7 replies to this topic

[mvphilly]

Is anyone using steel cased rifle ammo in leiu of brass for the time being since it seems to be more readily available?What results are you seeing?I had some Hornady steel cased match 308 I was using in a bolt action Savage and it performed well but not sure how it would function in any semi-autos.

[John M.]

Used steel case Tula and Wolf in my S&W AR .223 and 5.56 no problems at all.

Have also used steel in my Glock,MP shield,XDS, 360 no problems .

[pequa1]

I shot hundreds of rounds of Russian steel cased through my ARs, my M1 carbine, my CZ75 without any hiccups at all.   I found in the AR it was just a little less powerful as although it cycled fine, it dropped about three inches low at 100 yards.   However it was more accurate than the Winchester white box I used the same day.   I have seen it written that Russian steel is only slightly harder than brass.

[Lou G]

Never had a problem with it. Tried reloading brass coated cases. it turned out it is not worth the time. Resizing is very tough. Maybe with customs dies that resize gradually sizes  down to the right size. 

[maierar]

Steel casings in a gun designed for brass is more of a problem in smaller, lighter semi-auto handguns. Steel and brass have different coefficients of expansion, so ejection becomes an issue. Also, there can (and most likely will be) head space issues which will effect precision accuracy.  that shouldn't matter much if you are not shooting bench-rest competition.

[Lotust1]

I shot a steel case Wolf .223 in my Savage bolt action and they must use some sore of coating on the outside of the shell casing and it fused with the barrel 5x I had to get it out with a push rod.   That was my experiance 

[Old Glock guy]

I regularly shoot steel cased (mostly Russian) ammo in my AK's, and have never had a problem.  I really can't remember ever having a malfunction, and as a previous poster noted, I'm not trying to shoot one inch groups at 100 yards, so it's accurate enough. 

[Organix]

Never has an issue with steel cased ammo. Cycled fine, I found it to be softer shooting then brass cased. However, I always clean my rifle after each range session, just to make sure there is no lacquer buildup that might cause the case to stick in the barrel.