If you’ve been shooting for very long, especially as ammunition prices have risen in the past two years, you’ve no doubt noticed the large amount of inexpensive steel cased ammunition available. It’s hard to pass it up: prices for steel cased ammunition are almost half that of traditional brass cased ammo. But take it out to the range and it won’t be long before you hear the “tsk tsk” of other shooters, shaking their heads and commenting on how horrible it is to run steel cased ammunition in an AR-15 style rifle.
But is steel cased ammo really so bad? Is it safe to shoot steel cased ammunition in your AR-15?
Let’s own up to a few facts first. Discount steel cased ammunition is, in general, dirtier and smellier than mil-spec Lake City manufactured 5.56 NATO ammunition. It’s not quite as accurate, but most shooters won’t miss a half-MOA here or there.
Now, on to some myth busting. Modern production steel cased ammunition is NOT corrosive, even when berdan primed. It won’t destroy your extractor, and it won’t accelerate wear on your bore. The ferrous bi-metal jackets found on most steel cased ammunition will not damage the rifling of your AR, and are perfectly safe to use on any rifle rated backstop.
So what do you need to do to run steel cased ammunition in your AR-15? First, you’ll need to make sure that your AR-15 is very well lubricated. Dripping wet some might say; especially the bolt carrier group. You’ll need to clean your rifle more often when shooting steel cased ammunition, at least once every 500 rounds, although you could get away with letting it go for up to 1,000 rounds. Because steel cased ammunition results in more carbon build up, it’s important to use a high quality solvent like M-Pro 7 along with a synthetic lubricant. Make sure to throughly clean your bolt, paying close attention to the bolt face and extractor. It’s usually a good idea to remove the extractor to clean underneath as well. You’ll also need to make sure to thoroughly clean the chamber, so picking up an M16/AR-15 chamber brush is a good idea.
Steel cased ammunition is generally loaded lighter than standard military loads, so it’s important that your gas system runs well. Some AR rifles have smaller gas ports and won’t cycle well with the reduced power loads found in some steel cased ammunition. If you find this is a problem, switching to higher power steel cased ammunition such as our Wolf Military Classic may resolve this issue. Using a lower weight buffer or a lighter buffer spring can also be necessary when shooting steel cased ammo.
Steel cased ammunition is available with three different types of coatings. Older steel cased ammunition was usually found with a lacquer finish to help prevent rust and corrosion of the case. Brown Bear ammunition still uses this coating. Some AR-15 rifles begin to have problems with lacquer coated steel cased ammunition as heat begins to build up. Switching to modern production steel cased ammo with polymer coatings sometimes alleviates this problem, but in other cases it is necessary to use zinc coated steel cased ammunition such as Silver Bear.
The best way to avoid extraction problems due to stuck cases is to use an AR-15 with a 5.56mm chamber. Differences in headspacing between 5.56 and .223 chambers can cause steel cased .223 or 5.56mm ammunition to get stuck as the metal heats up. Even Wylde chambers and other .223/5.56 hybrid chambers have been known to have issues with stuck spent steel casings. Stick with a true 5.56mm chamber and, as we mentioned above, remember to scrub the chamber out every 500-1000 rounds to ensure reliability.
Steel cased ammo may have gotten a bad rap in the past, but there’s really nothing wrong with it. So go for it! Some AR snobs may sneer at the mere thought of running steel cased ammo through their precious rifle, but you know better now. Save some money when plinking and try out steel cased ammunition. Most AR-15 rifles run it just fine with no problems at all.
The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!’s blog, “The Shooter’s Log,” is to provide information—not opinions—to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!
Nice article! When I bought my first AR last summer, the first thing the sales guy told me was to never run steel through it, if I like my rifle. With ammo prices the way they are, I decided to try the Brown Bear ammo, based off of the reviews I read about it. I will admit, I was a little worried the first mag I shot, but my S&W M&P15 ate the stuff right up! I think I have close to 700 rounds of Brown and Silver Bear through it, and I’ve never had an issue with it. I’ve had a few guys ask why I’m running that stuff, but I tell them it’s been good so far, and I make sure I clean it after every range trip.
Comment by tzatt — May 27, 2010 @ 3:15 pm
[...] shooting it in the AR. A bit back, a buddy of mine who’d never owned an AR decided to get one. He told me he was [...]
