Is steel cased .223 bad for ar's?????

[Don]

Huh? I have a non-chrome lined Noveske barrel and will take it any day of the week over a Bushmaster chrome-lined barrel.

I was talking about the mild steel projectiles with copper coat (wolf, tula,brown,silver and golden bear, etc...) eating up non chrome barrels. The chrome lining is MUCH harder then anything that can be stuffed down a .223 barrel.

I wanna see a cut away of a noveske non-chome after garbling on 6k of cheap ammo.

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

 

[lovemachine]

I have never ran steel ammo before. I've been tempted to try it, but I'm a wuss.

 

[sig1473]

I wanna see a cut away of a noveske non-chome after garbling on 6k of cheap ammo.

Wow, you really want to question a Noveske barrel?? Maybe you should read John Noveske's article and let his answers speak for themselves. Read 3/4's of the way down or just read the whole article.
Defense Review - Noveske Rifleworks N4 Light Recce Carbine: John Noveske Interview, Part One

Once again, I will reiterate that I will take a Noveske Stainless over any of my chrome-lined barrels(2 Spike's, 1 Colt, 1 Noveske, 1 Stag).

 

[chubbs]

Del ton sierra has been loving steel case

 

[CitiusFortius]

The bulk of my ammo is tula and wolf so I don't really want to have to switch over but I also don't want to destroy my gun.

Uh, yeah, it's the worst stuff ever. Because I'm such a nice guy, you can give me your tula .223 and I'll uh, dispose of it for you free of charge!

Ha, but seriously, I've put hundreds of rounds through my stag, not a single malfunction. Doesn't seem any more dirty than shooting brass.

*however* rumor has it, steel is not good / cant be used for reloading. Since I don't reload and have no plans to, no biggie.

 

[MikeDVB]

I've avoided steel just because I reload and ... I can't reload steel.

If I could, I would .

 

[Jarhead77]

I've run steel in my Spikes 1:7 chromed lined with no issues whatsoever.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

First off, the steel they use to make steel cases is not near as hard as the steel that is used to make a barrel, chamber, etc. Second, the laquer, or now polymer does not burn off in the chamber. Steel does not expand like brass when heated. So, the steel casings do not expand as much in the chamber, compared to brass. This allows more carbon to build up in the chamber. A hot chamber full of carbon can cause a case to stick in the chamber. I have not seen it happen with brass cases, but have with steel. I have seen some AR's that will absolutely not cycle steel cased ammo. Test a box or two before you buy in quanity. I have never ran steel cased ammo though my AR build, but I reload.

 

[Big Ram]

Ya I don't reload so that's not too big a deal to me. I also won't be putting 6k rounds through my barrel anytime soon especially not all a once. I just want ammo that is cheap to shoot and won't screw up my gun. Well an to have plenty when the zombies or aliens attack lol.

 

[223 Gunner]

How many people here are actually going to run 1000 rounds of ammo through their ar? Let alone 6000+ rounds. They also abused the **** out of those rifles so I imagine that the barrels wore out prematurely. Plus barrels are pretty cheap and easy to replace so who really cares? They also show the cost difference of shooting the different types of ammo with new barrels included and the steel is still cheaper even after having to buy new barrels. Shoot what you want, but don't tell somebody not to shoot cheap ammo. Better they shoot and train with cheap stuff then not train at all.

Let me re-phrase that: Shoot what you want out of your rifles, but my rifles have never seen steel cased ammo, and they won't. I will shoot the ammunition that AR's were designed around, and that is brass. I guess barrels are cheaper, if you know how to install one, or have a friend that does. I don't know how to install one, and I don't want to pay someone to do it, so I will avoid it and just shoot brass cased ammo out of mine, like I always have.
AR's are not cheap, not even the "cheap" ones, they will still run you $800 dollars. As far as training goes, you can always buy a .22lr upper, and yes I know .22lr ammo is hard to come by right now, but this won't last forever.

