Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Shooting steel cases in a bolt action.

I had a general question concerning shooting a steel case in a bolt action. I read a comment a few years ago that stated it was not a good idea to shoot steel case ammo in a bolt action. I personally don't see what damage it would do. But any thoughts? Thanks!

1. Why would anyone want to?

2. The steel case would expand less and thus not seal the action as well as brass.

Steel cases = military ammunition, with slightly more volume than a similar brass case. The higher volume will give slightly higher velocities, at the same pressure level. The steel is lacquer coated to resist corrosion and to help in extraction somewhat.

It can't be reloaded, and if it gets a scratch in the case, the resulting bur would most likely scratch your chamber. While not an issue to worry about in a military firearm with an over sized chamber, it could screw up your rifle pretty good.

Also, steel cases are somewhat prone to rust if improperly stored, and that could lead to more nastiness in your chamber.

The short end of the stick, though, is that it can be used in a bolt action rifle, but the ammunition will most likely not give the best accuracy, as it is manufactured on a scale of economy and reliability.

Think "Wolfe" Ammo....

Thanks Uncle! I was just wondering about the issue of steel case. I may in the future buy a 223 bolt action Howa rifle off of someone local. I was actually thinking of just using brass cased ammo. Thanks for you thoughts. You did point out somethings that had never occured to me.

Steel cases won't spring back like brass cases after being fired, so extraction CAN be a problem. Not that it will necessarily, but it's a problem you don't want to buy if you're shooting somewhere away from a cleaning rod.

I've shot Wolf steel ammo in a Mini 14 and while it extracted well and was fairly accurate, it was hydroscopic and rusted the gas piston the to gas cylinder, making me have to kick the bolt open with my foot. A good lesson on why Minis should be cleaned and oiled after every use. I called Ruger and they said, "Yeah, it happens all the time here, too." A good reason to store Mini 14s with the bolt back.

You sure about that? What would happen if you fired a steel cased round in an ackley chamber?

Steel is fine. The steel used for steel cases is much softer than the steel of a chamber or barrel. It won't scratch your chamber any worse than brass will. It probably doesn't bounce back as well as brass so steel case combined with some of the laquer used and a really hot rifle might cause some extraction problems, but it isn't going to damage anything.

You can actually reload those few steel cases that are boxer primed, not as many times as brass, but you can do it.

Lots of ComBloc ammo had soft iron jackets on the bullets. I know the 7.62 x 39 did, and probably the 7.62 x 54.

I shoot all kinds from several countries. It shoots fabulous, extracts perfect and most is quite accurate. It does seal the chamber completely, doesn't scratch the chamber, nor does it cause any issues whatsoever.

If a case is rusted or severely scratch, would you honestly shoot it in a nice rifle? Come on guys, be a little bit realistic. Have any of you that have shot a lot of the steel case ammo had issues personally? Some of the wolf ammo is crap, but we all know that. I don't buy wolf, but the other brands have been really good.

A lot of the ammo from Israel and the ammo marketed through "Herters" is loaded on the stiff side and is wonderfully accurate in .223, 7.62 and 9mm. Flinch

What would happen if you fired a steel cased round in an ackley chamber?"

I don't know but why would anyone want to do that either?

I would think that it might e harder to fire form a a steel case to AI dimensions. Doubt that anyone sells any already made.

I've got 3 militaty '98 Mausers and have shot a LOT of steel case 8x57mm ammunition. No problems and delivers comparable accuracy to commercial and handloaded ammo.

I shot a few through an ackley, and they formed just like any other round. leads me to believe the steel is behaving pretty similarly to brass during firing. I think many people speak on this topic without having much idea what they are talking about.

...no way, not on the internet!!! Everyone knows everything. Flinch

I don't like that stuff in any firearm..

Over the years I've had a several firearms come into the shop with 'stuck cases'.. Most of 'em are found to be steel cases when I got 'em out.. The few that were brass were mostly in those pos M742/M740 Rems where the owners rarely (if ever) cleaned the chambers..

I advise my customers against using steel-cased ammo.. YMMV..