Sanctions and Joe Biden suck, they have driven the price of ammo through the roof, even previously-affordable steel-cased stuff. This is a huge problem given the recent surge in new gun owners who are looking to hone their skills on their new guns but simply can’t. They either can’t afford the rounds or can’t find the rounds at all – and whenever they can, the majority of the rounds are steel-cased.
These rounds are often maligned for performance, reliability, and being generally inferior to brass-cased ammo. But are they really? Let’s take a closer look.
Steel-Cased Ammo
As its name suggests, steel-cased ammo utilizes steel for its shell casings instead of brass (or in the case of older Soviet ammo, bi-metal). Americans first got a taste for steel-cased rounds when China began exporting its arms and ammo to the US in the 1980s.
With a price tag well below the average cost of American-made brass-cased ammo, many American shooters on a budget gobbled up the ammo in droves. But shortly thereafter, many found that the rounds weren’t performing as accurately, or reliably in their American firearms.
The same held true a few years later when Russian Saigas, Mosin Nagants, and SKS carbines hit the market -but not for those guns. Many shooters began to see the value of steel-cased ammo when $299 Saiga carbines were able to chew through the stuff without a single hiccup. It may not have been match-grade or the cleanliest ammo, but the Soviet calibers ran perfectly in Soviet-designed firearms.
Reliability
What about American guns? Well, it depended on the action and type more than anything. The direct-impingement AR-15 can be ammo sensitive especially when not ran, ‘wet’. This was even more the case a few years ago when most companies made sure their guns were precisely gassed.
In a world where all ammo is accurately loaded, finely-tuned gas systems are ideal, the gun has less felt recoil, lasts longer, and requires less cleaning. But many companies around the mid-2000s discovered that customers were complaining that their guns weren’t reliable because they wouldn’t run Russian steel-cased ammo very well.
The solution was simple – they over-gassed their guns. This is true of PSA, SIG, Anderson, Colt, and basically everyone today. But don’t get me wrong, they aren’t over-gassed to the point of negatively impacting performance. The guns are just slightly over-gassed to ensure reliable operation with underpowered cheap ammo.
Bottom line: most modern firearms will have no issues whatsoever running with steel-cased ammo, but I would still recommend thorough lubrication and regular cleaning.
Pros vs Cons
Why would shooters pick steel-cased rounds over standard ammo?
Price. That’s it. That’s the only real advantage of the ammo.
As far as downsides, there are a few objective drawbacks to running steel and a few man-made ones.
While the steel used in the ammo’s casings is relatively mild, and thus not terribly hard, it is still harder than brass. This means any component it comes in contact with will wear faster than if a shooter was running brass-cased rounds. The other real downside is that steel’s coefficient of friction is greater than that of brass, so when the spent casing is being extracted from a hot chamber, it requires more force to break the initial bond.
This in turn means more force is exerted on your firearm’s extractor which can lead to premature breakages if the gun wasn’t designed for the rounds in the first place. (SKS / AK owners, needn’t worry.)
As far as man-made issues, many ranges ban the use of steel-cased ammo out of concern for their backstops – this is particularly true with indoor ranges. This is because most steel-cased ammo uses a mild steel core, and is difficult for ranges to differentiate from armor-piercing steel-core ammo which would quickly destroy targets.
The other manufactured downside is that some companies will tell shooters that using steel-cased ammo voids their warranty. In my not-so-humble-opinion, this is a cop-out to let companies brush off shooters who want to run cheap ammo in their gun.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Hornady Black 7.62x39mm 123gr SST Steel Case Ammunition 20rds - 80784 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 40.99 $ 29.99 |
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Hornady Black 7.62x39mm 123gr SST Steel Case Ammunition 20rds - 80784 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 40.99 $ 29.99 |
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Wolf Performance 9mm 115GR FMJ Steel-Cased Ammunition - 1000rd Case | Rainier Arms | $ 449.95 |
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STERLING 9MM 115GR FMJ STEEL CASED AMMUNITION 50rd BOX | BattleHawk Armory | $ 16.20 $ 11.99 |
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Overall
In a nutshell, steel-cased ammo is good to go. It’s not as powerful, clean, or pretty as brass-cased stuff, but it runs fine if your gun is properly-gassed. Just make sure to check your gun’s warranty before running it, just in case.
About Jim Grant
Jim is one of the elite editors for AmmoLand.com, who, in addition to his mastery of prose, can wield a camera with expert finesse. He loves anything and everything guns but holds firearms from the Cold War in a special place in his heart.
When he’s not reviewing guns or shooting for fun and competition, Jim can be found hiking and hunting with his wife Kimberly, and their dog, Peanut, in the South Carolina low country.
The lacquer that coats the steel case can be problematic when a round sits in a hot chamber. The lacquer will soften, and if the round sits in the chamber as it cools, it can make extraction more difficult in firearms not designed with a generous chamber.
