Does Steel-Cased Ammo Suck?

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tahunua001

New member
copper washed stuff
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solid steel jackets are rare but most of the cheap stuff these days has steel in the jacket, just stick a magnet to it. sellier and bellot, and the bear, and tula brands all do it.
 
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Gunplummer

New member
Never saw that before. I do buy some Sellior &Bellot ammo, just not their scrap. I shoot their 150 gran SPCE out of my autoloader and it works great. If they are going over to that, I better pay closer attention when I order ammo.
 
J

Josh Smith

Moderator
gunplummer said:
I don't buy steel cased ammo anymore, but never heard of "Copper washed" bullets. I fired a lot of surplus ammo years ago that had some type of copper/nickel jacket on the bullets. This had a yellow look to it. Steel jacketed sounds like last ditch production to me. If the bullet was made that cheaply, can you imagine what the powder mix is like?
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How in the world have you never heard of copper-washed steel jackets? It's far from last-ditch.

Josh
 
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Model12Win

Moderator
Copper washed is were they put a thin layer of copper on the steel case to keep it from rusting. Cheap and easy to do in bulk. Really popular for Russian and Chinese military ammo in particular.
 
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Josh Smith

Moderator
Guys, the US has fielded steel-cased ammo in the past (1943 .45acp). It's not ideal in my opinion, but it's definitely usable if that's what one has to work with. Russkie rifles work fine with it.

Josh
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
US has fielded steel-cased ammo in the past (1943 .45acp).
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Yes, yes we did. Do note it was the same year we fielded the zinc/steel penny, and ONLY in .45acp. Even at the height of wartime shortages, we did NOT use steel cased rifle ammo (and as far as I know the steel .45acp stuff came only from one location EC 43), and we went back to brass the following year (44), when demand for ammo due to combat was actually greater.

I don't like steel cased ammo, and I don't buy steel cased ammo, other than some 7.62x54R surplus copper washed stuff that was so unreliable, I gave it away.

Steel cased ammo wasn't created simply as a lower cost alternative, it was created as a military expedient, that happened to cost less and worked well enough for military use, in the eyes of those nations that adopted it.

Personally, I happily pay more for brass cases that I can reload (boxer primed) or Berdan primed brass that has a higher scrap value than steel.

It MAY not be crap, but I don't see steel cased ammo in other than a few military calibers, and with my shooting habits, steel's cost advantage simply doesn't outweigh the disadvantages.
 
M

Model12Win

Moderator
Well the combloc auto pistols were designed for it, so my Makarovs shoot it a lot. In that caliber in those guns, it's every bit as reliable and accurate as brass cased stuff. That's probably not much of a surprise since these guns were specifically designed to run steel-cased ammo almost exclusively.
 
D

dbldune

New member
Not good for me

Used some steel cased 223 in y gas piston Stag #8. Had to have a gunsmith remove it. Never again!
 
R

Reloadron

New member
If not stored properly...steel cased ammo will rust.
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Yes, and if not stored properly brass cased ammo will corrode.

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So I guess what it comes down to is be it steel or brass cased all ammunition should be handled and stored properly. The brass cased ammunition above was not stored in a cool dry location, it got ugly. :)

Ron
 
R

Rangerrich99

New member
When I bought my first AR I also bought several hundred rounds of TulAmmo. After a little more than 200 rounds, the extractor pin snapped. Replaced that and about 300 rounds later a round didn't extract and my brand new factory extractor was slightly bent.

I gave away the rest of that ammo and haven't used steel cased since. Now, from everything I've read here on the forum and elsewhere, my gun should shoot steel cased just fine at this point. However, I've been reloading .223 rem for almost two years now, and haven't bought a single round of the stuff in over 18 months. So, I probably won't be buying any steel-cased any time soon.

As for does steel suck? Well, probably not, but having done several side-by-side comparos, none of it is anywhere close to the consistency and accuracy of the ammo I make myself, for essentially the same cost per round.

I will say that if I had a cheapo AR/.223 rem rifle that I just used to plink with, and if it would eat steel-cased I'd have no problem buying steel for it.
 
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CWKahrFan

New member
I tried a few brands of Russian steel but couldn't get any decent accuracy so dropped it 'cause it wasn't much fun for me.
 
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iraiam

New member
It depends, most of the steel cased ammo I have bought/shot was not high quality, it seems most was made to be cheap practice ammunition or for just plain bullet slinging. The steel is plenty soft enough not to wear parts in our arms. I think much improvement could be made if a company really wanted to make a steel cased quality round.
 
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briandg

New member
If you look at the accuracy reloading posts you will find that just about everything they do to attain better accuracy is a totally moot point with steel.

If it works for you it may not work for other rifles and you are, by definition, limited totally by whatever care is taken by the maker.

I once experimented with steel cases. Running a tapered punch into a case and hammering over and over, I never managed to make that case neck expand. doesn't sound like a great idea. If you get results, more power to you.
 
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