Pingback by SayUncle » Steel cased ammo — May 28, 2010 @ 7:46 am
I have been having problems with Wolf Military Classic in my DPMS Lite 16. On my last outing I had 2 instances where the extractor ripped off the rim at the base of the round in the chamber resulting in a double feed. This has happened 3 times in about 100 rounds.
I’ve never had this problem in my Bushmaster AR.
I lubricate the rifle like I did when I was a rifleman in the USMC. My M16 never had a hiccup, even when operating in the desert.
I still want to shoot the cheap stuff, because, well it is cheap. Any suggestions?
Comment by clamp — May 28, 2010 @ 9:45 am
[...] shooting it in the AR. A bit back, a buddy of mine who’d never owned an AR decided to get one. He told me he was [...]
Pingback by Surefire and Streamlight flashlights — May 30, 2010 @ 10:44 pm
I have been toldthat steel cased ammo is bad for your gun AND that will not affect your gun. there have been many rumors and myths about them.I am not a gunsmith nor claim to be any expert but my AR is made of aluminum. The bolt, carrier group and other parts are aluminum. Last i checked, steel is a harder metal than aluminum. With all the banging and slamming of parts when firing your AR, i would assume that the steel casings will wear on your Ar parts more than brass (which is a soft metal). So…….????
I will continue to shoot brass only in my AR.
Comment by sawyer — June 1, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
I won’t shoot steel in my AR’s. I was a range officer at a public range in Colorado for a while and witnessed numerous failures (mainly FTE’s) involving steel cased ammo. That was enough to turn me off to the stuff. I’ll wait for a deal on good brass cased ammo or load my own. Now the AK, that’s a different story…..
Comment by Gundog — June 7, 2010 @ 1:35 pm
I’m an old guy, and back in 1943, America was in a hell of a war. The country had a shortage of brass, and was using steel cased .45, and if you look you will find Penny’s made of steel as well in 1943, I have both in my collections..Oh by the way, We won the war..
Comment by Hardcase.45 — October 27, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
Keep your weapon clean, and if it’s worth a damn, it’s shoot what you feed it..
Comment by Hardcase.45 — October 27, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
ive personally had bad experiences with steelcase ammo, in one case a round of wolf 7.62×39 in a romanian wasr10 ripped the neck of the casing off and dragged it down the barrel with the round. this was several years ago, and i never used wolf since. a month ago, i was at the range and a gentleman was firing wolf .223 through his DPMS ar15, and had the exact same problem. it had devastating effects on my AK variant and i can only imagine how the owner of the AR felt. though, i was recently given a dozen boxes of Tula .223 steel case, and despite it being years since ive used any steel case cartridge, have fed 40 rounds thru my m&p15. ive had no issue with it as of yet, but due to my past experience with steelcase inexpensive ammo, once ive burned this batch i will likely go back to exclusively feeding brass case ammo for all my weapons.
Comment by Followme85 — January 11, 2011 @ 2:49 pm
Armalite and Ruger both told me not to shoot steel cased ammo in my m-15.
or my mini 30 Too hard on the bolt head. I did break a bolt shooting tulammo. on the 8th
round my Del-ton ar 15 bolt broke. Tacticle machining of Deland FL. makes bolts for the AR 15 and
they also told me not to shoot that ammo. it is not made for American weapons….
Both rifles are 7.62×39..
Comment by John Pelszynski — January 29, 2011 @ 11:17 pm
I tried 5 magazines of Tula through my Bushmaster and had cycling problems. Twice I encountered difficult extraction and about 90 times it would fail to chamber the next round. No damage noted to my AR, but not worth the risk to me. A buddy has a carbine model with aftermarket buffer spring and had very few problems. Definitley seems there isn’t enough pressure to operate my rifle.
Comment by Don Slayton — May 31, 2011 @ 11:27 am
[...] Here is a great article about steel-cased ammo Filed Under: Ammo, Shooting [...]
Pingback by Is Reloading 223 Worth It? Wolf Ammo Quality | ShootAndReload.com — July 3, 2011 @ 10:01 am
I have used steel in all my weapons. From my ak ,9 mm hi point carbine. Sr9c and a 40 haven’t had a problem with any of them.
