My experience with steel-cased ammunition

I know there are a lot of view-points out there, but I wanted to make a quick blog post on my EXPERIENCE.

I first tried wolf/steel-cased ammo in my Glock 27 (40 SW) and I had to pound out several stuck cases with a wooden dowel. This was about the year 2006-2007.

I switched to an SA XD 5″ 9mm and it ate about 8000 rounds of wolf 9mm w/o issue. I don’t recall pounding out any stuck cases. The gun would need cleaning more frequently.

2nd, I tried wolf steel cased ammo in my DPMS ar-15 5.56. About every 200 rounds, I’d have to collapse the buttstock, pull the charging handle and slam the stock onto the ground to get a stuck case out. This was about 2008-2009.

I think I put close to 10,000 rounds of wolf ammo through my first ar15 (dpms). Years later, that same ar15 was accurate enough for me and my son to win top shooter in Marksmanship Matter’s rifle class. I think its 1-1.5 MOA rifle, which for a ar15 is good enough for me. I have built many precision rifles that shoot sub-moa, which is a different mission than a 1 moa ar15 IMO.

I found the wolf ammo to be accurate enough to pass scamsight (AKA frontsight) rifle class and get the “distinguished graduate”, which means you score 90% or better on your skills eval. Thus allowing me to go to the precision rifle classes and advanced tactical rifle.

I no longer train at scamsight (because its a scam and dangerous IMO) and train only with Marksmanship Matters (Larry Mudgett) which requires higher standard of ammunition. Which is a good thing IMO.

So, now I use my large wolf ammo supply to sightin (get close to sighted in), function test or just go plinking with family/friends and hold onto my winchester/brass ammo for training.

My sig MPX eats wolf 9mm just fine. No FTE/FTF on it nor my MCX 5.56/223.

Do you own tests. I’ve had bad experiences with remanufactured ammunition and steel cased ammo. Others have had great luck with reman’d ammo. If you use steel cased ammo, be ready to clean your gun more frequently.

For a class, I would pay the extra and get good quality ammo (NEW brass), but for plinking I would be “ok” with steel-cased ammo. I have a shload of 7.62×39 & 5.45×39, but I only shoot those in AK operating systems.

What ammo would you want for the socialist apocalypse?

socialist apocalypse= AKA govscams where power hungry tyrants lie to the people and the people believe the lies and trade freedoms for govscam security AKA murder by the state.

Other than rust, govscams are the biggest threat to our self-defense tools.

I’m going to PASTE a thread by my buddy Doc Gunn

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Dear Friends:
Is anyone shooting steel-cased ammunition in anything other than Soviet-designed longarms? (AK, SKS.) If so, what is YOUR experience?
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Previously there was very little reason to do so as any cost savings was minimal. Our simple recommendation was, “Don’t do it.” Poor over-all quality, poor accuracy, bimetal projectiles (mixture including “soft” steel accelerating barrel wear,) powder residue build-up in chambers leading to in increased wear and broken extractors were (and still are) our concerns.
After the first great ammunition shortages following Sandy Hook (2012,) a few people started shooting steel-cased ammunition in AR’s so we tried to learn “the best way to do the wrong thing.” Our recommendation was that if one had to shoot steel cases to throughly clean the chamber after shooting and especially before shooting brass-cased cartridges again. (The more malleable brass expands and binds on the powder residue in the chamber, increasing resistance to extraction and possibly tearing case rims leaving the case in the chamber or breaking extractors.)
In 2019 Lucky Gunner did a 10,000 round TORTURE TEST using 4 different brands (three steel-cased and one brass-cased) of ammunition in identical rifles. .223 TULA cartridges performed SO badly that they stopped it before the end of the test. The wear from bimetal bullets from brands was extreme.* (*Torture test shooting very rapidly with extremely hot barrels.)  Brass-cased cartridges with copper jacketed bullets performed flawlessly with minimal wear. https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/My Take Home lessons from the Lucky Gunner test was to use brass-cased cartridges with copper jacketed bullets. IF one was to shoot steel-cased, bimetal cartridges, plan to use a dedicated extractor for steel, and replacing the barrel of your rifle as it wears out. (Also, not to solely rely upon that rifle for possible defensive use.)
However, this Brownells Smyth-Busters (8/4/20) video revisited the question and essentially confirms that steel-cased ammunition shoots “dirtier,” increases wear on extractors and that bi-metal projectiles increase barrel wear but only under extreme high-fire (torture) conditions. They otherwise conclude that steel-cased ammunition does not harm the firearms. https://youtu.be/HEtx_Epa4FcThe Smyth-Busters also address issues of corrosive ammunition and rough chambers. They add that coatings used on steel cases (polymer or lacquer) are not problematic.They recommend that extractors be changed every 5K cartridges when shooting steel-cased cartridges.
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However, the purpose of this message is to ask YOU what experience YOU may have accumulated shooting steel-cased ammunition in handguns and non-Soviet longarms.
Sincerely,
Doc

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Jeff D

The only thing I have used it in is 7.62×39 in a Ruger American Ranch rifle.  I bought it because it was cheap and suppressor ready.  And ammo, at that time, was dirt cheap and available everywhere.  It works fine, as one might expect, in the bolt gun. It’s no pre-64 Model 70, though, and you do have to run it like you mean it. None of what I say below has any application in semi auto rifles but I thought it interesting anyway.

I’ve always assumed that poor accuracy in most AK’s was a combination of sloppy tolerances in the rifle and poor ammo.  So I fired Wolf FMJ, Wolf HP, Silver Bear softpoint and Hornady steel ammo in that Ruger, and all of it grouped at an inch or under for 5 rounds at 100 yds.  I was astounded!  So I tried it again a few days later and same results.  So I guess I can lay the accuracy issues with the AK on the rifle now, not the ammo.  Fired in a decent rifle, the stuff is better than I thought.

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I have fired quite a bit of the Wolf and Tula .223, and a ton of the Tula 9mm.  A friend reports shooting 6-8000 rounds of the Tula 9mm per year at training classes, through Glocks, with no issues. My experience has been the same.
I’ll note that I have found Tula to be a better choice than most reman, such as the horrible Freedom Munitions, and over the past couple of years it’s been more accurate and reliable than WWB for me.
The Russian steel cased revolver ammo should NOT be used unless you like having to use a small mallet to eject the spent “brass”.
Chuck