Hornady Steel match

C

Coach Z

New member
My only experience with steel case ammo has been wolf in my AR. Hornady now has their steel match ammo which they are selling as a premium ammo both for long guns as well as hand guns. I'm confused. I thought only the rusks used steel case and only because it was cheap???? What the hell, I'm confused!

Any insight would be appreciated
 
I think they're doing it to lower the cost. I've shot a few boxes of the 223 in my bolt action savage and it was accurate and ejected fine.
 
I've shot their pistol Steel Match Ammo. Works great in 9mm and 45 ACP.

I have a couple boxes of .223 55 gr HP that I have yet to shoot.

Hornady explains it as having the same match performance as their brass cased match ammo but at a fraction of a cost.
 
According to a guy I talked with, the three gun shooters consume a butt load of ammo and are unlikely to retain any of their brass. This seems to be a higher performance alternative to foreign made steel case ammo using Hornady bullets/powder in primed steel cases from ?????. Their first steel cased ammo to my knowledge was their 5.45x39 Vmax loads a couple of years ago. That ammo works pretty well in my S&W 5.45 AR.
 
Yeah, it must be because of cost. Compare two similar catridges:
.223 75gr BTHP Brass Cased Match - $25 MSRP for a box of 20
.223 75gr BTHP Steel Cased Match - $30 MSRP for a box of 50
As for performance between the two, I have no personal experience...

Steel cased gets a bad rap because it is most often seen in dirty, not-so-consistent Russian manufacture stuff. So people then associate steel with dirty and inconsistent. From all reports I've heard, Hornady steel cased does just fine. I do know their steel cased 7.62x39 ammo is much better than the Russian stuff floating around.
 
I shot some of it. It wasn't any more accurate than run-of-the-mill PMC FMJBT in my rifles (about an inch and a bit). It's still not the cheapest. While the case is a steel (of sorts) the jacket was in fact good copper and not just a copper washed MC metallic case. I noticed significant smoke down on the shoulder of ejected cases, which leads me to believe that it is not forming in the chamber quick upon ignition. All of them fired and ejected fine.

It's alright stuff but I wouldn't stockpile it like I do with PMC and Fiocchi. But it is better than cheap Remington MC in my opinion—which does not have a copper jacket.

-SS-
 
what i don't understand is why hornady keeps releasing ammo in steel cases. I know its cheaper, but everything they make is brass cased so why make this match ammo in a steel case? Thats just my .02 cents. Id like to try there 7.62x39 ammo but i wont but it cause its steel cased and my AR doesn't like steel cased ammo.
 
I don't get it...
Steel does not expand in the chamber the same as brass, and would be inherently more inaccurate.

The words "steel" and "match" don't make sense together IMO.

Steel wears the internal components of the rifle prematurely as well.

I don't see any competition shooters using steel cased ammo.

Nor do I see the US Military buying steel cased ammo. If it's "just as good" (reloading is not a consideration), why wouldn't Uncle Sam use it?
 
I've gotten very good accuracy out of the Hornady steel-cased training ammo - easily comparable with the Black Hills Hornady loads. I haven't used the "Steel Match" brand; but I assume it is the same stuff.

For training ammo, it is top notch. You've got affordable ammo that matches your premium rounds (especially if you use the Hornady TAP for the premium stuff) but doesn't cost and arm and a leg.

However, I will note that I've seen mixed results with it as far as reliability. I've seen rifles that won't eat Wolf that have no problem with Hornady Steel and then I've seen rifles that are fine with brass and Wolf that wouldn't cycle the Hornady Steel.
 
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