Comment by wayne — August 1, 2011 @ 12:03 am
[...] cant find it now but it basically debunked the myth of problems that they cause edit: found it Shooting Steel Cased Ammunition In Your AR-15 | The Shooter's Log Reply With Quote + Reply to Thread « Previous Thread | [...]
Pingback by Steel cased rounds a problem in AR-15? — November 14, 2011 @ 2:07 pm
The price for the steel ammo was great. Thats why I bought 500 rounds of it. Probably wont do it again. My M4 just doesnt seem to like it. I have not even shot 200 rounds out of it yet and have alot of problems. Half of the time it short strokes, which I’m guessing is due to to light of a load. Occasionally it will jam also. I pulled a jammed round out yesterday with a nice sized dent in the side from the bolt. I’m also having terrible magazine problems. I am using the standard magazine that came with it from bushmaster and I also have 1 other just like it, and a third from a different company but same style. All 3 mags have the plastic followers. I have been loading with stripper clips. 50% of the time I get the mag half loaded and it gets jammed up. I cannot load any more rounds and then it goes loose, which then I can just turn it upside down and the rounds will fall out. The follower keeps getting stuck. I don’t know why this is happening. I could see one mag having a malfunction, but not all 3 with the same malfunction. I’m going to take the mags apart tonight and see if I can tell what the problem is. Could be just bad quality mags. I may end up buying some new ones. I saw some with self leveling followers and might try those.
Comment by Austin — December 8, 2011 @ 1:36 pm
I’ve got an double star M4-Police edition (piston not gas)and a fnp-9, both of which i use steel cased ammo for plinking and plinking only. I use high end brass ammo for hunting and hornady HP for my personal defense rounds. I have yet to have any issues with either weapon with the steel ammo. the cheaper brass ammo for the M4 that is out there isn’t much more than the russian made steel cased ammo.
In my opinion, as long as take good care of your weapons and clean them after every use and before storage, you shouldnt have any issues with the kind of casing the ammo uses. I’m not an expert on every different brand of AR or M4 as there are hundreds of brands that make them, but I personally havent had any issues.
In my pistol I’m not focused on hitting a quarter at 100 yards. As long as I can hit the torso area at 10 to 20 yards im good. and frankly, i dont want to spend an extra 3 or 4 bucks a box for plinking ammo. therefore, the accuracy complaint isnt a big enough factor to get me to spend more for target and range ammo
Comment by Bryce — December 9, 2011 @ 5:12 pm
I just shot around 100 rounds out of my M4 Bushmaster today. I had posted earlier on some problems I was having. Today went one hundred percent better actually. No jams, short strokes, etc and the mag followers did not stick. Although I did only load 20 rounds in each mag this time instead of 30. Its almost like it needed to break in and wear off the new. Anyway I just wanted to do a follow up on that. I still however thing that the short stroking problem was probably caused by rounds that were not putting out enough pressure for the piston.
@Bryce-I agree with you on the price factor with the shooting. I just do plinking as well which is the reason for my purchasing of cheap ammo. I have found mil ammo for around the same price though and may try it next. The 5.56 is slightly hotter round than the 223 and may take care of my pressure problems, and still be able to have cheap ammo.
Comment by Austin — December 9, 2011 @ 9:56 pm
I have a Smith and Wesson M&P15OR that I modified by installing a low profile gas block and a free floating handguard. Before and after my modification, it fired steel cased ammo with no problems. I just built a lightweight rifle with a 16″ mid-length lightweight Rock River Arms barrel, Plum Crazy polymer lower, Yankee hill upper, Delton BCG, low profile gas block, and a VTAC TRX handguard. It weighs 5.5 lbs and I just dumped some Tula 5.56 with no problems. If your AR won’t cycle cheap steel case ammo, there is nothing wrong with the ammo. There is something wrong with your gun.
Check out this video about steel cased ammo and how to resolve cycling problems:
Comment by Brandon — December 13, 2011 @ 12:29 am
I have an ar I bought as a kit. Model one sales light weight 16″. I used a spikes tacical lower. In all I’m in the gun for 650.00. I have run tula. Brass. And anything I can find through it. The gun has had no issues. Other than with the steel cased stuff accuracy at 100 yards is off by about 1/2 inch or so. Not bad great for range use. Definitely recommend steal cased ammo. Inexpensive and fun. Yes it is a little dirty but if your like me I clean after every outing. I have yet to have a problem. So if thoae name brand rifles can’t hack it maybe your better off spending less and building your own.
