Steel Case Ammo. Any Good?

Is buying steel cased ammo a good economy for getting through the current crisis? Knowledge is power!

[@joeginsu2965]

I would rather shoot steel over aluminum but I've used both. My biggest dislike is lacquer coated cases. Another great talk.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Thank you!😉

[@Leonardokite]

One thing I have heard is that since Steel cases extract a little harder, they tend to break your extractor more often. With most guns that is an extremely easy and cheap fix. So maybe the savings from four or five boxes would be enough to pay for that. As for cases not affecting accuracy, that's not 100% true. If the cartridge fits loosely in the chamber it can lie at the bottom of the chamber with the bullet somewhat off-center from the center axis of the barrel. That will decrease accuracy somewhat. That's one of the reasons many reloaders just neck resize only. I have shot plenty of steel cased ammo in both 556 and 9 mm with zero issues. And like you said, the bullet is the part that wears out the barrel and for the most part it is exactly the same. The case may wear the chamber a little faster but again as you stated, with the savings you get, by the time something wears out you have paid for it over and over again.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

True that!😉

[@marekburza7425]

I shoot steel cased .223, 9mm, and .308 at least once a month. Wolf brand steel cased ammo is more accurate than most American brass cased range ammo. I swear by the wolf brand...... Both pistol and rifle ammo. Tulammo is reliable too just not quite as accurate as Wolf, but acceptable and well priced none the less. Thanks for the video Max

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Thanks for the great idea!

[@guerom1367]

I've never had a problem with steel case ammo. Tula and wolf r awesome 👌

[@seanfoltz7645]

Correction - the lacquer coating is not intended as a lube, instead, it's to keep the case from rusting. That said, my experience with the ammo has been firearm dependent - my AR15, which is a pre-ban heavy barrel, hates it and that's after God only knows how many rounds fed through it in the last 25 years. On the other hand, my Ruger P89 couldn't care less and will gobble it up same as brass. My Russian guns - unsurprisingly - are kewl with it as well. Other non-Russian guns I and friends have owned are hit and miss with various calibers, although I have noticed that AR platforms seem to struggle the most with it. Otherwise, performance has never been an issue and I don't reload so salvaging the shells is moot as well. As for the corrosive primers and powder, like the steel case, that was a cost saving measure by the Soviets but seeing as how I clean my guns whenever they've been fired (like animals, your duty is to take care of the gun before you take care of yourself), so I never felt it was an issue since I don't leave my guns laying around for months at a time after having fired them. So where does the accuracy myth come from? Simple - many people don't understand that every brand of ammo is different so if you've been shooting Federal .223 for the past year and that's what your gun is zeroed for, then you start firing Wolf .223, due to different powder loads and the bullets themselves not being perfectly identical, you'll find you need to adjust your aim with the Wolf - same if you switched to using a different American brand. All said, I'm off the opinion that most of the bad rap steel ammo gets is from a combination of the AR platform tending to be fussy with it and the terrible quality control Wolf had back when they first started exporting ammo to us - can't say if they've improved over the years as I have a nice stockpile of Russian ammo from the glory days of it being cheaper than dirt and I don't use it in my non-Russian guns.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

I have currently 17 akm’s and a dozen ar15’s and all of them handle steel cased ammo without incident. Then there’s some hybrids like my Sig556’s and SCAR16 and my 3 Sig 516’s. All handle steel case with ease. Plus my two 308’s. But I have had friends who’s weapons don’t like steel case for whatever reason. I know it’s a thing but it’s not a thing for me.

[@makwaclaw6124]

Great video and explanation 👍

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Thanks!😉

[@benjimenfranklin7650]

Most people will never shoot 20,000 rounds in there rifle. I don't see any problem with steel cased ammo. I have been shooting it for 20 years now and never have I had a problem. It's accurate enough for plinking at targets . You want better accuracy you need to shoot Norma.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Agree.

[@sirgalahad3574]

My own and first experience with .223 Tulammo and steel case was frustrating to say the least. I have no idea if my gun is sighted in. I am not bashing the manufacturer, it was "close enough" (like taking out a left shoulder or a right shoulder, I guess it's "less than deadly").

[@kalashnikovcartel5749]

If it won’t shoot steel, It doesn’t deserve brass!

[@marekburza7425]

I agree.... It's a prerequisite for me when I buy a gun.

[@joetanke1965]

ive put about 3k rounds of steel case ammo through my AK and ive never had a single issue (never once cleaned either)

[@nicklopez2201]

AK rifle should be able to eat steel no problem if you use AK you can eat any brass/steel don’t worry, now AR this man is correct 100%

[@benjimenfranklin7650]

I don't know about your analogy on pistons in a car because while the Piston might be made out of aluminum the rings on the Piston are not they're made out of carbon steel which is just as hard as the cylinder wall !

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Very true! But the principle at work there is that the rings have such a tiny surface area compared to the cylinder wall or the piston that they wear into the shape of the cylinder.

[@orionfixr7713]

For all you guys out there who don't shoot steel case , thankyou . More for me ! HAHAHA !!

