Steel Case

[Groundhog34]

I fired some Winchester Steel Case ammo in my HK VP9SK today. The fourth or fifth round did not eject. I could not pry the spent shell out and needed to use a wooden dowel to remove it. I'll clean and fire good brass tomorrow to make sure there was no damage. Has anyone else had a similar experience. Obviously no more steel cases for me.

 

[ammo.crafter]

stuck steel

Steel does not expand and seal the chamber as well as brass and as such, unburned powder escapes and fouls the chamber and other parts like extractors.

 

[Mike38]

I have ran 1000s of rounds of steel case Wolf ammo in my Beretta 92FS without one problem, other than mediocre accuracy. A little on the dirty side, granted. I guess some guns just don't like the stuff.

 

[TunnelRat]

Most of the reviews I have read on Winchester "Forged" are pretty poor. I thin just about any other steel cased ammo may be better.

 

[zoo]

Sooo, please refresh my memory. Why run steel?

 

[Nodak1858]

I have ran 1000s of rounds of steel case Wolf ammo in my Beretta 92FS without one problem, other than mediocre accuracy. A little on the dirty side, granted. I guess some guns just don't like the stuff.

Same here, handguns, rifles have shot steel cased stuff since the mid 90s. Like Mike said, accuracy isn't anything spectacular but it goes bang. IMHO the steel case phobia is overrated. Some guns just don't like certain ammo, steel, brass it can be a crap shoot on what they will function with.

 

[Hawg]

Sooo, please refresh my memory. Why run steel?

I run a good bit of steel cased Tula in my 1911. It's nice to run a few mags now and then and not have to worry about chasing brass.

 

[JDBerg]

The biggest problem with steelcased ammo is that most ranges don’t allow you to use it in the first place. This Win USA Forged steelcased ammo is the cheapest factory ammo I can remember buying ($11 for 150 rounds on sale) and I’ve shot quite a lot of it through my Gen3 Glock 17 & 19 and it was always reliable and accurate enough although the smell is nasty. I can’t say I’ve shot much of this through any of my other guns, but my Gen4 G-21 shot Tula steelcased ammo really well when I’ve used it.

I’m going to venture a guess that HK customer support would advise against using steelcased ammo in your VP9SK if you were to contact them about it. There is probably a blurb in the manual about using quality factory ammo in the gun, and steelcased ammo probably doesn’t qualify as quality factory ammo, and they might remind you of this.

 

[JohnKSa]

I had no problem with it in a Ruger P89. Then my local range banned it.

 

[sigarms228]

The biggest problem with steelcased ammo is that most ranges don’t allow you to use it in the first place. This Win USA Forged steelcased ammo is the cheapest factory ammo I can remember buying ($11 for 150 rounds on sale) and I’ve shot quite a lot of it through my Gen3 Glock 17 & 19 and it was always reliable and accurate enough although the smell is nasty. I can’t say I’ve shot much of this through any of my other guns, but my Gen4 G-21 shot Tula steelcased ammo really well when I’ve used it.

I’m going to venture a guess that HK customer support would advise against using steelcased ammo in your VP9SK if you were to contact them about it. There is probably a blurb in the manual about using quality factory ammo in the gun, and steelcased ammo probably doesn’t qualify as quality factory ammo, and they might remind you of this.

I never had a desire to use steel cased ammo but at my local range they now make you take out any ammo you have brought along and check it with a large magnet. They never used to do that before even though they always posted no steel cased ammo. Also modern HK pistols have stepped chamber which may not play well with steel cased ammo and yes HK says not to use it.

 

[Groundhog34]

Because it was all that was available.

 

[Eddiejoe]

I had an ammo-inspection at a local range east of Mesa AZ. I thought they were looking for armor-piercing rounds.
Why won't ranges allow steel-cased ammo?

 

[Shadow9mm]

I have seen it twice, I wont shoot it out of my guns. One was a friend with a G23, same thing, wolf casing failure to extract, we had to dowel rod it out. another was at a range. guy next to me had a hk, not sure what model shooting wolf steel cased. about 20min it he was fidding with it. same thing steel casing stuck in the chamber.

I will never shoot steel out of any handgun.

 

[Shadow9mm]

Most ranges wont let you shoot it because they sell the brass you leave behind and don't want to pull the steel casings out.

 

[JDBerg]

Why won't ranges allow steel-cased ammo?

The ranges sell the brass for scrap or they sell the once-fired brass for reloading. Steel cases have to be sorted out from the pile of brass cases and this is time consuming & expensive. Another reason is the range makes the rules, if all you bring in to the range is steelcase ammo and the range doesn’t allow you to use it, then you either turn around or buy their range ammo & they make a better profit than by selling just range time, targets, etc.

 

[Nodak1858]

We have a indoor range here that has no problem with steel cased, but just no aluminum cases. That surprised me, they don't check anything other than for aluminum cases if you bring your own ammo.

 

[Eddiejoe]

The ranges sell the brass for scrap or they sell the once-fired brass for reloading. Steel cases have to be sorted out from the pile of brass cases and this is time consuming & expensive. Another reason is the range makes the rules, if all you bring in to the range is steelcase ammo and the range doesn’t allow you to use it, then you either turn around or buy their range ammo & they make a better profit than by selling just range time, targets, etc.

JDBerg I guess that makes sense. I go to a state-operated range near me. They do not sell the brass or allow you to police brass other than your own. Too much liability waiting right around the corner.

 

[Hawg]

I'm glad I don't shoot at a range.

 

[sigarms228]

We have a indoor range here that has no problem with steel cased, but just no aluminum cases. That surprised me, they don't check anything other than for aluminum cases if you bring your own ammo.

Maybe these use magnetic device to remove the steel cases from the brass and of course that won't work with the aluminum.

 

[mr bolo]

Ive only have steel cases get stuck in a .38 revolver