Comment by steven — February 27, 2012 @ 10:11 am
I am a dedicated cheaperthandirt customer and have been satisfied doing business with you. That being said, your critique of steel case ammo I find disingenuous. My experience with steel cased ammo, firearm manufacturers, and a plethora of other reviews have taught me never to put this crap in any of my firearms no matter the value of the gun. I am suspect of any review coming from someone who is in the business of selling steel cased ammo. If you post this I will be amazed.
Comment by david thomas — March 6, 2012 @ 4:06 pm
I recently bought 500 rounds of wolf steel case ammo and it seemed alright until about a hundred rounds into shooting I got a shell casing stuck in my barrel which put a end to my shooting for the day . I know the barrel got to hot and was my fault a little but who doesn’t want to unload a hundred rounds of ammo in ten mins ? This was a huge inconvenience for me considering I dont know much about guns let alone how to get a bullet out . After that I used brass and haven’t had a problem since
Comment by Mark — March 31, 2012 @ 1:20 pm
I had the same problems with the steel ammo. It seems like most factory AR’s just don’t always agree with steel ammo. They can be temperamental.
The problem with it getting stuck probably has to do with it getting hot like you said, as well as the coating on the steel casings to stop corrosion. Another issue I had was I had been shooting 223 steel case. The 223 will fire fine out of most AR’s but is not loaded as hot as brass and therefore may not always allow the weapon to cycle properly causing a short stroke. And I agree, “who doesn’t want to unload a hundred rounds of ammo in 10 min?” lol I sure do. Especially with the tactical black rifles. I even bought the slide fire stock to go full auto with mine. I am careful though and dont go overboard just to not heat up the gas tube or barrel too much. Occasionally I’ll put 30 rounds through on one pull but let it cool a little before another mag. I dont use steel anymore. I use Lake City 5.56 bulk ammo in mine. Works great. No problems. American made.
Comment by blackrifle — April 1, 2012 @ 1:06 pm
I just built my AR and found this page seeking information about steel cased ammo. Great article and great video Brandon. Looks like I’ll be running some of the Wolf I bought for my Mini through my new AR.
I have to comment on a couple of the posts here.
@ sawyer “The bolt, carrier group and other parts are aluminum.”
For your own sake learn what the components of your firearm are made of before passing judgement.
@ Mark “I got a shell casing stuck in my barrel”
Cases don’t get stuck in the barrel.
Am I being nitpicky? Probably, but I also appreciate accurate information from informed folks.
Comment by APBTFan — April 18, 2012 @ 11:33 pm
I have a Bushmaster M4 AR15 and i purchased steel Ammo (Tula) and it was my 1st time shooting the rifle and 1st round went fine and then the 2nd round went off and the casing remained in the barrel stuck in there. Does anyone know how to remove the casing with out damaging the M4?
Comment by Thomas — April 24, 2012 @ 12:08 pm
Use a broken shell extractor. CTD sells them.
Comment by APBTFan — April 24, 2012 @ 12:40 pm
Use your cleaning rod. Dont put an attachment on the end, just leave it bare and flat. Pull the rear takedown pin or both and separate the upper from lower. Insert the rod from the muzzle and push or tap it out.
Comment by amace85 — April 24, 2012 @ 1:09 pm
My bad – I had it in my mind the case head separated.
Comment by APBTFan — April 24, 2012 @ 2:19 pm
Thank you everyone that provided assistance to my question. I will attempt to clear the casing this weekend and provide feedback.
Thomas
Comment by Thomas — April 24, 2012 @ 3:20 pm
I also have a bushmaster. One round and that was it for the day thanks to the Tula steel. I too could not clear the stuck casing in the field and may have broken my extractor. Not worth it don’t buy this crap
Comment by JR — May 17, 2012 @ 5:34 pm
Here is an additional good site
Comment by Byron Barcenas — June 7, 2012 @ 3:22 pm
I have an Anderson AM 15 which I use for wild goat culling in New Zealand and I have run approximately 700 rounds of 55gr SP steel cased hornady training ammo with no problems so far. I find it shoots consistantly and so far the spent cases show no signs of seperation, cracks, or excessive preasure. further to this I have not noticed any signs of wear in my bolt face. My hunting partner has a RRA operator 2 and has had no issues either. We both have military backgrounds and clean our weapons after every use wether that be after 20 or 200rnds which I think is the key.
