Picked a heck of a time to stop sniffing glue...I mean get into a new caliber !

[DadSmith]

I would say if your gun can shoot off a few mags of steel, go for it. I think brass will play nice to your barrel and keep the gun cleaner. If mine shot steel, I would have been shooting it. Now I won't buy steel because all the problems I had with it.

Definitely don't want steel case for self defense situations. I like brass since I reload so kinda buy geared towards brass. I know what my rifles like and load accordingly. I have shot a few thousand rds of steel case in my pistols over 10 years that is. Very little in my rifles.

 

[Goodcat]

I shoot a crap ton of steel 223 and clean every 1k or so. No issues to date.

 

[DadSmith]

I shoot a crap ton of steel 223 and clean every 1k or so. No issues to date.

Good to know.

 

[Tombs]

Steel holds heat. Barrel makers like their barrels to be tight as possible for accuracy. Shoot a few rounds, the barrel gets really hot. The casing in the barrel throat gets hot and the small casing expands faster than the barrel. If it does eject, it's not good for the barrel throat.

The case is pretty much never the problem with steel cased ammo. 99% of it is wives tales and internet expert stuff.

The actual problem is the jacket material used in MOST of those rounds is a mild steel with a copper wash.
While it is a very soft steel, it's still steel. It does significantly reduce barrel life if you shoot it often enough, but handguns really don't hit the velocities necessary for it to be a big problem like it is in 223/5.56. (I.E. 10k round barrel life, vs 40k round.) It's still not the best thing in the world for your barrel, but handgun barrels are usually pretty cheap to replace, especially over the tens of thousands of rounds you'd need to shoot for it to become a problem.

This is also why indoor ranges sometimes do not want you using steel cased ammo. The steel jacket on the bullet could spark on the targets and cause a major fire.

 

[Clay Pigeon]

That's one point I noticed he kind of contradicted himself. He admitted to having them stuck and having to drive it out with a steel cleaning rod at the range.

I know this, it can happen with big volume brass shooting also. The Marine Corps has gone back to issuing multi piece cleaning rids again instead of Otis cleaning kits.
You cant knock out a stuck, ripped off rim or a case in two pieces with a cable.

 

[bmanguns]

I’d say do some research on the steel casing. I tend to agree Tombs, I think there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there.

Granted, I’m shooting a pistol. I haven’t looked into shooting it through anything else. I started looking into it 2 months ago when all I could find was Wolf for .30 around. Most of the reviews suggested it was an old wives tale. However they also suggested you look for “non-corrosive”.

 

[Wolfhound]

I have AR's that shoot steel case with no problems. I also have a Colt HBAR that does not like steel case and they stick in the chamber frequent enough that I don't shoot steel case from that rifle. It may be because it is a "match" barrel but I don't know for sure.

Definitely agree on the bullets in some steel case ammo being steel jacketed and not copper to save money during production. Based solely on others research this only becomes a potential issue when the barrel gets extremely hot.

 

[Leadeye]

Isn't the steel case coated with something to keep it from rusting?

 

[Wolfhound]

Isn't the steel case coated with something to keep it from rusting?

Yes, some are coated with lacquer and some have a polymer coating. I've heard the theory that the coating melts and builds up in the chamber causing the case to stick. I think that was the initial theory behind the stuck case issues. It seems that most opinions now are that the steel case doesn't expand well enough and allows carbon to build up in the chamber. My experience is that most AR's shoot steel case just fine and a few others are picky about it.

 

[indyartisan]

The steel cased polymer/lacquer 9mm caused the “sticking” issues in my Smith 9mm revolver.
Granted the situation is different due to the ammo being ejected (hopefully) immediately from an automatic type action.

 

[Robert Richardson]

Use what you will, I'll stick to brass case only.

 

[Trapper Jim]

So why do people not like steel case ammunition?

Nothing wrong with SCA. It’s a little askew for us traditional shooters. Kinda like driving around a converitable with the top down and the windows up. However, I wish the noobs would pick up the wasted tins as it clutters the bay floor with rust and most of I see is foreign crap anyway.

 

[Mgderf]

.45acp is one of the easiest rounds to load for.
And how does one who owns firearms already, NOT own something in .45acp?

It should be a prerequisite.

 

[churchmouse]

.45acp is one of the easiest rounds to load for.
And how does one who owns firearms already, NOT own something in .45acp?

It should be a prerequisite.

But but but 9mm is cheaper to shoot.

 

[churchmouse]

Regardless of the reasons you would choose to shoot cheap steel case from any gun I choose not to use it.
JMHO.

 

[Robert Richardson]

I have always wondered why people spend big bucks on a firearm and then buy the cheapest junk ammo they can find to shoot thru it.