Difference between steel and brass case ammo?
- Thread starter Rjeezie
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mrawesome22
New member
Steel cased is usually cheap plinking ammo.
Steel cased ammo is sometimes corrosive and berdan primed.
Steel is not reloadable.
Steel cased ammo is sometimes corrosive and berdan primed.
Steel is not reloadable.
UtopiaTexasG19
New member
Steel cased ammunition is re-loaded all the time, I re-load .223 Look down the page on this forum to the "Re-loading" section for some great conversations on how it is done. I re-load steel cased .223 when I am going to shoot over water or out at my place in West Texas where recovery of the casings is not practical. It is not a preferred re-load casing but has been done for years. All the little Taliban kids in Afganistan have been hand re-loading Russian steel cases for years. Naturally brass casings are easier on a loading ramp and chamber but for certain instances it can, and is, done.
Steel cases are used because brass is expensive. Steel does not relax as much as brass, when the pressure drops, so there tends to be more breech friction with steel.
The US used a chromate coating in its WWII steel cases ammunition, it must have caused a lot of malfunctions as the Army ran tests with teflon and wax coatings on steel cased ammunition to reduce the breech friction. Per the American Rifleman, the cost to make steel case ammunition better cost more than brass cases of the time, so the US walked away from steel.
Our reloading equipment is based on brass: steel cases are not intended to be reloaded. I don’t know how many times the stuff can be sized without cracks developing from work hardening. I am curious to know just how long people can take these cases and whether it busts or wears out their reloading tools.
I suppose you would have to use a grinder on the case mouth for trim length as trimmer blades would wear out on steel.
I don’t mess with steel cases because I have lots of brass cases. That may change in the future, I hope not.
The US used a chromate coating in its WWII steel cases ammunition, it must have caused a lot of malfunctions as the Army ran tests with teflon and wax coatings on steel cased ammunition to reduce the breech friction. Per the American Rifleman, the cost to make steel case ammunition better cost more than brass cases of the time, so the US walked away from steel.
Our reloading equipment is based on brass: steel cases are not intended to be reloaded. I don’t know how many times the stuff can be sized without cracks developing from work hardening. I am curious to know just how long people can take these cases and whether it busts or wears out their reloading tools.
I suppose you would have to use a grinder on the case mouth for trim length as trimmer blades would wear out on steel.
I don’t mess with steel cases because I have lots of brass cases. That may change in the future, I hope not.
Palmetto-Pride
New member
Glad he is retired because he doesn't sound very bright. I realize you don't always need Match grade ammo for every situation, but to use cheap steel cased Wolf in a duty gun is just plan stupid when there are so many better choices...........IMO
xxxleafybugxxx
New member
I agree with you Pride, 9mm in your glock for on duty sounds pretty dumb. I wouldn't carry a 9 to begin with, but that's a completely different story. 
Steel casing is good to use for plinking, as it is so cheap. The only amoo I've ever shot through my AK has been steel cased (and a few tracers), but thats ok for this gun because the ak handles it very well. AR's, on the other hand don't generally handle this so well. Just depends what you plan on using the ammo for.
Steel casing is good to use for plinking, as it is so cheap. The only amoo I've ever shot through my AK has been steel cased (and a few tracers), but thats ok for this gun because the ak handles it very well. AR's, on the other hand don't generally handle this so well. Just depends what you plan on using the ammo for.
xxxleafybugxxx
New member
I meant to say steel casing in your glock*****
UtopiaTexasG19
New member
Don't equate the steel used in rifle casings with the steel used in steel
I-beams. Just like the composition of brass can be varied to a certain degree to fit the intended use there are many grades of steel to fit a certain objective.
I-beams. Just like the composition of brass can be varied to a certain degree to fit the intended use there are many grades of steel to fit a certain objective.
My AR handles steel cased ammo just fine and is pretty accurate with it to boot.
