Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Steel case ammo or brass?

Fairly new to this AR stuff. My question is on ammo. I've heard it's not a good idea to run much of the steel cased stuff through my AR. I'm a recreational shooter, not really doing a lot of high volume shooting. Maybe 100 rounds a month if that.

Steel cased ammo can be had cheaper here, but with all the more I'm shooting, should I just avoid it and run brass? Thinking I might just put away a couple thousand rounds of steel cased stuff for "just in case."

Anyone's thoughts? Thanks guys.

M.E.A.L. (care and feeding the m4)

M - undamaged quality Magazine.
E - good Extractor and spring.
A - quality Ammunition.
L - proper Lubrication, attention to the two gas ports on the side of the bolt carrier.

Quite a few common issues with this platform can be traced back to the operator not following one or more of those four recommended guidelines.

Have a hard time finding any good thoughts from running a volume of 5.56 steel case ammo through an m4, unless my goal was to reduce barrel life and to speed up the time it takes to screw up a gun. I see nothing but BAD, and I do not see how it is even remotely thought of as being quality ammo.

The steel case ammo wears things out at least twice as fast, plus its issues are exacerbated when run hot. Every test I've seen had quality ammo, such as FED, running 10,000 rounds with few issues and barrels retaining good accuracy, with the steel having numerous issues with barrels completely shot out and crap before 6,000 rounds. I've heard the argument of the money saved off-sets the resulting increase in reliability headaches, the increase in cleaning efforts, the increase in barrel replacements, and the increase in chances of major mishap, but I just do not see its use as being a wise choice. That stuff is junk.

I guess if you are running a dirt cheap ar15 for pure fun, and you get joy out of cranking through a ton of ammo, just 'cause, w/ no regard towards maintaining a highly dependable and reliable rifle for any sort of self defense....then burn it up and tear it down, it doesn't really matter. But, I hate the thought of running that crap through a decent carbine that I'd like to keep running well for a long time.

Good deals on better ammo can be found.

My personal experience is the lacquer covered cases. Back in the 80's when I was buying East German 7.62x39, 1440 rounds for CHEAP - Like $29.99 a case.

I shot a LOT of that crap. After awhile, when the chamber was hot, the lacquer would melt... If you failed to extract any chambered rounds during a break, you were screwed because they would glue themselves into the chamber.

As for other parts wearing out? IDK. I was running them in Norinco SKS's. Back in the day, I could buy a case of Ten of them for $300.00 +tax. Didn't care too much back then about wear and tear.

Today, you can bet your last saw buck that I would care in my prized AR.

This is what I needed to hear guys. Thanks for helping out a rookie.

Have you seen this?

Brass vs. Steel Cased Ammo – An Epic Torture Test

nothing wrong with shooting steel for blasting ammo. The guys saying spend all this money on the expensive ammo are the guys shooting 3 boxes of ammo at the gun range every year.

Per ususal, ignore everything said by CC.

Stay away from steel cased ammo in the AR platform. It will bring you nothing but trouble.

Right now some of the best M193 ammo can be had for .33 cents a round and it's getting cheaper. If you want to put a couple thousand rounds away, I'd recommend buying it. It's hot ammo and it shoots pretty good for what it is.

Everyone who's ever shot any volume of it at all will tell you steel case is harder on extractor and springs. Underpowered and not much good for anything except going bang. The bi-metal bullet is also hard on barrel life.

Heck no leave the steel cased ammo for a sloppy fitting AK not a gun that has tighter tolerances.

I don't really expect to shoot much more that about 100 rounds per month. I'm strictly a recreational shooter.

Good info guys. For the ammount of shooting I see my self doing, I'll stick with brass.

As I said, I'm pretty new to this. Man, these guns are fun to shoot. My next investments will be a better scope, and a good sling.

I'm thinking about building a better gun for hunting purposes too.

Thanks again for all the info, and the comparison test pretty much confirmed what I've heard elsewhere.

Thanks again guys.

if shooting steel, I'd be anal about cleaning the chamber really well, like a chamber brush on a cordless drill....

And I'd be sure not to do it to a good gun.

And I'd keep a few spare parts like the extractors and springs handy or another bolt or bolt carrier group.

I can see reasons for the above and steel case. Yet I've not fired it in any of my guns.

And no, I don't shoot 3 boxes a year, when I was active it was like 20,000 rounds a year... for the folks that think they know it all.. LOL

100 rounds/month = 1,200/year = Plan on swapping barrels in about 4 or 5 years if you use bimetal bullets, depending upon your accuracy expectations.

