Is steel cased ammo a bad idea?

[jeep45238]

I don't use steel case in fluted or stepped chambers. Other than that, I'd run the heck out of it if I wasn't reloading. Be aware that it usually has a lower powder charge and lower QC, which can cause cycling/reliability issues.

I'd pass on aluminum, as it oxidizes rapidly when exposed to air (and it is clear/translucent), and aluminum oxide is what sandpaper is made out of. That might be me going overboard, but I'd rather reduce the chances if possible.

[LittleLebowski]

Steel is less than ideal across the board. It's cheap and runs in a lot of firearms, thus it's popular.

Brass ammo is already cheap and the casings can be reused or sold, so I use them instead. You spent a bundle on a nice HK, put non-Russian level ammo through it

There’s a lot of hate towards #PoorFags like myself on here

[LittleLebowski]

In all seriousness, I love steel cased ammo, don’t shoot HKs, and have never had steel cased ammo cause repetitive problems. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had a problem with steel cased ammo in ARs.

[jeep45238]

It's my understanding that abrasives are made from crystalline aluminum oxide which is much harder than the thin amorphous aluminum oxide passivation layer that forms on bare aluminum exposed to oxygen. I may be mistaken, but I think the hardness of amorphous aluminum oxide is essentially the same as aluminum.

I'm no chemistry expert, and avoid it as much as possible, but I'll hedge my bets.

[willie]

My bias causes me to associate steel case ammo with the now defunct USSR and the former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Whereas I would blow this crap through SKS and AK type rifles, I choose not to buy it. But I do admit having done so at one time. I have no doubt that some of it is good ammo but can't specify. In recent years I have personally observed emergence of shit ammo within some of our American manufacturers. If we choose to make and sell some substandard ammunition, then certainly Russia and its neighbors can do the same thing. If a famous gun maker can bungle production of its most famous pump shotgun that it once had made 10s of millions of reliable specimens of the same, then we must not be surprised at what else might appear on retail shelves.

I must be honest. Just because I refuse to buy steel cased ammo, I would most happily shoot other peoples' if they were to decide that they no longer wanted their batch. I would "burn it up" to prove my friendship. However, I would be most picky about what I shot it through.

[LittleLebowski]

I don't use steel case in fluted or stepped chambers. Other than that, I'd run the heck out of it if I wasn't reloading. Be aware that it usually has a lower powder charge and lower QC, which can cause cycling/reliability issues.

I'd pass on aluminum, as it oxidizes rapidly when exposed to air (and it is clear/translucent), and aluminum oxide is what sandpaper is made out of. That might be me going overboard, but I'd rather reduce the chances if possible.

ToddG literally put tens of thousands of rounds of aluminum cased Blaser ammo through his test guns in a short time period and meticulously documented all wear. He never once mentioned unusual wear resulting from the aluminum. If you are looking for statistical data, go here:
http://pistol-training.com/archives/.../range-reports

[jeep45238]

Like I mentioned above, I’m no chemistry expert, and I know that structure plays a huge role in characteristics- I just hedge my bets with brass. If aluminum was horrible for guns chambers it’s use would have stopped years ago in all likelihood, but for me when I see a chemical name shared like that (again structure differences), my chemistry-dumb brain throws a red flag and looks elsewhere, to simply my decision making process.

Might not be the most factual way to do it, but it simplifies my life a bit.


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[LittleLebowski]

It's my understanding that abrasives are made from crystalline aluminum oxide which is much harder than the thin amorphous aluminum oxide passivation layer that forms on bare aluminum exposed to oxygen. I may be mistaken, but I think the hardness of amorphous aluminum oxide is essentially the same as aluminum.

[LittleLebowski]

My bias causes me to associate steel case ammo with the now defunct USSR and the former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Whereas I would blow this crap through SKS and AK type rifles, I choose not to buy it. But I do admit having done so at one time. I have no doubt that some of it is good ammo but can't specify. In recent years I have personally observed emergence of shit ammo within some of our American manufacturers. If we choose to make and sell some substandard ammunition, then certainly Russia and its neighbors can do the same thing. If a famous gun maker can bungle production of its most famous pump shotgun that it once had made 10s of millions of reliable specimens of the same, then we must not be surprised at what else might appear on retail shelves.

I must be honest. Just because I refuse to buy steel cased ammo, I would most happily shoot other peoples' if they were to decide that they no longer wanted their batch. I would "burn it up" to prove my friendship. However, I would be most picky about what I shot it through.

I have a pic somewhere of a 2MOA group of ten rounds of 5.45 Sov surplus shot at a hundred yards with a 4MOA red dot and not using a bag nor bipod. Some of the Eastern bloc stuff is very good.

[Peally]

There’s a lot of hate towards #PoorFags like myself on here

I make ~40K a year before taxes. I am the poorfag