Why I Should Not Use Steel Cased Ammunition

[EngageM1A]

The Norinco steel cased ammunition yanked more than its fair share of one piece extractors out of FAL's, as well as shearing the extractor's claw on the two piece design.

It was cheap and plentiful back then so we used it to test the upper for stretch (headspace).

Verifiable source: Me.

Can I play devils advocate? yea? K thanks.

Norinco goodies were one of those things that were banned awhile back. I wonder how different the steel (hardness for example) or just quality in general of the ammunition the Norinco ammo was in comparison to the combloc ammo we are limited to shooting today?

[SgtStrykerUSMC43]

Beats me. I don't immerse myself in the mechanical properties of Chinese or Russian steel so I couldn't tell the difference between the two if I saw having lunch with them.

[Vulcan71]

In the future I will provide citable sources but I was not writing a technical paper or writing a research paper for a university. This is a forum and I wanted to give a balanced view on the topic with pros and cons for use. This was not meant for experts as they know what they are doing but to help people who are new to gun ownership. I had a feeling this might launch a "HOT" topic but man was I way off on how “HOT”. As my fiancé is really sick I cannot dedicate a great amount of time to posting so I will only post items/topics that do not require citable sources per university or engineering technical writing standards. All my information was based on credible expert research going back many decades; in closing my position is neutral on steel case ammunition I am neither for nor against. Yes, I am aware that brass cases are coated; some with wax others with a new generation of polymer coatings.Hornady: Yes, I am aware of the 2011 Steel Match line of ammunition of 7 cartridges and for 2012 the Vintage Match line 1 steel case 7.62x54R, Z-Max 2 steel case 7.62x39 & 5.45x39 polymer; total line 10. Hornady is a company that will stand behind its products so I would trust them. I buy many of their products and I like the Superformance line (GMX) and I also like Barnes TTSX Ammunition and the XPB bullet.

[Ogandydancer]

Wally World is now handeling TulAmmo which is steel cased. I was going to buy some yesterday until I found that out. I had heard it was steel cased so I asked the guy prior to purchasing and we took out a box and confirmed it was.

[FullAssault]

My FNs, Colts, HKs get brass my AKs, SKS's etc get cheap Steel Russian!

[JCheney19]

My FNs, Colts, HKs get brass my AKs, SKS's etc get cheap Steel Russian!

For the most part that's always been my philosophy.

I did try to run 1,000 Wolf through my .223 Bushy,16" brl, and there is still prolly 500 in the cabinet. I just couldn't take it anymore. I was knocking primers out of the back of the cartridge because it was lodged in my barrel. Porque?¿?¿ Es no pinche bueno, wey!!!

Anyway, to the real point of this post. I saw some Hornaday Steel Match 155gr bthp @ 2,610fps, in a shop today. Figured what the hell I'll try em' out, Hornaday won't do my 17s wrong. Well at $46.99 for 50 rounds thats doing my pocket book dirt nasty style, for steel?!?!

Any insight here? Shot it?

[RooksHunter]

I signed up just to reply to this forum topic.

My FNX-40 has had ~900 rounds through it so far, 400+ of which was steel cased TulAmmo all purchased in 2011 (courtesy of Wally World). No issues here. I still have another 150 rounds left of steel case and 200 brass, which I will shoot through sometime in the near future. Nothing I've read so far has convinced me steel isn't safe for my gun.

Honestly, I believe the steel issue boils down to two things:
1. Personal preference/bias
2. Historical record for cheap quality

I'm not saying that old or cheap steel cased rounds don't deserve a bad rap, but when they're made right steel can be at least as good as standard brass. Every gun favors certain ammo, or at least tolerates it better, and all the discussions I hear about cheap steel cases are just that, talk about cheap steel. My 40 is a little fickle with Winchester (one of their brass has been my only stove pipe), but it likes Federal, and loves TulAmmo. On the other hand, until I start hearing good reports about Wolf, I'm not touching that brand w/a 10 foot pole, and Remington .22LR is so bad with my pistols/rifles, you couldn't pay me to use that crap in my 40, brass or not (See? There's that bias I was talking about).

The best thing to do is this: RTFM. If your gun says don't use steel, realize it may not be manufactured to handle the nuances of steel vs. brass so use steel at your own risk. Also check if using steel may void your warranty, as some people have stated they've seen as much with their guns. However, if the manual it is silent on the issue, try and use quality steel cases. Just like brass, there is a difference in quality of steel casings, and your gun may have a favored brand. P.S. There is an article titled "When to use steel cased ammunition?" from a certain website with the initials CTD that talks very frankly on the topic. Its worth the read IMHO.

,Rooks

[SgtStrykerUSMC43]

I signed up just to reply to this forum topic.

Yep, first post tells us that. Welcome to FNF.

Honestly, I believe the steel issue boils down to two things:
1. Personal preference/bias

No, it boils down to knowing steel and brass do not have the same mechanical properties.

2. Historical record for cheap quality

Which still holds true today when we toss the Russian stuff into the discussion.

when they're made right steel can be at least as good as standard brass.

Made right? Please expand on "right". As steel cannot exhibit the same mechanical properties as brass, and the opposite holds true as well. We don't see tall buildings manufactured with brass I-beams and there's a reason for this.

-SS

[SONYtec]

[akitainu]

I look at steel cased ammo the same way I look at Corn Nuts. You can eat hundreds of them and be fine, but somewhere, in some bag, is the one that is going to shatter your teeth like glass.