Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns steel cased ammo?

I bought some steel cased ammo when I got my new Glock 19 9MM

Didn't even realize it was steel cased until I got it home.

Only bought two boxes, and after is gone, probably won't buy more.

Am wondering what "the fire" thinks about shooting this stuff?

Thanks for any feed back!

Virgil B.

I think that, at the very least, they are a little harder on extractor hooks. Also, if it's got a lacquer on it (which many times they do), this can melt (once the barrel gets hot) and accumulate in the chamber, which can be hard to clean out and could cause reliability issues.

Bottom line, I won't use it.

I have a few old boxes of it (Wolf brand) that I bought many years ago not realizing it was steel cased, but I wouldn't use them unless I had no other option. They will likely be included in my legacy, i.e., I will likely never use them.

Hawkeye:

Thanks for the feed back!

I sure won't buy any more on purpose.

I mostly buy CCI Blazer brass practice ammo

Might "gift" this stuff to someone.

Virgil B.

The Winchester 115 gr stuff shoots really well in both of my 9mms. I bought the first 2 boxes not realizing it was steel cased. Shot that up and went back like a rimfire hoarder.

It's the only reason I can walk through the door of wal mart...

It is accurate and functions well in both of MY 9mms, but my son bought a Kel Tec PF9 and it doesn't function well in that.

So on one of his trips to the range he shot up 200 of my Gold Dot G2 stash.

I used 200 rounds of this stuff for break-in on the Kahr. It all shot fine, the pistol never hiccup'd.





If my memory serves me, this was the first 50 rounds, at 20 yards, just pushing them out.

Those don't look like they have any sort of lacquer coating, so shouldn't create hard deposits within the chamber, but they are still steel, and likely will accelerate wear on your extractor. There's a reason a softer metal (most commonly brass) is the standard in manufacturing shell casings, despite being more expensive than steel.

Steel case ammo can be excellent; it was perfected more than 80 years ago.

What do you think the Germans used in their excellent their excellent full-auto weapons e.g., MG-42, M.P.-38.
And the Russians: PPSh-41, PPD-34/38 / PPD-40, etc.

And the USA in 45ACP.

Then of course there's all that crappy, unreliable AK, Tokarev and Makarov ammo that those wacky Chinese and Russians still suffer with.
Like the Germans, they never figured out how those steel lacquered cases jammed up their guns and broke parts.

Its been quite a while since I've seen lacquered steel case ammo for sale but wouldn't be surprised if there was still some available at out of the way places or in the back of someone's closet. I know I have two spam cans of such for the Mosin-Nagants and probably a couple packs for the SKS and AR15 hiding someplace. I wouldn't want to use the old 5.56 ammo as it can foul the chamber and is a bear to clean out. I also feel the powder or primers are slightly corrosive as I have seen rust form shortly after using the old stuff.

The newer ammo with the polymer coating hasn't been a problem. I have several boxes of it in 5.56, 7.62x39, 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. I use it for general plinking at the cabin where finding my empties is mostly a dream. I use only a couple of guns for this and consider replacing an extractor as a part of regular maintenance so potential of increased wear means the extractor gets replaced a bit sooner than normal. I still clean the gun soon after use as the current ammo has the same foul odor as the old and I wish to minimize any corrosion problems.

Lacquer coated ammo is still readily available. Don't use it if you can afford anything better.

9mm Barnaul laquer coated

I run steel cased Tul-ammo in my 9 mil Shield from time to time. I don't use it all the time but when I do it feeds and extracts that stuff like a champ. Not too shabby in accuracy either

The Winchester stuff I shot above, wasn't lacquered.

It did seem to have a light dry lube on the case, very faint but perceptible powdery feel to it.

I can't speak to using steel cased cartridges for your Glock, but my HK USPc is a no-go. From the ammunition section of my HK owners manual:

"CAUTION: HK firearms are designed to function with quality manufactured brass cased ammunition. Use of steel or aluminum cased cartridges is not recommended and could adversely affect safe and reliable functioning. For further information on ammunition selection, contact HK Customer Service at 706-568-1906."

H.K.'s USPc manual also commands:

" Do not fire ammunition through the pistol that:
Is foreign and/or outdated military surplus ..."

So.. According to H.K. American military surplus is fine. - but, all Foreign Military surplus 9x19 is a no no (at least that's H.K. prescription for the "American consumer").

I got quite a bit of bulk TulAmmo 45ACP to practice with.

It's functioned well. Maybe a tad more powder fouling, but cases extract and feed fine. Accurate.

Yeah, they work fine, but if they have lacquer, it will build up in the chamber and get hard in there. Also, as stated, it will accelerate wear of the extractor.

Hmmm.....if I live in another country I'm not supposed to use American military surplus? Or are the pistols "tuned" for their respective countries of residence by some black magic??

Tuned by German Elves.

It rusts on rainy days.

i have used several varieties of russian 9mm ammo for years in any number of 9mm's. zero problems cept some appeared to be a little underpowered.
for plinking at close ranges not an issue.
i don't run guns hot enough to melt surface coatings.
I think i might have a 30.06 steel casing somewhere obtained from one of patton's WWII training centers on the arizona desert.
it's certainly not a new idea.
I watch a lot of battlefield recovery primarily in russia. some of the ammo found still looks pretty good.