FMJ Steel Case vs brass

Lmsoul

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What is everyone thoughts on Steel vs. Brass-
for range shooting, and will it damage your pistol? from my reading it is good to go, the only downside is you will have more carbon build-up because steel does not expand as good as brass
 
What is everyone thoughts on Steel vs. Brass-
for range shooting, and will it damage your pistol? from my reading it is good to go, the only downside is you will have more carbon build-up because steel does not expand as good as brass
Bi metal bullets will wear your barrel out a marginal amount faster according to the interwebs. Not much but a couple thousand extra rounds.

Tends to have harder primers

Generally less qc so mus shapen rounds

Feeding issues in some guns

All that said its cheaper and I want all my guns to eat it
 
Possibly heavier wear on internals but if you're shooting a commodity gun then the cost of replacing something like an extractor is usually less than the money you will save over time.

But generally the two big downsides are that it runs dirty and has poor accuracy, but those are generally due to components used in "budget ammo" and not because of the case material.
 
I used to be a snob. Brass only. Why? Cuz I could afford it.
I was wrong. Don’t be like me. Now I can’t afford anything! Buy whatever the hell you can get your hands on at this point! Now I’m struggling to find steel cased for the one platform I own that’s perfect for it.
 
Beggars cant be choosers right now. I run tula steel in all my 9mms without issue. I have lots of brass 9mm but I'd rather shoot the tula first.

Agreed. Glad I’m not the only person with an internal ammo hierarchy. I’m holding on to some Wolf Gold (even though it’s older) simply because I like it more than the other stuff I have. I’ll shoot it when I know I can get more.
 
in stock now
 

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I’ve got a case of 1000 Tula 556 polymer-coated steel ammo with the $99.99 price tag still on it in the bottom of the ammo cabinet. I plan to save the box as a collector’s item after I shoot the ammo - maybe pour the box top with price tag into a clear poly tabletop.
 
Steel cased ammo is great for guns designed to use steel cases, like AKs, Mausers, SKSs, Makarovs, etc. If you don't handload "common" calibers like 9x19, its an inexpensive option that usually works fine.

The problem with some steel cased ammo, specifically Tulammo, is that because its cheap, its also inconsistent. Inconsistent ammo is generally inaccurate ammo and can cause malfunctions up to and including blowing the gun up. For example, most documented cases of FALs blowing up are because the shooter used Tulammo or another very inconsistent ammo like Chilean 7.62 NATO.

There's also the issue of bimetal jackets, which some gun clubs and almost all matches and indoor ranges prohibit. However, brass-cased ammo can also have bimetal-jacketed bullets.

There's finally the issue of having to clean out primer sealant, but not all steel cased ammo uses primer sealant and again, brass-cased ammo sometimes uses primer sealant too.
 
Steel cased ammo is great for guns designed to use steel cases, like AKs, Mausers, SKSs, Makarovs, etc. If you don't handload "common" calibers like 9x19, its an inexpensive option that usually works fine.

The problem with some steel cased ammo, specifically Tulammo, is that because its cheap, its also inconsistent. Inconsistent ammo is generally inaccurate ammo and can cause malfunctions up to and including blowing the gun up. For example, most documented cases of FALs blowing up are because the shooter used Tulammo or another very inconsistent ammo like Chilean 7.62 NATO.

There's also the issue of bimetal jackets, which some gun clubs and almost all matches and indoor ranges prohibit. However, brass-cased ammo can also have bimetal-jacketed bullets.

There's finally the issue of having to clean out primer sealant, but not all steel cased ammo uses primer sealant and again, brass-cased ammo sometimes uses primer sealant too.
I was looking at this
 

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I was looking at this

When dealing with Russian ammo, the communal wisdom is to buy the "animal" brands, like Wolf, Gold/Silver/Brown Bear, and also Barnaul. Wolf is more consistent and "better" than Tula.

I wouldn't have a problem shooting Wolf 9x19, but its always worth the five minutes to Google if other people using your gun have experienced issues with any brand of ammo.
 
Is this synthetic stuff good or no...Any opinions?
The 150 grain version is a very soft/smooth shooting loading. It’s basically low recoil 9mm. You can really feel the lower recoil in full size guns and it’s what I load for first time/beginner shooters. Because the bullet is large/flat nose some guns may not feed it 100%.
 
Buy what ever you can get.......listening to these lying abject fools in congress, you are going to need it.....lots of it and very soon.
 
I have avoided steel case just because it's dirtier and I'm lazy and don't like to clean my guns. However, you get to be lazy and not pick up brass, so I guess it's about even.

As for Syntech, it's great, but pricey. Also, your gun may need some spring tuning to cycle well with it.
 
Bi metal bullets will wear your barrel out a marginal amount faster according to the interwebs. Not much but a couple thousand extra rounds.

Tends to have harder primers

Generally less qc so mus shapen rounds

Feeding issues in some guns

All that said its cheaper and I want all my guns to eat it

That's what I thought as well, but found this little piece months back from MAC:

I get asked all the time "will bi-metal bullets harm my bore". The answer is no, they won't. Here's why.

