Is steel non corrosive really that bad

[Hiserman79]

Probably beating a dead horse, but does steel ammo really harm the firearm. .223 7.62 etc? I know its dirtier and I don't mind the cleaning but I don't wanna do damage to my firearms. It seems to be a debate split down the middle on you tube etc.

 

[pirate]

7.62...no. Not in my experience over the years with many ak's in both full and semi.

.223/5.56....The money you save on buying steel case for plinking over the year will far out weigh the price of a new extractor "IF" it does in fact break on you. That's a big "IF." I love buying steel case ammo when prices are normal for plinking. 10's of thousands of rounds collectively through all of my AR's and have never had a part break from steel case ammo yet.

 

[LEaSH]

It's fine. It was cheap, $.20-25 per shot was nice. Hope we get back to that price.

I think most guys who are down on it because it wont run in their rifle - so the ammo is junk in their eyes.

Tula is dirty and cheap and a little soft shooting in my experience. If your rifle doesn't run on steel cased ammo, it's not necessarily the ammo.

 

[Spanky46151]

Maybe not all steel, but milsurp with it's harder primers is the only steel I've ever had an issue with and that was limited to Ruger Mini's, both 14 & 30. Shoots fine until the firing pin breaks and, with a Ruger, that's a hassel.

 

[Engalwood]

So u guys think .223 Tula is not very good? I got a few boxes and was just gonna use it for range time and exploding targets lol

 

[Spanky46151]

I think Tula is really, really dirty...even more so than Wolf, but if it'll run in your rifle I don't think you'll do any damage. But I know some guys who refuse to throw steel down the throat of their "baby" and completely turn their nose up at the idea. I can tell you I know of several law enforcement agencies who practice with steel for cost reasons and some of those are getting away from it and going back to brass simply because of function. Seems to depend on how particular you are about your firearm. Does it damage anything? I personally don't think so, as long as you're not shooting thousands of rounds of it. Obviously, steel is more abrasive than brass so it's kind of a "buyer beware" situation in my opinion.

 

[Hiserman79]

I just can seem to find any proof of damaging a riffle, maybe the extractor over time. Dirty dirty dirty is what I hear but I don't have issues with cleaning. I just don't want to destroy my AR with it, my sks has never had an issue I just wasn't sure how sensitive the ar can be.

 

[TheWabbit]

[ame]http://youtu.be/Dx7dcpyzkKc[/ame]

 

[seldon14]

If your AR is for serious work, and it won't run steel case, you may want to rethink your AR.

 

[AZ D]

Thousands of rounds of steel here. Ak's, AR's, handguns, and a bolt action. In MANY thousands of rounds, I've only ever had 1 issue. I had a 9mm FTE in a Gen. 4 Glock 19. I had to knock the spent case out of the barrel, with a dowel rod. I can't even totally blame the steel case either. I got rid of that particular Glock. Just never "felt" right.

 

[Tomfoolery]

If your AR is for serious work, and it won't run steel case, you may want to rethink your AR.

He might just want to rethink ARs period.

Not starting that old debate but my point is if you're going to be sweating what kind of ammo you run through your gun do your nervous system a favor and get a gun that doesn't care what you put in it.

 

[Thegeek]

I did a lot of research on this particular topic. Basically what it boils down to is the coating they put on steel casings to prevent rust. That varnish or whatever it is will melt off the case and onto the chamber of the gun. If a new round is in the chambered and gun is allowed to cool, the varnish will essentially glue that case in.

Broken extractors are not because of the soft steel case. In fact, the hardness of the case is about the same as brass. The extractor might work a little harder to pull out the steel against the sticky varnish and increase the fatigue of it a bit, but not really enough. How many have had broken extractors using only brass? Not really part of the issue.

The obscure issue is the deposited steel that's left behind. Not an issue if you're meticulous with cleaning your weapon, but will cause problems over time. What happens is when the steel casing rubs against the magazine, ramps, chamber, bolt face, etc., small amounts of this steel is left behind. Since this steel is cheap steel, it will oxidize very fast. So, the steel dust gets into the pores of the aluminum, brass, and other components of your gun. Then it starts to rust. Rust causes friction issues and contributes to wear. It can also change tolerances a bit.

