[dadillac]

Sorry if this has already been discussed but i was unable to find it.
Is there a difference between steel casings and brass casings when it comes to a factory load? I was told by a friend that steel cannot be reloaded and that was the only difference. If that is the case what is the point of producing both brass and steel casings as the prices i have seen are not that much different?

Pros and cons of each?

 

[texastaurusguy]

Your friend is right - steel cases can't be reloaded. The main difference performance-wise is, steel cases are much harder on your gun than brass cases - specifically, the extractor.

 

[ice]

Seems to be a little dirtier than the brass, and some people have extractor issues, particularly with the semi-auto's.. Just have to shoot it thru your gun and see how it does

 

[TexasAviator]

Yup your friend is right about reloading.

I have also had problems with whatever the coating is on some steel cased ammunition. In my PT 1911 in particular after it gets hot they seem to want to stick in the chamber. Some people I know have had similar issues and others not. That being said I have shot plenty of the stuff in other firearms and not had any issues, just with my Pt 1911.

Overall I'd say if you find a good deal try it out and if your firearm doesn't like it you'll know for next time. Just my two cents.

 

[Montkun]

Steel vs. Brass is always a conversation piece, the truth of the matter is as long as your gun will shoot it it doesn't matter what the case is made of. The main reason steel cases aren't reloaded is due to the primer setup. Generally, a brass round will use Boxer primers, which utilize a single flash hole inside of the cartridge while most steel cases use Berdan primers that use a double flash hole to ignite the powder charge.

The other subtle differences are that steel cases tend to have some type of coating on the case to preserve the case for long term storage while brass is pretty much just polished up a bit and slipped into the box. Brass also returns to its original size better than steel after firing, which is the key reason as to why brass can safely be reloaded while steel cannot. As for overall performance, either round should do the job you ask of it, there isn't much difference when looking for accuracy and loading.

Now as we all know, some guns just don't like some ammo, no matter how much you force feed it. Most of my firearms prefer brass cases for reliable function, while my Soviet Bloc guns perform great with steel cases. The lone exception to the rule seems to be my Hi-Point 995, which will shoot literally any 9mm ammo with a good primer in it. My P-64 hates brass, I've only run steel case surplus ammo in my Mosin-Nagant, and my AK-47 has eaten a healthy diet of steel case, never bothered paying extra money for a box of brass for that rifle since I can easily find 20 rounds of steel case ammo in 7.62x39 for $5.00 or less all over the place.

Nothing wrong with trying out steel case if it's available and you don't reload your own ammo. It's always a viable solution if your store is out of brass cased ammo, just be on notice that when barrels get hot under heavy range sessions, the coating on steel cases sometimes start to melt into the chamber and make cleaning out carbon kind of a pain. My general rule of thumb is to clean the gun every 50-100 rounds or so to keep from working too hard to clean them up.

 

[jimb1972]

I like the Silver Bear ammo, it is zinc plated and does not stick in a hot chamber. Zinc will corode if not kept dry, so storage is fairly important. The steel used is very soft, and unlikely to damage a firearm, its not much harder than brass.

 

[ccviper]

Not sure if you safe talking about pistol or rifle ammo but check out this thread for a link to a great test on steel vs brass cased rifle ammo. I have used TulAmmo, Wolf and Silver Bear in my ARs and AKs with no problems. Used it little in my pistols but wouldn't hesitate to.

Guess since I suggested it I should post the link
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/f...vs-federal-american-eagle-brass-223-ammo.html

 

[Montkun]

I like the Silver Bear ammo, it is zinc plated and does not stick in a hot chamber. Zinc will corode if not kept dry, so storage is fairly important. The steel used is very soft, and unlikely to damage a firearm, its not much harder than brass.

I use the Silver Bear's in 9x18 Makarov for my Radom P-64. I keep the extras sealed in a Ziploc bag with silca gel packs in it to avoid the corrosion. Even the Brown Bear's work great at the range, but they're polymer coated and will start to leave a residue in the chamber after the gun gets hot.

 

[olfarhors]

Sorry if this has already been discussed but i was unable to find it.
Is there a difference between steel casings and brass casings when it comes to a factory load? I was told by a friend that steel cannot be reloaded and that was the only difference. If that is the case what is the point of producing both brass and steel casings as the prices i have seen are not that much different?
Pros and cons of each?

well from the start steel cases CAN be reloaded but you have to love pain to do it!
All standard American reloading gear is set up to reload boxer primed cases.
Crazy! boxer is a Europian design, Berdan an American design, America settled on boxer primers, Europe settled on berdan primers!! go figure!
basically steel cased ammo is a military thing and as the military don't run around collecting spent brass from the battle field so the reloading thing is a non issue.
add to that that steel cases are a bit less expensive to produce and with the thousands and thousands of rounds expended each year that adds up to money saved.
steel can be produced by about any modern country but materials to make brass may be hard to obtain..

 

[.452dia]

In the coming days this question may be of little importance. I normally only buy brass cased ammo so I can reload it but with ammo and reloading components being in short supply I'd buy steel cased ammo in a heart beat if I needed it.