci brass. 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 Again, however, I am not really certain whether that is the case. Ammo with steel cores has a smaller steel bullet that is coated with lead on the outside. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. If you are a reloader, dont bother with the steel cases. Some guns have steel casings because steel holds up better than brass. 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. Steel is a tougher material than lead, so firing with a barrel made of solid steel would tear the barrel to shreds. Different shooters prefer different ammo casings for different reasons. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. They argue that the softer metal of the casing can wear down your guns barrel and chamber, causing problems with accuracy and reliability. Instead I donate them now and I actually get more money and it is less work. Steel Case vs. Brass: Worth It? | Reload Your Gear Everything I have shot through it has been either steel or aluminum cased. 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 Why Should You Practice Dry Fire Shooting Drills At Home? Otherwise, you could end up with a gun thats not only ineffective, but also dangerous. Some ranges may also ban aluminum cases for the same reason. Aluminum bullets also have a tendency to jam in the gun barrel, which can cause damage to your firearm. While I dont generally recommend steel cased ammo, its not going to hurt your rifle in limited amounts. Indoor gun ranges often have a rule such as Armor Piercing/ Steel Core rounds are prohibited or Steel core ammunition is not allowed.. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. However, this is in large part due to your particular firearm. One difference between steel-cased rifle and pistol ammo is the working chamber pressure. Different gauge shotshells should not be mixed together because: a smaller gauge shotshell can slip past the chamber of a larger gauge gun and result in serious personal injury. In testing done by LuckyGunner Labs, rifles using Federal brass cased ammo were still shooting decent groups up to 10,000 rounds. The former is utterly reliable in most platforms in which it is chambered. 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. Envision the contact surfaces with the chamber as the cartridge case is being extracted. Also, if you use the steel cased ammo close to dark it had a massive muzzle flash, if things come to a combat situation you want the flash coming from the other side so you can see where, they, are, not the other way round. It is much softer than the steel used to make gun barrels and actions. I'll "stick" to brass hulls in my firearms. list of mortuary science schools in kenya. And you will start to notice reliability problems if your firearm is not properly maintained. Our range has a two mile backstop so there is no limit except, no tracers. While brass is a copper alloy, stainless steel is an iron alloy mixed with chromium and nickel. In this blog post, we will explore both sides of the argument and let you decide for yourself! Thus you have less blowback into the chamber and the receiver. Those of that opinion are quick to reference extractor breakage or failure, especially in the AR-15/M16 platforms. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. I'd buy a little and try it out.