Comment by Austin Pomana — August 12, 2012 @ 6:44 pm
while mine isn’t exactly an AR-15 I have a Remington 7615 Police Tactical .223 pump that uses standard AR mags, one day when headed to the range I preloaded 45 rounds, a 5, 2 ten round and two 20 round mags with a mix of Silver Bear, Brown Bear, Remington and Fiocchi ammo that I dumped into a pile and then loaded with my eyes shut, all went into a 3″ group at 100yds with no glitches, my brother did the same with the same result in his Bushmaster
Comment by Mike — September 22, 2012 @ 3:04 am
my 7615 is also both .223 and 5.56
Comment by Mike — September 22, 2012 @ 3:14 am
I got 15 boxes of Tula ammo because of the cheap price after hearing all the bad reputation i dint get any more, a couple of days ago went shooting and i dint had a single problem with it all 10 magazines ran smooth also I tried Golden Bear in steel case brass coated runs great. Will buy some more of both using,
Rock River Arms Operator Elite.
Comment by Julian — September 22, 2012 @ 5:59 am
I have 3 AR’s and have had as much problems with brass as I have had with steel. My colt 6920 works best with wolf 62 gr and I have passed way over 5000 rnd down it over the last 5yrs. Brass cased was getting stuck and ripping the lip off of the case. This happened to me 3 times on a lil star AR I have never shot anything but brass out of as I was misinformed at the time about steel cased ammo. Now she eats wolf at a huge savings and I shoot more. I also like the sealed cans they come in as I can store them more efficiently. I recommend this ammo and use it all the time with no problems and 3 very different AR platforms
Comment by Joe Fiumara — September 22, 2012 @ 6:53 am
I own a Daniel Defense AR-15 chambered in 5.56. I have run hundreds of rounds of steel TulAmmo thru it. I have had not one problem with this rifle. Yes, it’s dirty, but I clean my rifle thoroughly after each trip to the range. I’ve also run Lake City and PMC brass and no problems at all with any ammo. This rifle eats anything I feed to it.
Now for pistols, steel cased ammo is a different story! My Springer .45 does not like steel.
Comment by Dennis — September 22, 2012 @ 10:44 am
I purchased 1000 rounds of steel .223 TulAmmo for use in my DPMS AR15. I encountered numerous FTE issues and stuck cartridge casings. In fact, the empty cases were badly stuck in the chamber and required a lot of pounding with a rod to push them out from the business end of the barrel. That said, the steel cased TulAmmo seems to feed extremely well in my HK93 so I use it in there and use brass ammo in my AR15.
Comment by Kurt — September 22, 2012 @ 5:32 pm
I’m not sure if I’m lucky, or just damn lucky. I’ve put steel cased ammo through numerous manufacturers weapons: Dpms, Rock River, Stag, Lewis Machine and Tool, Yankee Hill, even the almighty Armalite. The only malfunctions were a couple of FTEs using hollow points in the Dpms and Yankee Hill rifles. Yes, it’s dirtier than brass cased ammo. However, it gives more practice time and opportunity to some of us with a limited budget. I agree with some of the posts above when they speak to the quality of the rifle, not the quality of the ammo. If your weapon won’t use anything you throw in it, fix it or find one that will. A final thought: When the world as we know it gets turned on it’s head, one can’t be especially picky with the bullets they come across.
Comment by jesse h. — September 23, 2012 @ 8:08 am
I bought 100 rounds of TulAmmo, after firing a few boxes through my MP15, I decided it was OK to shoot. I then picked up another 1000 rounds; this was an expensive mistake. Being a Marine, I clean my guns very well and often, I also lube them very well; so the “myth” about needing to have a well lubed rifle is just that.
Here’s the break down of my testing:
1st time out – 50 rounds of TulAmmo – then 1 in 3 rounds would jam. The case rims where ripped off the case by the extractors. To eject the spend cartage, I have to use a cleaning rod and tap the cartage out. Switched over to Federal Ammo for the remainder of the day – no jams
2nd time out – After 60 rounds, the 61st round FTE. Every other round wound FTE after that. Same thind with the ejector and cleaning rod.