It’s all about gassing. The whole “melted lacquer” thing seems to be darn
near fuddlore.
I agree. I have three uppers in 7.62X39. I never clean an AR chambered in that or .556 caliber until it has at least 500 rounds through it. I have cleaned 2 of my AK uppers so far and there has been no noticeable wear on either when running a bore snake and using ballistol on the innards. I, up to this point, have only run what I consider to be ‘quality’ steel cased ammo like Wolf made by Barnaul. I have only had one FTE in that 1000 rounds. That is better than some of my AR uppers, for… Read more »
I disagree on the viability of steel cased ammo in weapons when the mfg states otherwise. My HK USPc owners manual specifically states: “CAUTION: HK firearms are designed to function with quality manufactured brass cased ammunition. Use of steel or aluminum cased cartridges is not recommended and could adversely affect safe and reliable functioning. (emphasis mine) For further information on ammunition selection, contact HK Customer Service…” HK does not sell ammunition, so they have no dog in the cost of ammunition argument. Further, HK specifically says: “All USPs are approved for use with +P and +P+ ammunition as it applies… Read more »
I mean, this was covered by the author when he stated he believed it was a cop-out used by companies who want to brush off shooters that want to use less expensive ammo. The fact that HK really doesn’t like “poors” makes this entirely unsurprising.
@jh45gun – Your statement above non bi-metallic seems to be saying that the case is bi-metallic. In most Russian ammo (Tula, Monarch, etc.) the case is steel and the bullet has a mild steel jacket with a thin copper coating. It is only the jacket which is bi-metallic, NOT the case. The projectiles typically have an lead core, not steel. Penetrator rifle rounds similar to M855 are available as well, and they do have steel core. No commercially available handgun rounds have the steel core as they would qualify as illegal “armor piercing” ammo under federal law. From discussion with… Read more »
Thank you, you beat me to it!
To add to a excellent list of reasons,some ranges use rubber peices in the backstops and if steel can start fires on certain outdoor ranges with grass.
It can start a heck of a fire in a rubber backstop medium.
Our range has a two mile backstop so there is no limit except, no tracers. Some people liked to shoot them in brush when it had been dry for a while. That does tend to clean up the excess grass in the range area. Other than that we can use just about anything.
I shot thousands of rounds of it in AK’s SKS with out trouble.
I seen problems with stuck cases in AR type rifles.
Personally I do not use steel case ammo in AR’s.
I have a friend the reloads 223 steel cases better him than me.
Hornady steel match works excellent in my Bushmaster AR target gun. I’ve shot around a 1000 of these with no problem.
Just for clarity, that’s an early Bushmaster before the company was sold.
I have had six show up here in the last two years saying that they had an AR that was not working right. I asked what ammo they were using and it was the steel case. I told them to switch to brass and all was fine thereafter. I noticed that there was some burning of the breach when using steel case ammo. So, I disagree with all steel case ammo is great. Not one good experience with steel case in an AR or AK.
ak’s were designed around steel hence, that huge claw for the extractor.
Can’t imagine what your issues may have been with steel-cased in AK or SKS rifles. Both rifles were designed around the existing soviet M43 steel-cased round. All of mine have functioned flawlessly, even with some pretty elderly stuff… Likewise I’ve fired some German steel-cased 7.92×57 in FN49’s and it has worked as well. I will grant you tho that it will likely wear the rifles out much quicker than brass, and I won’t use it in my Stoner-system rifles regardless of when they were made. Works fine in my combloc weapons tho. I had picked up a small amount of… Read more »
If steel cased ammo didn’t work well in your AK, it was the AK’s problem, not the ammo.
If you look at a 5.56 besides a 7.62 russian round you’ll notice th x39 and x54 both have a taper from the base to the mouth. The 556 has little taper.
The taper aids extraction considerably
Cheap ammo is always good, or at least was. The issue I had with steel was I experienced a ‘hard lock’ almost every 60 rounds or so, which required a hammer and steel rod to rectify, as you all know.
In what rifle? Literally the only ‘hard lock’ I’ve ever had like you describe was with brass-cased 5.56.
Bushmaster chambered in 5.56 1:9. I had bought 1000 rounds spam can tula so wasn’t thrilled but found a post re problem of hard lock and ran 3 brass cases per 30 round mag and I could see the gunk on brass as it expanded in the chamber and pulled out the fouling. Never had a problem with brass since. Also the rifle was new and cleaned and lubed.
I’ve shot it and it worked OK.
Mac,
It doesn’t contract as fast as brass does, but you can shoot it in a bolt or lever gun without any problem. Semi-autos sometimes have problems if the chamber is tight and because it hasn’t fully contracted when the extractors try to grab it. I f the chamber is on the larger side of the spec it isn’t usually an issue.
