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Is it ok to shoot steel casing ammunition? It's cheaper by 3-4 dollars a box. What do you guys think?

MinhWin wrote:Is it ok to shoot steel casing ammunition? It's cheaper by 3-4 dollars a box. What do you guys think?

I have used it in sigs, glocks, Colts, rugers and now a Kimber. I have never had a problem with steel cased ammo because of the case. Now I have had wolf 45 ammo not cycle my Thompson A1, but it was because the loads are real light not because of the steel case.

I have also used it in rifle calibers... 223/5.56, 7.62x39 with never a problem.

be sure to clean your guns after shooting steel cased ammo, the primers and additives in the powder usually are quite corrosive after being fired and can bring the red death to your rifle.

I worry about wear and tear on the extractor hook on my Kimber Eclipse Ultra II with steel cartridges. I already had to replace the extractor after about 3,000 rounds and that included a few hundred Wolf rounds. Now I'm reloading and sticking strictly to brass.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

MinhWin wrote:Is it ok to shoot steel casing ammunition? It's cheaper by 3-4 dollars a box. What do you guys think?

I have used it in sigs, glocks, Colts, rugers and now a Kimber. I have never had a problem with steel cased ammo because of the case. Now I have had wolf 45 ammo not cycle my Thompson A1, but it was because the loads are real light not because of the steel case.

I have also used it in rifle calibers... 223/5.56, 7.62x39 with never a problem.

My experience is similar. I have fired an estimated 12,000 rounds of Wolf .45 in Glocks, Kimbers, and Kahrs, and .223 in AR's. The only issues I have seen were some very slight peening of the ejector in a Kimber Ultra Carry (this was easily touched up with a very fine file) and an occasional smokestack or failure to feed which I think may be due to some variations in the powder charge, which seems a bit lighter than some other brands. Since I use it for practice ammo only and it doesn't happen often enough to be annoying, an occasional situation like this presents opportunities for unanticipated malfunction clearance drills. It is "dirty" ammo that puts a lot of powder residue in the gun, so thorough cleaning afterwards is important to maintain weapon reliability. For a savings of $3 - $4 per box, I can handle that.

I can see no reason for additional wear on the extractor as reported in one post because the rim rides up behind the extractor claw if the first round is chambered properly and the ejection cycle is identical to what happens with brass cases. Extractor replacement at 3000 rounds is awfully early. I would question if in that instance the first round was being chambered improperly by dropping it into the chamber and allowing the slide to close on it. This practice is very hard on the extractor and will eventually cause extractor issues regardless of the case material.

Steel case pistol ammo should be fine in a good quality gun. It works well in my Glock.

I personally wouldn't shoot steel case rifle ammo in anything but AKs but that's just me.

boomerang wrote:Steel case pistol ammo should be fine in a good quality gun. It works well in my Glock...

It's good to know that it not only works in good quality guns, but Glocks as well.

Just ribbing my tupperware brothers.

Depends on the firearm to me. I shot some Brown Bear steel case in my old Bersa CC Thunder and it started to eat the feed ramp because it was an alloy which I did not know since the company claimed it was a steel gun. This is where I would generally rant about my beef with Colorado Gun Works and how much I despise how Bersa handles their warranty work.

IMO, Ruskie ammos for Ruskie guns. The ammo is VERY dirty at the least and has caused my CZ to jam so bad it would not fully chamber a round. It can also be hard on the extractor but I believe this to be relative to the frequency. But the AK is a hungry beast and loves anything you feed it

Untold millions of rounds of steel-cased .45 ACP ammo were used by American GIs during WWII with no issues, so the problem isn't with the steel case per se; the problem is that Russian steel-case ammo isn't the highest quality. I've fired a couple of boxes of Wolf (sooty stuff, by the way) with no problem, but a friend found the ejector on his Les Baer TRS broke about halfway through his second case of the ammo. He also found that the lacquer on the case tended to build up in the chamber and after a couple of hundred rounds he'd have to clean it or the rounds wouldn't chamber. (He was swabbing the lacquer out with - wait for it - lacquer thinner. )

I'd have no problem with using steel cased ammo in a 7.62x39 AK-pattern rifle, but I'd be inclined to avoid it in a .223 AR.

I figure my guns were designed with brass ammo in mind. There is a difference between saying steel should be ok, and knowing that brass puts the minimal wear. I also try to be reloader friendly. Even if it cost a penny or so more I think its being neighborly to the reloaders.

HankB wrote:Untold millions of rounds of steel-cased .45 ACP ammo were used by American GIs during WWII with no issues, so the problem isn't with the steel case per se; the problem is that Russian steel-case ammo isn't the highest quality. I've fired a couple of boxes of Wolf (sooty stuff, by the way) with no problem, but a friend found the ejector on his Les Baer TRS broke about halfway through his second case of the ammo. He also found that the lacquer on the case tended to build up in the chamber and after a couple of hundred rounds he'd have to clean it or the rounds wouldn't chamber. (He was swabbing the lacquer out with - wait for it - lacquer thinner. )

I'd have no problem with using steel cased ammo in a 7.62x39 AK-pattern rifle, but I'd be inclined to avoid it in a .223 AR.

Current production Wolf ammo uses a polymer coating instead of lacquer. I have not seen any trace of buildup from it.

I am avoiding steel for my HK as long as brass is available. The premium cost is maybe ~$1 or $2 per 100 rds.

I have shot steel in every gun I own. It is not the only thing I shoot but for my rifles I do shoot A LOT through my Ak, AR, and CETME. They all eat it up with out problems. The cost saving on rifle ammo is huge compared to brass. The saving on pistol ammo is quite a bit less so I do buy brass for my pistols when available. I am not interested right now in reloading so I am not worried about casings. Lots of people say they don't like the steel cased ammo because of the lacquer coating, the wolf ammo is polymer coated and the silver bear has a zinc coating on it. I have also shot Monarch through all of my rifles which is lacquer coated. No problems what so ever. I just bought out the Academy in Sugar Land of all the Monarch .308 steel cased ammo on the shelve. It is a killer deal for .308 range ammo when they have it.