I picked up some of the spend cases and got the micro out. While the TulAmmo is within Spec’s it’s .010 larger then the Federal.
3rd time out – I was getting FTE after 10 rounds.
Tried the ammo in number of bolt action rifles, FTE also.
My conclusions:
TulAmmo and other steel case ammo is not designed for the tighter barrel tolerances in US manufactured barrel. I’d guess that the ammo is designed for a rifle like the AK-74 (AK-47 in .223/5.56) – I’m not trying to sell/give away all my TulAmmo; I may just use the powder and bullets to reload into “new” bullets with Brass cases.
Bottom line – You NEED ammo you can depend on when the Zombies come.
Comment by Denis — September 27, 2012 @ 10:34 am
Hate to break it to the “Debbie Downers”, but problems with steel are not the problems of the ammo, but the rifle. Too tight of tolerances in the chambers, and bad timing are the culprits to issues with steel ammo. And contrary to popular belief, the polymer coating used in 95% of steel ammo(you have to look hard for the lacquer stuff) will not leave any residue in your chamber. A middle ground tolerance chamber and a mid length gas system will be far more forgiving. For example, I have a RRA middy 16inch barrel that has 5000+ rounds of tul, wolf and herters, and 2-300 of various others through without a single hiccup. Not one. I started a log when I first got it to record any failures hopeing to justify getting a nicer one to the wife. Not one entry so far. Dwell time is imparitive if you want a “shoot anything” rifle.
Comment by plinker — October 6, 2012 @ 7:46 pm
I have a S&W M&P 15 Sport that eats steel cased ammo up like a champ. I bought the gun this summer and so far shot just umder 1000rds of Herter’s and Tulammo. I did a lot of reviewing before pulling the trigger on an AR. I probably spend a year reading reviews on ARs to see what best suites my needs, which is running “cheap” ammo. I was not interested spending $10 a box for Winchester brass. So, that is why I went with the S&W M&P 15 Sport. “Oh my god! what about the dust cover and forward assit?” Well, I haven’t needed either of them so far. So, that would be a good thing. If I would need to use them I probably need to get my gun to a gunsmith! For “proper” brake in I shot about 40 rds of Winchester white box and 60rds of American Eagle black box and the rest have been +/-900rds of Herter’s and Tulammo steel cased ammo ever since. I have had no issues to date. For the price on a good day you can find steel cased for around $5-$6 (all day long) a box and brass $7-$10 (depending on sales). To me, it is just simple math. Yes, I do have brass ammo for “zombies and what-nots” but for the range steel is all I run. I read reviews on Bushmaster where it will either run steel or not. The reviews on the Ruger most said no go with the steel (and I am a huge Ruger fan, so a little disappointed about that). As far as the other manufacutures its a little wishy washy as well on running the steel. This is my thoughts on the topic on hand. Oh, if something brakes or wears out. Replace it. I highly doubt steel cases will wear out your gun any faster than the brass cases. I have no idea what the lifecycle of an AR is (rounds fired). Only time will tell. Remember we are on the same side “pro-gun” and remember to vote this November!
Comment by Eric — October 24, 2012 @ 4:56 pm
I have a DelTon Sport AR15 that loves steel cased ammo! NEVER EVER had ANY issues! I love this weapon. Slow or rapid fire, SURE fire every time. Hot or cold doesn’t matter. Now I must say that I am anal when it comes to cleanliness! Steel gets an unfair bad rap.
Comment by Charlie — November 10, 2012 @ 7:21 am
For all these people who are getting FTE with steel ammo in an AR-15, I would be willing to bet you have a carbine gas system. The carbine gas system doesn’t give enough time for pressure in the case (walls of case pushing against wall of chamber) to reduce allowing the case to be ejected. My understanding is that it is a design flaw when shortening the M16. They have strengthened the ejectors and ejector springs and added heavy buffers to try and compensate in the carbine gas system rifles. Steel is a less forgiving metal than brass; my theory is that it’s just harder to eject when under pressure and more likely to break rather than bend. I run a mid-length gas system with all chromed internals and haven’t had any problems shooting exclusively steel ammo. Also to another above commenter the barrel and bolt extractor and bolt carrier are not aluminum they are all high-quality steel parts.
