Is using ammo with a lacquer case a bad idea?

[Braveheart]

Long story short, I bought some Brown Bear .233 REM 55grain ammo for my my AR15, after buying it a few friends of mine swear up and down it is extremely bad idea to use it. The lacquered cases heat up and all that leaving terrible amount of garbage and build up. I also heard that as a result could damage parts. I only plan on using it for target practice and fun at the range. I looked it up and it seems that people are split on the subject.

What are your suggestions?

 

[robin303]

A lot of my friends avoid it big time and will never use it again for the reasons you just said.

 

[cuate]

I've shot lots of Russian and Chinese in my SKSs AKs and AR15.....Nary a problem...I do clean them after firing....Old Corps habits are hard to break...I think the quality of the particular firearm might have something to do with this type problem...Most SKS an AKs normally will shoot any kind of nasty foreign ammo as that is what they were built for but some ARs are reportedlt finiky..I'd report my brand AR , it starts with a "B" but somebody would start a rukus that C's were better than B's and D's and S's are better, ad nauseum...Wharever you have is the best kind ! For you....

 

[IXLR8]

Ok for AK, AR causes problems.

If you use it, make sure you have a good chamber brush.

 

[texas skeeter]

you can shoot it normally in an AR15 in mild to cold weather. but if and when its scorching hot like here in texas during the summer, it the lacquer tends to heat up and get stuck in the bore as it happened to me this past summer!!

 

[Dawico]

Shoot it and see how it works. It is more about the gun's preferences than the ammo. Some guns don't like some ammo, and it doesn't really have to do with the case.

Unless it is really old ammo, don't worry about it. That probably isn't laquer on them, it is usually a type of polymer. The polymer takes a lot more heat to remove than your gun chamber will produce. And your extractor is made of harder steel than the ammo. Usually the steel in those cases is softer than good brass.

Check the cases after you fire them. If they have a deep mark from your extractor, then it is a cycling issue you have. The steel cases take a moment longer to spring back than brass cases, and your gun is cycling a little too fast to let the case spring back (un-expand in the chamber after firing). The gun is ripping the case from the chamber. Then you may want to switch back to brass cases as the steel cases may separate in your chamber, leaving part in the gun.

If your gun feeds and shoots them fine, and there isn't a big extractor mark on the case, then have at it.

Plus, the savings over the long run will be well worth it.

 

[Texan2]

shot tens of thousands of rounds in all types of weather with periodic weapon cleaning. never had an issue.

 

[leonidas]

I had the same concern prior to purchasing the Russian ammo. I found some articles (which I'm still trying to locate) that address this concern. Apparently the bugs everyone is referring to is when Laquer was used on the casings (polymer now) combined with automatic fire ARs. Otherwise I "ditto" what Dawico and Texascop said.

 

[308nato]

I clean my SKS and my AK after every range session and have had no poblems with it.

 

[M. Sage]

I've got about 600 of them through my M4 (not chrome-lined) and zero problems. I run 1000-1500 rounds of steel-cased ammo through my AK between cleanings. Both see mag dumps...

Most steel cased ammo isn't lacquer coated anymore anyway. It's coated with a plastic. But I don't think the lacquer melts at temps found in the chamber, since I've shot many, MANY guns with lacquer-coated ammo and not seen a round that the lacquer looked like it was melted off of.

What does happen is if you have a loose chamber, the steel won't expand and seal the chamber tight like brass when it's fired. You get a carbon buildup in the chamber that can wind up grabbing a case eventually.

... my rifles must be tight.

 

[Angered_Kabar]

Scrub out the chamber real good after use. I don't think it's the laquer melting and leaving residue. I think it's that steel cases don't seal the chamber as well as brass so fouling gets back there. Build up enough carbon and the chamber gets pretty tight.

 

[45tex]

Hoppes #9 is more powerful than that crap the ruskies put on their bullets.
I'll shoot anything, but I too was trained by Uncle Sam to clean my weapon after every use.
Bought a Ruger SR9 awhile back and noticed the manual says you can shoot steel, aluminum, or whatever, in the gun. I appreciate that.

 

[HuttoAg96]

The MYTH of lacquer melting in your chamber and leaving deposits is just that, a MYTH. Total bull$#it. The deposits are from the powder and gasses, as it doesn't burn as cleanly as higher quality ammo. When you get stuck cases, that is due to a thin layer of carbon deposited in the chamber - the leading theory on that seems to be that the steel case doesn't expand to conform to the chamber as well as brass cases do.

I've seen multiple videos where people take a BLOWTORCH to those lacquer cases and it doesn't come off... so your 200-400 degree chamber ain't gonna do it, either.

 

[Wolfwood]

I've shot lots of Russian and Chinese ...I do clean them after firing....Old Corps habits are hard to break...I normally will shoot any kind of nasty foreign...er...

lol jsut had to all i did was delete stuff and add a couple extra elipses

hahaha

 

[majormadmax]

Wasn't this posted on here?

The Truth About Wolf Ammo

The dude does an outstanding job explaining away the myth of lacquer ammo being bad to shoot (as HuttoAg96 stated), and what is really causing the problems in the AR!

That guys does some great vids on U-Tube, worth subscribing to!

Cheers! M2

 

[Braveheart]

Thanks for the info guys.
Went to the range today, awesome weather today. Rounds did perfectly fine and really enjoyed my first shoot with my new AR.

 

[Texas42]

Thanks for the info guys.
Went to the range today, awesome weather today. Rounds did perfectly fine and really enjoyed my first shoot with my new AR.

Congrats!

Pictures?

 

[Braveheart]

None, but next time I'm going to take some.

 

[Texastransplant]

Hoppes #9 is more powerful than that crap the ruskies put on their bullets.
I'll shoot anything, but I too was trained by Uncle Sam to clean my weapon after every use.
Bought a Ruger SR9 awhile back and noticed the manual says you can shoot steel, aluminum, or whatever, in the gun. I appreciate that.

I too was trained by uncle sam 4 decades ago. I am betting that a lot of folks that have a clean rifle still have carbon buildup on the bolt. As you know you can clean them and think they are clean but you go to turn it into the armory and it's handed back to ya lol. Guys would come to me and say hey can you clean my weapon because they just seemed to never see the carbon build up. It looks like it is part of the steel. Same for chrome lined barrels, unless you are shooting full auto there is not a reason for it. I actually think without it's a tad more accurate. Take your bolt out, take your pocket knife out and scrape it, if it shows anything it's not clean. Remmeber the ammo the russians use was used on a lot of American soldiers and it sees to shoot just fine. Works in ine just as it should, it goes bang.

 

[M. Sage]

The MYTH of lacquer melting in your chamber and leaving deposits is just that, a MYTH. Total bull$#it. The deposits are from the powder and gasses, as it doesn't burn as cleanly as higher quality ammo. When you get stuck cases, that is due to a thin layer of carbon deposited in the chamber - the leading theory on that seems to be that the steel case doesn't expand to conform to the chamber as well as brass cases do.

I've seen multiple videos where people take a BLOWTORCH to those lacquer cases and it doesn't come off... so your 200-400 degree chamber ain't gonna do it, either.

Funny, I just posted about this in the Rifles section because I finally got a stuck case today in my M4 (after 800ish rounds, no cleaning). I happened to have a bore scope here at the house and took a close look at the chamber.