Brass vs Steel casing ammo - steel works with no issue - thoughts?

[TexMex247]

Some guns run steel without a hiccup. Mostly combloc guns like aks, SKS and Makarov pistols. Try feeding it in a striker fired pistol like a Glock with an aftermarket trigger bar and you'll have the world's most expensive paperweight. Hammer fired guns will usually run it just fine but just as others have said many negatives including the case mouth not sealing, bimetal bullets that spark and potentially ricochet if you shoot at steel plates, extractor and ejector wear, etc.

I bought and run through many rounds of it over the years but now I keep it exclusively for aks and my VZ58s. Everything else is on an all brass diet.

 

[alterspaces]

There are numerous negatives with steel cased ammo, and only one positive, it’s cheaper.

Commie guns were built cheap and sloppy, and so was the ammo for them. It was a match made in heaven.

Nowadays neither are that cheap anymore. We still have all the negatives of the crappy ammo, but the price gap is much narrower. Buy decent ammo and save yourself the headache.

Ok this doesn't quite make sense. If commie guns were cheap and sloppy, then wouldn't that need the highest quality ammo to function? You can't add something bad onto something already bad, it just makes it worse. Something that doesn't function well needs high quality ammo to function.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

Ok this doesn't quite make sense. If commie guns were cheap and sloppy, then wouldn't that need the highest quality ammo to function? You can't add something bad onto something already bad, it just makes it worse. Something that doesn't function well needs high quality ammo to function.

You've heard of Mil Spec. It aint nothing special it just works.
Commie guns are the same thing that's just their version of Mil Specs.
The ammo has the same Mil Specs.

Ours aren't great and theirs are a lot worse yet the milspec crap works good enough to get the intended job done.

 

[KJQ6945]

Ok this doesn't quite make sense. If commie guns were cheap and sloppy, then wouldn't that need the highest quality ammo to function? You can't add something bad onto something already bad, it just makes it worse. Something that doesn't function well needs high quality ammo to function.

Not necessarily.

Our “mil spec” is much tighter than theirs. Dump sand in an AK and a M16 and see which one will shoot.
One is designed to function no matter what, the other is designed to be more accurate.

Cheap to produce, and having sloppy tolerances means you can shoot the same in ammo. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to fit.

If you have a more precise rifle, with a more precise chamber, it’s gonna need more precise ammo to feed and eject properly. Ever seen a forward assist on an AK?

I’ve heard friends say, If I spend $3K on a a rifle it should be able to shoot any ammo I feed it. That makes as much since as a Ferrari owner searching for the cheapest gas in town.

Something really precise, or better, needs better ammo, or fuel, to even function

 

[zackmars]

Not necessarily.

Our “mil spec” is much tighter than theirs. Dump sand in an AK and a M16 and see which one will shoot.
One is designed to function no matter what, the other is designed to be more accurate.

Cheap to produce, and having sloppy tolerances means you can shoot the same in ammo. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to fit.

If you have a more precise rifle, with a more precise chamber, it’s gonna need more precise ammo to feed and eject properly. Ever seen a forward assist on an AK?

I’ve heard friends say, If I spend $3K on a a rifle it should be able to shoot any ammo I feed it. That makes as much since as a Ferrari owner searching for the cheapest gas in town.

Something really precise, or better, needs better ammo, or fuel, to even function

As the m16 is a sealed system, it will actually run longer in dusty/muddy environments. Neither will run if you pour sand in them.

The ar doesn't need a forward assist. That was mandated by people who were obsessed with the idea of silently loading a rifle. If you really want to force a round in the chamber, use the scallop on the BCG.

 

[no2gates]

I've used a few different ones (Tula, Monarch and I think there was another I can't remember) mostly in 9mm. I've shot about 400 rounds and never had an issue, but it is most definitely dirtier when I cleaned it out compared to brass.
A 50 round box of Tula seems to have the equivalent residue in the pistol of about 500 rounds of WWB brass.

 

[Txdweeb]

If steel is cheaper when I goto buy pratice ammo I’ll get I have no bias for any of the semiautos.

The wheel guns only get brass I’ve only bought one box steel 38 and what a hassle removing stuck casings.

 

[PaPa CdAh]

Stick with brass

 

[Bad Hombre]

Some ranges won't allow anything but brass.

My range allows brass and aluminum but will not allow steel.

Steel cased ammo-

indoor ranges often have unburned powder on the floor. Steel cases can make sparks when it hits a concrete floor. Steel can also spark causing the range to catch on fire.

 

[Darqhelmet]

Not necessarily.

Our “mil spec” is much tighter than theirs. Dump sand in an AK and a M16 and see which one will shoot.
One is designed to function no matter what, the other is designed to be more accurate.

Cheap to produce, and having sloppy tolerances means you can shoot the same in ammo. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to fit.

If you have a more precise rifle, with a more precise chamber, it’s gonna need more precise ammo to feed and eject properly. Ever seen a forward assist on an AK?

I’ve heard friends say, If I spend $3K on a a rifle it should be able to shoot any ammo I feed it. That makes as much since as a Ferrari owner searching for the cheapest gas in town.

Something really precise, or better, needs better ammo, or fuel, to even function

It’s called the charging handle. You slap it forward. Tell me you’ve not shot an AK, without telling me you’ve never shot an AK.

 

[benenglish]

...indoor ranges often have unburned powder on the floor. Steel cases can make sparks when it hits a concrete floor. Steel can also spark causing the range to catch on fire.

We all saw that video of the south American indoor police range where there was a huge flash-over of a fire caused by all the powder on the floor igniting so you're not wrong.

However, that range was clearly very poorly maintained. If ranges really worried about steel falling on the floor and sparking, they would forbid me from bringing in my screwdrivers and my pocket knife, steel tools that everyone drops from time to time. But they don't. So, for me, the whole "You could ignite the powder on the floor" argument doesn't fly as long as the range has a smooth concrete floor and does a good job of sweeping every night.

As far as I've seen, the real reason pretty much every indoor range wants nothing but brass is that sorting out the aluminum and steel is an extra step they don't want to do before they sell the brass for scrap.

Like you, I know one indoor range that allows both brass and aluminum. Sorting out the aluminum is much harder than sorting out the steel so I have to assume there's a different business process in play for those places. I wish I knew what it was.

 

[Darqhelmet]

As for Steel if it comes in a Spam can with silly writing on it and goes in a commie gun, sure. But anything else, no. The ammo is so bad as far as QC in the powder charge, bullet set depth, and coating application it’s not worth it. Spend the money on ammo why waste your time and money on shit?

 

[ZX9RCAM]

My range allows brass and aluminum but will not allow steel.

Steel cased ammo-

indoor ranges often have unburned powder on the floor. Steel cases can make sparks when it hits a concrete floor. Steel can also spark causing the range to catch on fire.

That's why I said "some" ranges.