Comment by aerilus — January 2, 2013 @ 10:53 pm
Eric,
My M&P 15 only eats the steel cased stuff for about 60 rounds, then jams every round. Interesting you have the same rifle, and see different results – I think this just shows we have yet to really identify the “real” problem(s). I’m really glad your rifle likes the ammo. Anytime some one finds inexpensive ammo, we should all cheer.
What I’ve ended up doing, is pulling the ammo apart, and using the powder, and bullets in once-fired brass. This adds about $.02 to the cost of the ammo, however, it’s still cheaper, by about half, as the brass ammo. – OK, my time isn’t worth anything, so don’t throw that at me
I’m thinking of just continuing to try this. Other then the bullets varying up to two grains each, they work fine out to 300 yards.
Comment by dgdimick — January 3, 2013 @ 9:33 am
I used several thousand rounds of steel(so many I can’t remember) in the three weapons I have in 223. They are a century golani, a 25 year old mini-14, and a Daniel Defense v2. I have had a hand full of misfires but have had as many with brass. No problems and a lot more fun.
Comment by R.S. Mitchell — January 5, 2013 @ 9:00 pm
I find it interesting that all the pro-steel cased ammo stories come from vendors trying to sell you steel cased ammo. Listen to your respected gunsmith not some guy that will profit from your purchase and use of this commie crap. The only other people that seem to champion this crap is the guy who bought a boatload of this junk and needs to feel good about his uneducated and short sighted purchase. That being said ak47 tolerances are made for shooting the non expanding cases made of steel. I would never consider putting this junk in any finely machined and tuned AR of any substantial value. Would you put the cheapest gas you could find in a classic muscle car? Well yes, if there was absolutely nothing else available.
Comment by Dave — January 6, 2013 @ 6:07 pm
WOW, good points on both sides, not sure what to think. I guess that I will have to go ahead and pay up and shoot brass from my ARs and use the Steel in the AKs. Who knows I might need the brass to reload someday.
Thank you so much for bringing up this issue and all for the input.
Comment by JohnMan — January 12, 2013 @ 5:09 pm
Three years ago I finally convinced wife we needed an AR. I bought a Bushmaster A3M4 in 5.56. The first time I shot the weapon I used wolf ammo. I had a fte after one or two rounds. Afterward i called guy who was a self proclaimed AR expert. He said it was the cheap Russian ammo.I bought CTD how to video and guy said oil it,oil it,oil it,to which my exoert said would only cause more buildup and problems. Im not an expert nor claim to be, but I oiled the gun up and have fired hundreds of rounds with no more mishaps. I just clean my precious every time I take her out.
Comment by keith ray coffman — January 19, 2013 @ 1:35 pm
Can you reload steel cased 223
Comment by dutin — January 25, 2013 @ 11:32 am
There are many variables that can affect how well your rifle operates using steel or brass cases that you never quite know for sure until you test it. As a rule of thumb, for ultimate reliability and durability, it’s best to try and use whatever type the rifle manufacturer generally recommends, since headspacing, gas system, port size, buffer design, and chamber sizing are usually tailored to the ammunition. Having problems with steel cased .223 ammo really has nothing to do with it being “cheap” or “commie”, though, or even with the fact it’s steel, which is not a problem in itself. It’s with the tolerances of the rifle you put it in. In fact, using brass cased ammo in a .223 AK (which are almost always tuned to use steel case ammo) can get you into trouble, too, as some .223 AK’s are notorious for not liking brass cased ammo. Brass cases simply expand more and shrink a lot faster than steel, so steel cases expand less but take longer to shrink so they can be removed from the chamber. This means the design of the rifle takes this into account. Like one guy here already said, adequate timing is vitally important, and a clean chamber with a good gas system and spot on chamber/headspacing helps a great deal on all these factors. Being “midrange” can often let you use either type, but each rifle (even of the same models) can have manufacturing tolerances that affect all this to some degree. Some guys here also said they can use steel cases until the barrel heats up, this makes the chamber shrink in size and then you get problems for the same reasons I just mentioned. Those rifles likely have a chamber that is already pretty tight. Having a short, quick carbine style gas system on top of that might really cause poor reliability. In any case, I wish everyone the best of luck!
Comment by tantal — January 26, 2013 @ 3:41 pm