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

😆😆😆love it!

[@robpazdziorko1649]

I've had 9mm steel cased ammo get stuck in the barrel, in my Pak-9. Especially when the barrel was getting warm. It was a pain to get the case out.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Interesting 🤔. I have a PAK9 and I’ve not had that problem. But as you know the tolerances on the manufacture of the parts that go into those guns is all over the place. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmnHq3yZg8t3fMU

[@seanfoltz7645]

That's a common problem with many guns as the coating on the case melts - the constant jams and misfeeds with my AR were bad enough but the first time I had a steel case come out and threads of the coating were pulling like taffy I stopped using it.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Well thanks for sharing your experience. I value the insight.

[@Rezolution01]

I've never had issues with steel ammo in any of my AKs or Galils. I've had 3 steel rounds get stuck in various ARs over the years. I'll never shoot steel ammo in any of my ARs ever again. It's fine to shoot it in AKs though.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Only thing I can figure has to do with the tapered case of the 7.62x39. That sucker isn’t getting stuck at all. But I agree I’ve heard of the 223 getting stuck though it’s never happened to me in any of my dozen AR’s.

[@Rezolution01]

@@MaxHeadspace9mm I've notice that it happens the most in the AR when you heat the chamber up by shooting say 28 or so rounds. Then if you chamber the 29th round but don't fire it and the gun cools back down. Then there is no way to eject that live round. When you eventually fire it, it won't eject from the chamber. That seems to be the only way they've ever gotten stuck for me, when you leave a live round in a hot chamber and it cools down with it in there.

[@ColeWheeler4Lyfe]

762x39? Yes, go for it. 223/556? Probably not.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Well it’s totally up to you but from my experience there have been zero problems or signs of wear from shooting steel case in my AR15’s and AR10’s. I also shoot a bit of steel case in my Glocks, XDMs and FN’s. Now if for some reason I had one AR15 and my intent was to make it last as long as possible barring any other concern then yes I would use brass only. But that’s not me or anyone else I know.

[@ColeWheeler4Lyfe]

@@MaxHeadspace9mm good feedback. I’d consider it on your rec.

[@sodeepopkid6855]

What brand of steel ammo do you prefer? I've been stacking Monarch 7.62x39 (Barnaul) and buy Wolf polyformance 500/1000 whenever I can find it at a reasonable price .30-.35 round.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Pretty much all my steel case is from Tula or Wolf. 308-7.62x39-5.56-223-7.62x54R and some 9mm.

[@MrBrad777c]

Max whats your thoughts on me shooting steel case in my Mosin Nagant? I have a TON of it.....and I probably only shoot about 300 rounds a year. I know replacing the barrel on those is a bear....but with since a low round count I assume I'm good? My ARs I have only ran brass just because I'm lazy and not looking to clean my gun every time I use it. Good topic tho!

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Interesting piece of trivia- the earliest Mosins were manufactured back before steel cased ammo was a thing. And back then metallurgy and machining techniques weren’t up to today’s capabilities. So some of those really old mosins may not be as tough as some of those that came later. (You know they kept that production run going for nearly 80 years?). But bolt guns being what they are they don’t wear out easily from over use anyway so if I were you I would have no regrets using steel case in a mosin. Even one you really care about. It’s pretty tough to put 10,000-20,000 through a bolt gun. And that’s about what it would take to wear one out with steel case ammo.

[@MrBrad777c]

@@MaxHeadspace9mm Yeah 10k rounds is never happening for me. Thanks for the history!

[@seanfoltz7645]

The Nagant doesn't care - dump some black powder in the chamber and shove a rock down the barrel and it'll shoot it - just kidding - don't do that - my point is they'll fire anything.

[@MrBrad777c]

@@seanfoltz7645 Thanks for the info Sean. Rock on!

[@MrBrad777c]

FIRST?!?! Nice

[@exquisitearangement]

My sp1 only gets steel.

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Yep. My SCAR 16 loves steel case.

[@AllTheDips]

I see people shoot steel case and they get stuck in the chamber alot

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

Never happened to me once. But I have a friend who every time he would try to shoot steel out of his Gucci ar15 it would get stuck. He was bummed because he had a lot of steel case to shoot. I traded him brass case and he never had a problem after that. Some guns are that way. Chamber too tight.

[@knight16]

I don't shoot steel case in my AR because it doesn't run it

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

That’s definitely something I’ve run across as well.

[@knight16]

@@MaxHeadspace9mm but my AK runs it Great!

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

@@knight16 Yeah. Some guns are built with tighter tolerances. The Ak is famous for being loosey goosey.

[@benjimenfranklin7650]

Plastic guns are ugly !

[@MaxHeadspace9mm]

I can see the point of that statement. But some guns aren’t made to be pretty. They are just ugly tools that work. And there’s room in the world for that.

[@marekburza7425]

Lol .... I fight with myself in my own head every time a break down and buy a "Plastic" gun ..... But as much as it bothers me, They sure are light weight and most of them shoot pretty darn well. I still love my aluminum and steel framed guns the most tho.