I read a pretty good economic analysis of it and, at the time, shooting steel was cheaper overall. If cheap is your only criteria.

seriously f uck off dude. Notice how you simply say ignore or that but you don't ever present one shred of evidence. because your a poser that never shoots jack s hit. if you don't think people should shoot steel then say why. Instead you are just an internet parrot and spew all the crap you hear from everyone else.

someone posted a detailed review on this thread of steel vs brass. I read the entire thing. That is actually the useful information that makes forums a great place. instead of just being a troll and not engauging the issues. you think I am wrong PROVE IT when you have done so I will thank you for a useful lesson.




this guy shoots way more than most guys do in actual real world conditions. He shoots lots of steel case. Why because he actually shoots his guns instead of pretending to be a range nazi. Steel case is available in all sorts of flavors. FMJ, hornady match, soft point, hollow point. The test someone posted said the bi metal stuff wore the barrels fast. I didn't see any major issues with chamber wear or bolt parts that aren't cheap to replace. so if your shooting copper jacketed lead core bullets you should not see accelerated barrel wear over brass. and besides if you did shoot 6000 rounds through your gun your probably thinking dude I finally get to replace a barrel.

I look forward to replacing parts from wear. to me its something else to tinker with. New barrel. GREAT I get to have fun deciding what one I want and be excited for a new package to show up. Then I get to test it out for accuracy. All fun. There is not a damn thing wrong with shooting steel case. OMG my extractor is going wear our 4000 rounds premature. Big f ing deal, replace it. paying 5 bucks a box for blasting ammo. if your shooting 6000 rounds the savings is about $900 over brass ammo. you can buy 3 black hole replacement barrels and bolt parts for that. or better yet save the money and buy a new gun.

no one here is engaging the taliban in the desert. When you do stick to the slightly more reliable brass case. until you do save you money for blasting ammo. I shoot both brass and steel case. The steel case get grabbed for desert plinking, rock blasting, letting kids shoot etc. brass is used when I need a higher level of precision, thats what I do its your money.

You'll be fine with either.




Dave

What Dave wrote, with the following caveats:

1. Your average steel-cased ammo is not loaded to the same QC as your average brass-cased ammo.
If you are banging away at close range & rate such like an urban/CQB carbine course (especially if you can't pick up your cases) steel is the way to go unless money is no problem. OTOH I found steel-cased Wolf 230gr 45ACP to be no dirtier and a bit more accurate than Winchester Value Pack(1) white box from Walmart(2). You'll have to see how well it shoots in your weapon.

2. Some chamberings are a touch more sensitive to lower-QC ammo than others.
5.56 in an AR15 is a bit more sensitive than 6.5Grendel in an AR15. Bill Alexander, who worked with Wolf to design and produce the Wolf 6.5G steel cased ammo, observed that his design choices for 6.5G, while perhaps not maximizing its potential velocity in an AR15, allowed for 6.5G chambered AR15s to eat the steel cased stuff with little fuss.

3. If you push your AR15 like I did in the service (or some into heavy training do outside gov't service) you are going to want close to the best, highest quality EVERYTHING, to include ammo.
The Luckygunner article tells of phenomena I experienced while getting $$$ from the taxpayers: cookoffs & multi-thousand round counts in short time periods. If you are pushing your weapon that hard, that fast--and perhaps rely on it to protect your life--buy a quality higher-end weapon and feed it quality ammo, which means quality brass-cased fodder.






(1) WWB and Rem UMC must be loaded with explosive dirt, given how filthy they make my guns.

(2) Was in a location/situation where I had two carry options for .45ACP: Wolf steel case 230gr and WWB brass-cased value pack 230gr. I chose the Wolf after wringing both out in my 1911. Surprising results.

Steel case issues with my experience using it has been more about the lacquer they coat the cases with to inhibit rust.

I used over 1000 rounds in my M-4 while gunning coyotes out of a helicopter and saw no adverse effects of the steel.

However, the lacquer is a total bitch to clean out of your rifle. The chamber especially. Took quite a bit of elbow grease and some good solvent to get it back to an acceptable level of clean.

I was indeed pushing the rifle pretty hard at times, using round mags and getting the barrel pretty warm intermittently.

I shoot Tulammo steel case .45acp quite a bit. No adverse effects. Accurate and hot.

This is a good thread. Thanks for the info, for I'm a newbee in the AR world also.

I've always wondered about the adverse effects that steel might have on a gun. I've been using Wolf ammo in my AK47 for years with no problem. However, I used some of it in my Glock 22 40 cal., and it jammed every other round.

I think I'll stick with brass in my AR. Thanks.

What is the bullet jacket made out of in Wolf steel cased handgun ammo?