[Dsnellz73]

Do any you all shoot tulammo in .223? I was at bass pro tonight and the only .223 they had in target loads were tulammo at 5.50 a box. There was tons of it, and I thought wow thats a pretty good price, but why is there so much and nobody else buying it? I ended up leaving it alone and buying a boxes of winchester and american eagle for about double the price of tulammo. Is it ok to shoot tulammo, will it damage your gun?

 

[TexasDeputy]

Tula made ammo is a love/hate relationship. Made in Russia with steel cases (but Wolf, another Russian maker, offers some brass cased loads), some claim that the steel cases may cause extraction problems or even damage the extractor, the cases may jam in the chamber (depending on the coating), and they are also very dirty (requires lots of Hoppe's). They also have steel core bullets which many indoor and some outdoor ranges prohibit. They are Berdan primed (not normally reloadable), but non-corrosive.

Generally, the polymer coated steel cases (a matte grey/brown finish) give the least extraction problems, as the polymer is slick, almost like Teflon. Some of the ammo is silver in color, which is zinc plated steel cases, which some say function well (but others hate), and the cheapest are lacquer painted steel cases, which may gum and stick in the chamber when they get hot.

If you shop around, there is some other brass cased .223/5.56 available, both new and reloaded (remanufactured using brass cases) that is very price competitive but without the disadvantages of the steel cases.

FYI many of the Russian designed weapons are designed for steel cased ammo and generally function very well with it, and may even prefer it!

 

[jwc007]

What he said! ^^^^^^^

In general, I avoid any of the Russian .223/5.56 ammunition! My AR15A2 hates it. My Ruger Mini-14's tolerate it, but I don't believe that it's good for them.
I won't shoot it in my .223 Heavy Barreled Varmint Rifle, as I don't want to chance it damaging the Barrel.

Now the 7.62x39mm Russian Ammunition is a whole other story, as my SKS, Egyptian AKM-47, and Vz2008/Vz58 eat that up without issue!

 

[Stugots]

I shoot a lot of the Russian steel cases polymer coated 223. Have yet to have a problem with it in my AR. Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe there really is no issue with it.

 

[Cariwine]

Don't blame the ammo. Blame the sissy gun that can't handle it.

 

[btleslie]

My M&P loves it. Just can't reload it.

 

[20361]

Check your rifle's warranty.
DPMS says no steel case ammo.
I shot some anyway 'cause it was cheap. Couple of boxes.
Now only brass ammo.

 

[Lmstncwby]

I have yet to try it so I will defer comment. My friend did and it was very dirty. He has a DI type gun. He had to pop a couple of FTE cases in about 40 rounds that he fired.

 

[Peacemakr40]

Since I built up my AR, I've buying any and all variations of 5.56/.223 ammo. I want to know what ammo works the best, what causes problems and if any is unreliable. I do have some Tula .223 steel cased stuff. I'm just waiting on a decent day to get to the range and put lead on target. Once I evaluate the ammo. I'll know what my AR likes. you should do the same with the various brands. who knows, your AR may Love the Tula Steel stuff and you're sitting on a goldmine of savings. You wont know until you try it.

 

[Fishinkeylargo]

I see a lot of it laying around at the range, people are shooting in, and based on the piles of it in a small circle it must be working for them.

 

[olfarhors]

Being new to the AR-black gun, helicopter, shirt, pants , and everything else arena I have not shot it.
My son being a professional Black gun, helicopter, etc-etc-etc Sheriffs deputy runs only the cheap stuff through his AR and seems to be satisfied with it and no problem that I have heard from him.
Dicks had 90 rounds of 556-55 grn American Eagle federal on sale for 29.88 last week, I needed brass to reload so I scooped up 360 rounds (4 box limit) and will use it until I empty some shells for the brass.
Just a heads up, don't know if Dicks still has the sale going or not.

 

[MOONDAWG]

I have no problems using their ammo in any of my guns.

The Russians have been kicking ass with is since 1891.

I don't believe they build better guns, just more solider, or in their case, peasant proof.

If soft steel cases were such a bad idea, then why would a trusted ammo/component maker like Hornady bring out their "Match" ammo in steel cases?

 

[wacsmurf]

My .40 cal PT 740 hates it.

 

[Smokewagon]

I use it in my S&W M&P15, and have used some in my PT1911. No issues. Great range and fun stuff!

 

[Deadheadfred]

Not a thing wrong with Tula ammo, as long as your gun will cycle it.
I've shot a lot of it, and as stated it is quite a bit dirtier than most domestic brands, but you should be cleaning your guns after shooting anyway.
Steel cases and Berdan priming means reloading is all but impossible, unless you're anal about it. It can be reloaded, but it's a major pain in the wazoo just to de-prime, then the steel cases are very hard to work. They will put undue wear and tear on your dies and the cases won't last more than 2-3 reloads before they begin to split at the case mouth.

In short, they're just not worth reloading, but not one of my guns will refuse to eat it.

 

[dadillac]

My 809 and my pt111 G2 don't have a problem with the Tula. But my dad's S&W .40 hates it. My Kahr 380 functions fine with it, but I notice an accuracy decline.

 

[ICUKev]

Never tried it but like others have said, it's a love hate relationship. I've tried some other steel case and didn't have any issues.