 

[icky]

I've never had a problem with my guns and steel cases and I've shot thousands of rounds of it at the creek just keep the rifle clean

 

[MikeDVB]

Let me re-phrase that: Shoot what you want out of your rifles, but my rifles have never seen steel cased ammo, and they won't. I will shoot the ammunition that AR's were designed around, and that is brass. I guess barrels are cheaper, if you know how to install one, or have a friend that does. I don't know how to install one, and I don't want to pay someone to do it, so I will avoid it and just shoot brass cased ammo out of mine, like I always have.
AR's are not cheap, not even the "cheap" ones, they will still run you $800 dollars. As far as training goes, you can always buy a .22lr upper, and yes I know .22lr ammo is hard to come by right now, but this won't last forever.

Installing a new barrel is easy with the right tools - about $100 for the tools or so. $40~50 for a good upper vice block and then $40~50 for an AR tool that will have the barrel nut wrench and some other things on it.

I can swap the barrel on my AR in about 10 minutes .

That said, a good gunsmith would probably swap the barrel for $30~50.

 

[223 Gunner]

Installing a new barrel is easy with the right tools - about $100 for the tools or so. $40~50 for a good upper vice block and then $40~50 for an AR tool that will have the barrel nut wrench and some other things on it.

I can swap the barrel on my AR in about 10 minutes .

That said, a good gunsmith would probably swap the barrel for $30~50.

I already have the "multi" tool, armorers wrench. I have looked at vice blocks in the past, I bought my tool and a punch set from Bushmaster years ago. I have assembled some lowers, but have never messed with an upper. That doesn't sound too bad.

 

[Patternpimp]

Its just a gun. Shoot some steel and save a butt load of money. You dont want a firearm that is finicky about ammo. Have shot a few thousand rounds of wolf thru mine usually 500 at a time with no issues.

 

[MikeDVB]

I already have the "multi" tool, armorers wrench. I have looked at vice blocks in the past, I bought my tool and a punch set from Bushmaster years ago. I have assembled some lowers, but have never messed with an upper. That doesn't sound too bad.

All in all it's not too bad if you take your time and don't rush.

 

[ckcollins2003]

Let me re-phrase that: Shoot what you want out of your rifles, but my rifles have never seen steel cased ammo, and they won't. I will shoot the ammunition that AR's were designed around, and that is brass. I guess barrels are cheaper, if you know how to install one, or have a friend that does. I don't know how to install one, and I don't want to pay someone to do it, so I will avoid it and just shoot brass cased ammo out of mine, like I always have.
AR's are not cheap, not even the "cheap" ones, they will still run you $800 dollars. As far as training goes, you can always buy a .22lr upper, and yes I know .22lr ammo is hard to come by right now, but this won't last forever.

With the price difference between steel and brass cased ammo, even if you do have to replace the barrel every 6k rounds, if you've bought steel cased ammo, you've already saved enough to buy at least 1 new barrel, usually 2 or 3, especially in todays market.

There's really no reason not to shoot it if your weapon will run it. You're not going to run it so hot that it starts to effect the barrel like it did in the lucky gunner test anyways.

 

[sig1473]

Everyone seems to forget you can reload your brass at least 5 times. Try doing that with steel case. Oh wait, you can't.

 

[223 Gunner]

Everyone seems to forget you can reload your brass at least 5 times. Try doing that with steel case. Oh wait, you can't.

Yes, good point. I have my opinion like everyone else does.
I will run steel cased ammo through an AK, after all that's what they were designed to run.
I will continue to run brass through my AR's.
And everybody else will run what ever they want through their rifles.
The OP asked for opinions, and I simply gave mine.

 

[ghitch75]

if it won't run on anything i put in it it's not worth havin'...

 

[sig1473]

Yes, good point. I have my opinion like everyone else does.
I will run steel cased ammo through an AK, after all that's what they were designed to run.
I will continue to run brass through my AR's.
And everybody else will run what ever they want through their rifles.
The OP asked for opinions, and I simply gave mine.

Agreed. I have plenty of brass-cased and can afford to buy quality ammo for it. I'm not going to take a chance running steel through any of my +$1000 ARs.