[Burns]

Steel=much less smooth than brass=more friction=more malfunctions

 

[Backfire]

Bought a glock 23 .40 about 1 month ago. Have shot about 500 rounds. 200 of it with Tula Ammo bought at Walmart for $15/50.
Hey, i have the gen 4 ejector issue going on and have a new ejector coming to my armorer. But the Tula Ammo .40 does not
boink me between the eyes on on the head. May have something to do with the ejector interacting with the Steel casing. The gun needs to be cleaned a bit more. But who cares, i love to even clean the thing. It appears to be cheap decent ammo. I think that spending $2-5 bucks/50 rounds more is idiotic. Find a range that allows the steel and blaze away - with a quite content feeling that you are saving some money too. For poking holes in paper - it works fine in the Glock 23.

 

[dnilson]

The reason for that is they make cash on the brass but steel is worthless. Mix the steel and brass the price goes way down.
Problem with most steel case ammo is the manufacturer is most often is cheap stuff

My range has the same policy. I was told it was because of a fear of ricochets.:thinkerg:

 

[ron8903]

My Glocks and Sig's eat it just fine, a little
dirtier than normal.

 

[dnilson]

One theory behind this is that most ranges recycle spent casings for extra money. Having steel casings mixed in reduces the price they get since it's "mixed". Like I said, it's a theory, so grain of salt and all that jazz.

I've seen my range guys sweeping up the casings. They go in the trash with all the other garbage. I suppose it's possible they have them dig through the garbage to gather the casings, but I seriously doubt it.

 

[dnilson]

Steel=much less smooth than brass=more friction=more malfunctions

I spent a pretty penny on my guns and fortunately, can afford to shoot the good stuff. While I don't necessarily like it, I'd rather spend a little more on ammo than have to buy a new piece.:AR15firing:

 

[jmvdigital]

It seems curious to me that people are constantly spouting about how the steel casing metal is softer than the extractor metal, thus making wear and tear impossible.

You do realize that metal scissors dull even while only cutting paper. Knife edges dull after only cutting vegetables and wood, both significantly softer than tool steel. Water wore gigantic paths and caverns through stone all over the south west. Steel tool forms and molds used for all sorts of plastic parts wear out rather quickly. And it seems to be commonly accepted that a barrel's lands and grooves will wear out after firing lots of rounds through it, despite the fact that copper and lead are far softer than the walls of a hardened steel barrel.

By the logic that seems to govern all other physical objects, it seems reasonable that even brass will/could eventually wear down an extractor. I suppose it's just that the steel casing might wear it down a little faster because it's likely a little bit harder. How much faster and how much harder the casing is seems to be unknown and rather inconsequential other than for internet banter. IMHO. YMMV.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

jmv, I think in part you answered your own question. The myth is that steel ammo will make your extractor magically stop working in no time flat. The point that most people try and get across is that the steel used in steel cased ammo is very soft compared to your extractor, and so while it may wear it out faster than brass, it doesn't make a difference relative to your gun/extractor lifespan.

IMO people say steel cased ammo is bad for guns is simply because you see more malfunctions with it, and thus associate steel case = problem. It has lower QC, is dirtier, and doesn't function as smoothly, but it won't actually hurt your gun. My .02.

 

[John123]

Perfect Analogy:

My jeep runs perfectly fine on regular unleaded gasoline... So why would I buy premium?

My AR runs perfectly fine on Steel cases ammo... So why would I buy brass?

 

[vikingslor]

The steel case ammo will be a little harder on the extractor. The extractor on my AK is about 25 bucks. The cost of the ammo might justify buying a new extrsctor every 5000 rounds. Note, the core is steel and not lead.

 

[QKShooter]

When a case gets stuck - That CAN be bad for an extractor.

I would stay away from the old steel cased ammo that was lacquer coated. The lacquer coating is what "stuck" the cartridge cases.

With modern steel cased ammo you shouldn't have any problems since I believe that all have now done away with the lacquer top coating. Or...at least have changed the formulation to a high heat polymer coating.

Also steel cases do not expand against the barrel chamber the same way that brass cases do so that can potentially cause some timing issues with some semi-autos but, if your firearm functions fine with it then go ahead and use it.

 

[Cuda66]

The steel case ammo will be a little harder on the extractor. The extractor on my AK is about 25 bucks. The cost of the ammo might justify buying a new extrsctor every 5000 rounds. Note, the core is steel and not lead.

And again--unless you're buying Chinese ammo last imported in the 1990s, the 7.62x39 ammo you can find these days (Wolf, Tula, Bear, et al) is NOT steelcored.

It is a conventional lead core with a mild steel jacket with a layer of copper gilding alloy over the steel jacket.

 

[QKShooter]

Some of you guys are talking about two different things here. AKA Bullets with Steel cores and Steel Cartridge Cases.

Two totally different animals.

 

[Foo909]

Well I guess I'm done with steel cased ammo now,

Last trip to the range out of 4 boxes of Tula. (2 Boxes of .45 ACP, and 2 Boxes of .380 ACP) I had one hard primer on a .380 round, then the other box of .380 the rounds would not let the slide close on my Sig P238 or a friends Bodyguard .380 by about 2mm. It seems as if the bullets were not seated properly making the round to long in overall length to let the slide close completely on either of our firearms.... so I had to throw away a complete box of ammunition. No more trying to save money with the Tula. However the .45 ACP worked boringly fine in my G21 yet again though.

 

[nerdyvirgin]

I use wolf ammo on my ak's. i rarely clean them. maybe once every 800-1000 rnds, The only problem I have had was one range session I had 2 rnds in one magazine not fire, 2 duds in the last 3 yrs with thousands of rounds shot is worth it to me. I shoot steel at 100 yards with irons .Wolf ammo does what I want it to do, hit center mass. I got the ak's for the purpose of plinking, I cant complain $220 for 1000rnds.

 

[Ram Rod]

Is steel-cased ammo bad for your firearm?

It is for most of mine.......all except my AK47. To each his (or her) own.

 

[AquaHull]

Well I have 2 boxes of 380 Russian ammo, 1 Tula FMJ, 1 Brown Bear JHP. I bought neither one, I got them as a gift. I was saving them until SHTF. Now I'll just practice with it in a new arrival.

 

[Rock and Glock]

My AK gets a headache if I feed it anything but Comm Block steel. :rofl: Kinda like a drunk guy drinkin' Moet :rofl:

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

The Truth About Wolf Ammo - YouTube

Watch this ^^^ Military Arms does a good review about the myths and truths of Wolf ammo (or any steel cased ammo).

 

[Smitty901]

Used some couple weekends ago in my LC9,Sr9c and P89DC. We had an unplanned day of shooting. Those that showed up threw boxes on the table and we shot.
It was the first time I had fired Wolf in a hand gun. Had no issue in any of mine and did not hear any one complain.
Only problem I see is unless it is on sale not much of a price difference here when buying it by the box locally.