Brass vs Steel cartridges?

9

9mm

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I notice on aimsurplus they have 9mm ball for $8 a box, wolf ammo and its steel not brass. Does the steel wear out the extractor FASTER than brass? Would it be worth it to save$4 a box?
 
I don't know if it is internet rumor or not, as I don't have a source, but I have read that the steel is mild steel and won't do any harm to the gun or its components. Again, I can't substantiate that statement. Fwiw, I use steel in my AR and have no issues but the count is only in the 400 round range.
 
Hello, The American Rifleman did an extensive test on this years ago, with .45 ACP. They found the steel cases could peen the chamber head-spacing shoulder.
 
I shoot the black box Wolff steel cased in my Beretta 92FS. No problems at all. I’ve not noticed any accelerated wear on any of the parts. It’s every bit as accurate as ammo twice the price. I can’t say any thing about .45acp because my M1911’s have Kart barrels, and I refuse to take the chance there.
 
Is it easier to pick up the spent casings? Can a magnetic pick up be used such as is used to pick up roofing nails from a yard? That could sure save the old back.
 
With higher ammo costs, this question comes up several times a week on most gun forums.

Some seem to have all sorts of problems. Others, like myself, have had zero problems with 1000's of rounds of steel-cased. I can only speak from my own experience.
 
10Ringmagic said:
I seen an ad for Hornady that they are making steel cased ammo.
Click to expand...

Interesting, thanks for the info. Yet another reason steel case is OK....most anything Hornady has been good through the years.
 
It was my understanding that in the event of a jam, misfeed, etc. a steel case is more likely to damage a gun than a softer brass case. But that may be BS, for all I know.
 
Two years ago a young guy came to me wanting to buy 1000 rounds of the cheapest 9mm he could get. I had a case of Wolf and let him have it for my cost. He had 3 or 4 case splits with two of them requiring a range rod to knock the empty out of the chamber. I haven't had this happen so maybe his used M&P had some problems also. I've only used steel cased 9mm in a beater Ruger P89 that you really can't hurt but I get a lot of FTF that need a restrike to light.
 
Brass/aluminum/steel ammo casings

I've used all three types in my AR-15, AK-47, and various pistols, mostly in 9mm.
The ONLY discernible difference I found was that my Kel-Tec PF-9 sometimes failed to feed some steel loads into the chamber. I emailed Kel-Tec, they replied fairly quickly that only brass ammunition (no specific mfg was specified) would always feed reliably.
And so it seems to be true, with the PF-9. All other weapons seem to wear and shoot no differently than with brass ammo!
All steel empties and SO easy to pickup, with a strong magnet, too.
I do think most Wolf and surplus ammo may dirty a gun more quickly, but I haven't had a malfunction, yet, with about 500 rounds between cleaning (about my daily maximum).
Extractor wear or breakage? Never broke one. Except on a 22 that only had brass through it.
 
I think that any extractor issues probably have less to do with the steel (which is a mild steel, not much harder than brass), and more to do with the fact that the blowback from a steel cartridge (they're less ductile, and don't seal the chamber as efficiently as a brass cartridge) might "glue" a tighter-fitting brass cartridge into the chamber.

Clean your guns and it won't be a problem.
 
To a degree.

Steel cases don't obturate as well as brass ones do.

Some American guns were designed to work with brass cases in mind, and don't function as well with steel ones.

For brass vs steel, function is more important than wear considerations.
 
A well made and well maintained pistol, using brass ammo, will last several lifetimes.

A well made and well maintained pistol, using steel ammo, will only last a few lifetimes.

We're talking about the future happiness of your great grand kids here. Do you really want them to go through the pain of buying a new extractor?
 
If you're worried about it, buy a new extractor with the savings you collect by buying steel case. Once you recoup the losses of the extractor, you'll be all savings. It would actually be a good scientific study
 
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