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View Full Version : Steel Cased ammo issues?



Chemsoldier
10-22-2012, 03:15 PM
So once upon a time I was an unpretencious shooter and shot a lot of Wolf .40 and 9mm through my Glocks. They ran great and didnt see what all the hubub was. I was an Army guy and cleaned after every range session anyway, so why worry about the evil rumors that they were corrosive despite claims to the contrary.

I had a buddy who I respected greatly (he passed not to long ago unfortunately), who claimed using steel cased .223 was bad and certain types of malfunctions and their clearance procedures could damage the receiver of your AR. So I bought brass .223

I started handloading and started getting brass cased boxer primed everything. Then I decided that I really didnt enjoy spending as much or more time handloading as I did shooting. While I didnt mind it I didnt really enjoy handloading. But when I went store bought again I never stopped buying brass cased ammo. I had become an ammo snob.

So, now that I have made this short story long, does anyone know a reason not to start using steel cased .223 for my ARs? Especially for close ranged practice?

I also intend to start shooting Wolf again in 9mm, the price point is too good to pass up.

orionz06
10-22-2012, 03:20 PM
Some guns will not function with it as it tends to be underpowered. It is far from match ammo but under 100 yards for most drills I fail to see an issue with it and use it almost exclusively through Colts, Noveske's, and a DD SBR. I have gone over 5,000 rounds of Wolf without issue through a 16" Noveske N4 and a Daniel Defense 11.5", both were fine. Zero ammo related issues through those two guns while others shooting Federal XM193 had to disassemble guns to remove primers.

Understand what it is, what you are doing, and why things may not work. Once you get to that you should be fine.

Chemsoldier
10-22-2012, 03:26 PM
Some guns will not function with it as it tends to be underpowered. It is far from match ammo but under 100 yards for most drills I fail to see an issue with it and use it almost exclusively through Colts, Noveske's, and a DD SBR. I have gone over 5,000 rounds of Wolf without issue through a 16" Noveske N4 and a Daniel Defense 11.5", both were fine. Zero ammo related issues through those two guns while others shooting Federal XM193 had to disassemble guns to remove primers.

Understand what it is, what you are doing, and why things may not work. Once you get to that you should be fine.

I will definitely pick up a couple hundred and test it before I pop for a case of the stuff.

orionz06
10-22-2012, 03:28 PM
I will definitely pick up a couple hundred and test it before I pop for a case of the stuff.

Dunahms generally has some, grab a box or two and see what happens.

il duce
10-22-2012, 03:30 PM
The paper doesnt know if it came from brass or steel only my wallet knows that. I have had no issues with steel cased bullets. Stack it cheap and stack it deep.

LittleLebowski
10-22-2012, 03:34 PM
Orion nailed it; you might have to go to a lighter buffer in an an AR but if it's a good gun, it should be fine.

Josh Runkle
10-22-2012, 04:24 PM
Just speculating, but:

I used to have zero issues with steel cased stuff. Recently I have seen some wolf and brown bear, and most specifically, TulAmmo have dramatically high failure rates compared to other stuff. I wonder (and I'm speculating here) if, in the interest of churning out as much cheap ammo as possible, quality control has gone down significantly in the last few years.

Generally speaking, the largest groups campaigning against steel cased ammo are ranges. Outdoor ranges don't want to sort out the brass. Indoor ranges additionally run fire risk, as they can't tell if the round is steel too (something is magnetic). This creates a risk of a spark, and many positive pressure air filtering systems push air (and bits of lead and unburnt powder down-range, which could theoretically catch fire from a spark. My local range told me it wasn't even their decision, it was their insurance company's policy.

iakdrago
10-23-2012, 04:17 PM
Orion nailed it; you might have to go to a lighter buffer in an an AR but if it's a good gun, it should be fine.

I second that. I have ran over 2k of steel cased wolf ammo through my ddm4v1 and colt 6920 at this point, without any malfunctions. Granted, my range sessions tend to stop after 200 rounds fired, but for the intended purpose it's hard to beat.

BWT
10-23-2012, 07:11 PM
400-500 rounds run a chamber brush in it. That's more to do with the tight walls of .223/5.56mm chambers and the poylmer coating/steel casing, you might get a stuck case.

That being said, since I've subscribed to that cleaning regiment, no issue. Also, Lubricate the gun well. Beyond that, no issues in over about 4,000 rounds in my BCM AR. I've never shot for accuracy at distance, so, can't really complement. It does fine for everything I shoot within 50 and in for monthly carbine matches.

When shooting accuracy at distance remember this. $.19 versus $.30 for 5.56mm. I can't say that 5.56mm is going to perform 1/3rd the price better, honestly.

ETA: I also think from what I've heard (reportedly, no first hand experience) 5.56mm chambered guns fair better than .223 chambered guns with stuck cases. Maybe urban legend, may be fact. I don't know, but, it seems everyone here is running 5.56mm chambered guns without issue. Maybe lend credibility, may be coincidence.