STEEL CASINGS vs BRASS

crstrode said:
Good examples . . . of marketing to the lowest common denominator.
Oh - excuse me, you may not understand that big word.
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I understand all them big words.
And everyone on this forum knows you don't understand that "case" and "casing" are both correct descriptions.

Prove me wrong instead of excusing yourself. ;)
 
I've reloaded the old .45 Evansville Chrysler cases from WW2 in the past, but feel no need to do so again.
 
dobedo said:
Brass has been the norm for hand loaders for a very long time and there is a reason for that.
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It has, and it is. And I don't think thats going to change much either.

I think it's also a good idea to try different things, just so you know if they might work and be a viable option should it become necessary.
 
Shot a lot of 9mm & 7.62x39 steel ammo over the years. Only time I had issues was with a mini 30. I don't bother reloading anymore so that part is irrelevant.
 
Cartridge case: The container for all the other components that comprise a cartridge. Sometimes incorrectly called a shell, shell casing, brass, or a hull.

Courtesy of google. ;) I see this as the same as the clip/ magazine thing. Most are smart enough to understand what is being discussed even if the name doesn't exactly line up with what another considers correct. No need for ruffled feathers over such a slight thing.
 
Empty shotgun cartridges are correctly called hulls. Cases is often used interchangeably, but is actually incorrect, with shotgun ammo a case is a box holding 20 boxes of 25 shells (correct terminology for a loaded shotgun hull), but they haven't been sold that way since c. 1980, when the 10 box of 25 shells came out, which are called flats, because compared to the case, are flatter. I don't miss cases of shotgun shells, as I had to unload them from the truck weekly at the Trap club when I was a teenager, they were heavy.
 
doubleh said:
Cartridge case: The container for all the other components that comprise a cartridge. Sometimes incorrectly called a shell, shell casing, brass, or a hull.

Courtesy of google. ;) I see this as the same as the clip/ magazine thing. Most are smart enough to understand what is being discussed even if the name doesn't exactly line up with what another considers correct. No need for ruffled feathers over such a slight thing.
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Where you found your definition has several embarrassing "definitions" that ensure I would never refer to that list. 😊
And being a law enforcement resource you would think they would follow the terminology used by the FBI and ATF.

Well, Google also gave me the results I linked to above. Here's more:
Peterson Cartridge Company
Winchester
Remington
All reference "casings". :what:
 
Of course, I understand why handloaders may not want to use steel-cased ammo. I use it when I can because of the nutty prices for cartridges these days. My SR-9, BHP and Stoeger Cougar seem not to mind the stuff at all. My .38 Special and .357 guns don't like it because you have to hit the ejector rod very hard to extract the cases. Still, I'm happy to use it in my semi-auto pistols.
 
Some of my counter parts have hand loaded steel case rifle rounds. The issue is range pickup has been form fired not to their rifles so resizing is a must. The steel is harder than brass and regardless of lube used it can be taxing and harder to resize. Also, they have found that their dies have developed mars and scratches which transfer to their brass cases. This is even after prep and cleaning of the steel cases. Some of my dies are 20+ years old and still look brand new as I only work with brass cases.
 
DetBrowning said:
I have a SIG 365 XL, it belonged to a friend who passed on and I'd like to treat it with the respect it deserves.
I've only shot 9mm brass casings thinking steel would damage it somehow.
I'd appreciate input from those who know more than I...and that ain't hard 😂
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If the gun will run on it and it's gonna save you some money or allow you to shoot more, I say shoot it up. There's nothing wrong with steel cased ammo, from a good manufacturer. You can blow your gun up just as easily with shoddy brass cased ammo as you could with shoddy steel cased ammo.

I stopped loading 9mm a long time ago, because it just isn't worth it, so that isn't an issue to me. I'm assuming that it isn't an issue for the OP since he asked this question.

As for accelerated wear on parts, there may be, but not so much that you'd notice it. Extractors and ejectors are wear items and if you shoot enough, they're gonna need to be replaced anyway.

I've shot thousands upon thousands of rounds of steel cased ammo and rarely had problems. When I did have a problem, it was usually with a gas gun and the problem was remedied with a tweak to the gas system.
 
There are quite a lot of references to .45 ACP being manufactured with steel cases during WWII and quite a lot of folks here have actually encountered it. What I've not encountered is any reference to a requirement of firearms being designed to use steel ammo during the war years. I've also not found any reference to an acceptable level of risk of/or damage to existing firearms from using said steel ammo.
 
I don't see how steel cases would be harder on extractors than brass.

First of all, cartridges slide up under the extractors and into the notch. The extractors don't snap over the cartridge rim.

Second, steel cases don't expand the same way brass cases do, which is why firearms get dirtier faster when shooting steel ammo. So they're not likely to be as snug in the chamber as spent brass would be upon ejection.


Now, what about chamber wear?

The chamber isn't soft steel. And while steel cases ARE steel, they're probably about as soft a steel as can be made. While I'm sure there might be slightly more wear than with brass, we're not talking about rough steel parts coming together in misalignment. We're talking about precision machined chambers and precision manufactured ammo designed to fit those chambers. I'm of the opinion that even competition shooters who may run thousands of rounds a year through their guns aren't likely to see and significant wear above brass.


Shoot steel if you want. About the only thing bad you're likely to see is a dirtier gun. And that's why we clean them in the first place.
 
I've shot a lot of steel cased ammo through my 1911 and a good bit through two AR's. Steel cases can be reloaded but I don't fool with it. I like shooting it now and then because I don't have to go chasing brass.
 
It is thought that US procurement of steel-cased ammo was for training within the Zone of The Interior and to fill Lend-Lease requisitions; none was sent overseas for combat.
 
Double Naught Spy said:
I remember the claim was that aluminum and/or steel ammo would wear out the extractor on my 1911 much faster, but buying Blazer was so much cheaper (while still being good enough for practice) that I could have purchased 1 extractors with every 1000 round case of ammo and still had money for lunch with the savings. Mind you, this was 20 years ago, but I bet the same math generally applies. I put over 80K rounds through one 1911 and wore out the rifling in 2 barrels, but extractors were not an issue.
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I never had them eat an extractor either. I did have them “plasma“ a firing pin stop though.

11B0F598-3CE3-44CB-A484-D4DB3B3A09F8.jpeg
Oddly enough it didn’t hurt the spring or Ti firing pin itself.

That was after right at 20,000 rounds and then folks who had already been down that road also showed me what it could do to the breechface.

89A9BE52-14B8-420F-ABAC-C510C718E215.jpeg 019AC7E3-534F-473C-BB5E-4028F068C46D.jpeg

I had learned back in the ‘80’s some guns they created dangerous situations and to test chamber them first. The Camp 9 was one of them,

www.youtube.com

Blazer 9mm

www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

I still have some around but it will probably still be here when I’m gone.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
I don't see how steel cases would be harder on extractors than brass.

First of all, cartridges slide up under the extractors and into the notch. The extractors don't snap over the cartridge rim.

Second, steel cases don't expand the same way brass cases do, which is why firearms get dirtier faster when shooting steel ammo. So they're not likely to be as snug in the chamber as spent brass would be upon ejection.
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Steel cases don't expand as readily as brass, so "sealing" the chamber may be an issue. This means more carbon will flow back past a steel case mouth. As it builds up it may hinder extraction, putting more stress on the extractor as it does its job.

2019 Lucky Gunner steel ammunition testing
 
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