This was the second target I used to sight in a new scope, 10 rounds in each. It was also about 35 degrees and windy at the time so I had to time my shots when the wind was in a lull.
This was the second target I used to sight in a new scope, 10 rounds in each. It was also about 35 degrees and windy at the time so I had to time my shots when the wind was in a lull.
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I have noticed that the copper washed 7.62x54 ammo runs better through my Finish M39 than the lackured steel cased 8mm Mauser does through my Mauser. But the brass cased loads work great in both. The lackured cases gum up the chamber. I guess this is why the claw extractor was so sucessfull on the Mauser Rifle.
igousigloo
New member
I had some Hornady match steel 45 acp shot through my 1911. It locked an empty in the chamber. It took some banging to get it to slide out. No more of that stuff.
sc928porsche
New member
Steel cases can be reloaded. It is not usually done because of the availability of brass cases. BTW, when heating brass, it softens and when "worked" it hardens. Steel on the other hand can be softened with heat or hardened with heat and quick cool (tempering) and of course depending how high the carbon content is in the steel. The reloading process will NOT harden the steel case. As for wearing on the die, the die is made of much harder steel than the case. I suppose that if you reloaded 100,000 rounds of steel case ammo, you might be able to measure the wear in the die..............maybe.
Rgeezie, I think alot of people dont use it because its less forgiving than brass, thus causing more wear, and the lacquer gums up chamberes and causes jams. Not to mention that steel cased ammo is not as comon in the United States as it is in other countries. I use some steel case ammo in some of my surplus rifles for cheap plinking.
There was a time when steel cased (as well as most other surplus military ammo) had primers which used mercuric salts that were corrosive. As long as you are using non-corrosive primed ammo, you should be fine. Also some, like Wolfe used to use a lacquer coating which some had problems with leaving a residue and gumming up chambers. Wolfe ammo for one has switched to a polymer coating and is no longer an issue and also uses non corrosive primers. I use it all the time for plinking an have never had an issue. I also have some Silver Bear that claims to be non corrosive Berdan primed but haven't tried any of it yet. Even with the lacquer and the corrosive primers, all you have to do is pay extra attention to cleaning and it will be fine.
Mike Irwin
Staff
The reason the United States experimented with steel-cased small arms ammunition during WW II was one of necessity.
Copper production, while making huge strides during the war, was still in critically short supply at various points because of the huge industrial effort.
1942 and 1943 were particularly bad years for the copper supply, so bad that the Government issued steel pennies to free up copper for electrical wire for ships, aircraft, etc.
Iron and steel supplies weren't nearly as stressed.
During WW II it was common to see homes made out of concrete block and plumbed with galvanized iron pipes (which copper had almost completely replaced for home plumbing starting in the 1920s).
Copper production, while making huge strides during the war, was still in critically short supply at various points because of the huge industrial effort.
1942 and 1943 were particularly bad years for the copper supply, so bad that the Government issued steel pennies to free up copper for electrical wire for ships, aircraft, etc.
Iron and steel supplies weren't nearly as stressed.
During WW II it was common to see homes made out of concrete block and plumbed with galvanized iron pipes (which copper had almost completely replaced for home plumbing starting in the 1920s).
Seven High
New member
I see nothing wrong with a police officer using Wolf 9mm ammuniton in his Glock pistol as long as he tests it for function before carrying it on duty. FMJ vs. HP is another matter.
I am against using steel case ammo on bolt action rifles. Steel cases expand with heat and do not come to their original size. Steel case ammo have a tendency to get stuck in the chamber after firing.
On my AR however, I have used steel case ammo and never had a problem of ejecting. May be because the case is ejected as soon as it is fired and before it goes in to complete expansion due to heat.
My two cents worth....
On my AR however, I have used steel case ammo and never had a problem of ejecting. May be because the case is ejected as soon as it is fired and before it goes in to complete expansion due to heat.
My two cents worth....