So steel is just like non-jacketed bullets. They're perfectly fine to use as long as you understand what you're dealing with and take the appropriate actions to deal with the drawbacks.

 

[Bluedragon]

Out of an AK or sks rifle sure steel case is fine. Out of my AR not so much. I will only run brass cased through my AR 15. The one and only time I attempted to shoot some loose steel case ammo that someone had given me..from just trying to chamber a round it became stuck and the bolt carrier refused to move forward...I was unable to eject the round with the charging handle and the forward assist did nothing to move the BCG forward. End result I had to smack the butt of the rifle against the ground while racking the charging handle to get the round to come out.

It was that bad trying to load one in I hate to think what would happen if I tried to shoot it. Although I do have a couple relatives who run their AR's with nothing but steel ammo because of it being so cheap. Still I would rather not risk it with mine.

 

[LarryC]

IMHO, steel cased ammo is just fine. There are a few differences in most Military surplus ammo (and Wolf and other foreign manufactures). Steel cases do not expand and shrink exactly like brass, steel shrinks less, therefore if you have a "rough" chamber on your weapon it will be harder to extract. Having a gunsmith polish the chamber may eliminate the problem and would be a good idea anyway. If steel sticks in the chamber - it means brass may when the gun is dirty. Most steel rounds are built with a "thicker" primer material. This is done to prevent "slam fire" - a weak hammer spring or "sticky" firing pin, will not detonate some of these primers. Again this should be corrected if you want a failure free brass operation. I know many say steel cased ammo is dirtier. Can't argue, but never has been a problem for me - I normally shoot any where from 25 up to 150 rounds in any one weapon on the range. Usually shooting more than one firearm during any occasion. I then clean all my firearms prior to putting in the safe. I currently have several thousand rounds of steel cased ammo - Mostly Military surplus. Have shot some Wolf, and Chinese 7.62 X 39 without any issues. Corrosive ammo is not a real problem either - I clean all my weapons after firing it the same day. Never saw any corrosion on any gun, been using it for 20+ years. Remember ALL WW1 was corrosive and much of the WW2 ammo. I have several guns used in those wars that have great bores and accuracy. I'm sure most were not cleaned regularly or even very well when their owners were in the trenches being shot at. Corrosive ammo does require cleaning with a water based cleaner as the "corrosive" material is either Sodium Chloride (table salt) or Potassium chloride (I think). Both are not active corrosive elements like acid - just hygroscopic so they draw moisture, promoting rust if not removed.

 

[kludge]

I'd be more concerned about the bi-metal bullet jackets than the steel cases.

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

 

[FirstTime]

Recently bought an SKS which the guy said he only fired steel through it. I'll be honest, it was FILTHY!!! However with the knowledge I have, I could not find any real damage. Still had minimal cosmoline present so to me it was obviously never really taken apart and cleaned.

 

[awilson82]

I'd be more concerned about the bi-metal bullet jackets than the steel cases.

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

This. Granted they ran the hell out of the guns and got them hotter than most shooter will so chances are you could probably shoot much more bi metal bullets through before trashing the barrel. That said Im not running much more bi metal bullets through my AR. Ive also heard that the 62 grain surplus rounds can burn barrels up quicker as well Im sticking to 55gr brass cased stuff in my AR.

 

[87iroc]

I had a steel cased 9 mm tula shell stick in my P290. First time I'd ever had that happen. My SKS eats the stuff all day.

I'm not a brass cased snob...but prefer it if price is right.

 

[Fordtough25]

I shoot brass for the most part but if your gun likes the steel burn it up!

 

[seldon14]

I did a lot of research on this particular topic. Basically what it boils down to is the coating they put on steel casings to prevent rust. That varnish or whatever it is will melt off the case and onto the chamber of the gun. If a new round is in the chambered and gun is allowed to cool, the varnish will essentially glue that case in.

Nope. Not correct.

The Box O' Truth - Educational Zone #18 - Shooting Wolf steel-cased Ammo in an AR15

ComBloc Ammo FAQ