Hardened tool steel has a rockwell hardness of 650/700 Brinell. Mild steel has a hardness of 120/130. Bi-metal jackets are made from very soft mild steel. Bores/barrels are at least as hard as tool steel and when chrome plated are even harder.

Steel jacketed bullets are nothing new. The US had steel jacketed bullets in WWII chambered in 30-06 and 45 ACP. The M1 ball and M2 AP rounds of the era used steel jackets over a lead core with a copper wash over the steel -- just like Wolf bi-metal bullets.

Frankford Arsenal conducted a test with steel jacketed 30-06 rounds around 1946 to determine if the rumors that steel jacketed bullets damaged the barrels more than copper jacketed bullets were true. In their testing they found that steel jacketed bullets not only didn't accelerate wear but they also discovered for the first 1000 rounds steel jacketed rounds were actually more accurate! After 1000 rounds the accuracy leveled off to be comparable to the copper jacketed bullets but no evidence of accelerated wear was discovered through 8,000 rounds of testing on their samples.

In short, bi-metal bullets do not do any more damage to your firearms than conventional copper jacketed rounds do. All the claims of chamber wear, throat erosion and barrel wear are unsubstantiated wives tales.

Was on MAC's Facebook page from like 8 years ago. But I've also seen conflicting information, so who's to say?
 
That's what I thought as well, but found this little piece months back from MAC:

I get asked all the time "will bi-metal bullets harm my bore". The answer is no, they won't. Here's why.

Hardened tool steel has a rockwell hardness of 650/700 Brinell. Mild steel has a hardness of 120/130. Bi-metal jackets are made from very soft mild steel. Bores/barrels are at least as hard as tool steel and when chrome plated are even harder.

Steel jacketed bullets are nothing new. The US had steel jacketed bullets in WWII chambered in 30-06 and 45 ACP. The M1 ball and M2 AP rounds of the era used steel jackets over a lead core with a copper wash over the steel -- just like Wolf bi-metal bullets.

Frankford Arsenal conducted a test with steel jacketed 30-06 rounds around 1946 to determine if the rumors that steel jacketed bullets damaged the barrels more than copper jacketed bullets were true. In their testing they found that steel jacketed bullets not only didn't accelerate wear but they also discovered for the first 1000 rounds steel jacketed rounds were actually more accurate! After 1000 rounds the accuracy leveled off to be comparable to the copper jacketed bullets but no evidence of accelerated wear was discovered through 8,000 rounds of testing on their samples.


In short, bi-metal bullets do not do any more damage to your firearms than conventional copper jacketed rounds do. All the claims of chamber wear, throat erosion and barrel wear are unsubstantiated wives tales.

Was on MAC's Facebook page from like 8 years ago. But I've also seen conflicting information, so who's to say?
Yeah that is why I prefaced it with the internet says.

MAC says it's shouldn't affect it but no test data just hrc numbers

I forget where but I've seen comparisons run on guns where it did wear barrels faster.

Like I said who the hell knows lol if you're at 20k-40k through a barrel good for you
 
Beggars cant be choosers right now. I run tula steel in all my 9mms without issue. I have lots of brass 9mm but I'd rather shoot the tula first.
We have a few boxes of steel-cased Wolf .223 that we plan to use in our stainless Savage Axis. Do you have any experience with steel cased .223?
 
I found another site that sells in bulk- a minimum of 1000rds.. I don't trust that yet- I am testing now
 
OK, good. Just wanted to know if this stuff was decent or problematical. We want to save our M193.
Wolf Gold brass cased ammo is quite nice all around, I've shot a good amount of Wolf steel stuff in both ARs and a 5.56 chambered AK. I definitely prefer it to Tula.
 
Wolf Gold brass cased ammo is quite nice all around, I've shot a good amount of Wolf steel stuff in both ARs and a 5.56 chambered AK. I definitely prefer it to Tula.
Hey, thanks for the info! We need some ammo for practice and want to get the best value for the dollar. How were your groupings with Wolf?
 
Some guns run it some won't. My Glocks and M&Ps gobble it up no problem. My VP9 and 320 not so much. As a matter of fact my 320 will not make through a mag of steel with out some issue.
 
Wolf Gold brass cased ammo is quite nice all around, I've shot a good amount of Wolf steel stuff in both ARs and a 5.56 chambered AK. I definitely prefer it to Tula.
The wolf in black boxes is tula i think just imported under a different name the stuff in the camo boxes is good though.

That was told to me at a gun shop though so... take that for whatever it's worth
 
We have a few boxes of steel-cased Wolf .223 that we plan to use in our stainless Savage Axis. Do you have any experience with steel cased .223?
Yes, tens of thousands of rounds....no issues and it's plenty accurate enough for range ammo.

I've been buying and using Wolf steel cased .223 and several other calibers since it first hit our shores. I've reloaded the boxer primed "Poly Performance" ammo in .45acp and .223 and use it for winter ammo when there is snow on the ground and good brass would be lost.
Soooo many people poo pooed Wolf ammo relentlessly......yet every single round imported sells. If people had one ounce of integrity and honesty, they'd admit that Wolf steel cased ammo works. These same people will beg for steel cased ammo soon.....and probably won't be able to get any.
 
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