Back in the 80s you could buy one of the cheap SKSs with pinned barrel for under a hundred bucks. 1000 round boxes of steel cased 7.62×39 were available for $69.95. I wish I’d bought more of each, a lot more.
I killed a mule deer with my Chinese surplus SKS, using Chinese soft point ammo. That deer never knew what hit him. I’ve hunted all my life and that cheap ammo was amazing. Still have a few boxes. NO, it’s not for sale:)
Those were the days.
Here’s what I find interesting:
Forever, you could not find a kind word being said about steel-cased, Russian ammo. If you believed the hype (as did I), the mere thought of using such trash would surely destroy your gun.
Then, Hornady hit the market with their steel-cased ammo. Then, Winchester jumped into the steel-cased market. Then, the prices skyrocketed.
Now, miraculously, steel-cased ammo will no longer hurt your gun.
Where would we be, without the miracles of marketing?
There’s nothing wrong with Russian steel-cased ammo, other than it smells like somebody has thrown a cat on a trash fire.
Music — yes…. That’s a good bit of it right there… The dims DID collaborate with the chinese, to release the chinAchinadogeatervirus. Yes, they absolutely did.
….yes, one reason was to save SSI a little money… So they could then, in turn; use that money to start paying white trash, blacks, and Latinos free-checks; on an even larger scale…. For the votes, ya know…
Non brass ammo is my JIC prepper ammo. I doubt anyone will stick around after a firefight to police up their brass.
My SKS has been running steel case ammo for years but I prefer brass in my ARs . My bolt action rifles also shoot steel cases ammo fine with no issues . I clean them a thoroughly after shooting steel case ammo .
This was an interesting read TWO YEARS AGO. Has anything changed?
Clearing up some misinformation: A lot of recently imported steel case no longer uses a lacquer coating. That was important when foreign ammo bunkers and packaging was 2d tier at best, with a few upgrades and a lot faster shipping of newly produced rounds, it was dropped. The M16 has always required a precise load, and the newer adopted rounds also had to work on the older models – right back to the M16 a nothings still issued in the Air Force. That means the box of ammo cannot be different for a 20″ or an M4. This forces a… Read more »
Tirod — “certain teams that [operate operationally]” …. ?
Haha
The softest of steels has a surface hardness at least 2 1/2 times the surface hardness of annealed brass (on the Brinell scale), that being the case, unless the chamber was manufactured for the use of steel, from a metallurgical standpoint, steel will erode the chamber over time, not just the extractor. The extractor may be the first part to show wear, but the wear is going on nonetheless. I reload, so I’ve no interest in shell casings I can’t reload. The majority of steel cased ammo is Berdan primed. It was never engineered to be reloaded, while it is… Read more »
You can reload them. More work is involved if they’re berdan primed but it can be done. I’ve reloaded a few 9mm boxer primed steel cases and they work fine. From what I can tell and have seen/read..since steel is less malleable than brass, the cases don’t fireform as well to the chamber when fired. This might in some cases make them easier to extract possibly…but also explains the excess dirt build up.
Funny how you didn’t mention the elephant in the room … RELOADING.
Hazcat,
Not really it always says that it’s Berdan primed, not Boxer. It even sometimes says that it ISN’T reloadable for those that don’t understand it from the names. Pretty sure that anyone reading the article, especially this bunch would know that.
Exactly why I gave all my steel case .223 to my Brother who does not reload. I do. I still have some brass Berdan primed ammo for my 1918 Enfield, but I also found that IVI makes MilSpec brass for it and it is made for Boxer primers.
RF,
I just burn mine in my Rem 700. It’s a bolt gun and doesn’t care.
Buy a cheap Savage & it will. lol
Although you might regard lacquer buildup in tight chambers to be “fuddlore,” it should be noted that a federal law enforcement agency for which I was deputized prohibited steel case ammo for precisely that reason. Renowned defense firearm instructors also recommend against steel case ammo in AR-15-style rifles/pistols on the premise that the harder metal breaks extractors. FYI, I have seen more than one AR-15 stop running during hard/hot use in defensive firearm courses when the individual ran steel case. Personally, I use steel case ammo only in the sloppy-chambered, relatively crude Soviet-style firearms for which it was originally intended.… Read more »
All I know is that there isn’t a single indoor range around me that allows steel ammo.
For a little while in the 90s you could get a new Chinese SKS commercial manufacture with pinned and chrome lined barrel for $69.99. 1000 round cases of 7.62 X 39 were going for $69.99 also. I wish I’d bought more of it. NO, it’s not for sale!
That was a great time to be a gun enthusiast.
so just how much steel cased ammunition do you have to use in order to see it impact the operation of the rifle? A thousand rounds, ten thousand rounds? That would put this issue to rest. I would think that if you took about five firearms off of the line and ran a bunch of brass cased ammunition as the control group and another five rifles shooting nothing but steel cased ammunition then look at the various parts for wear at various intervals. Sure on the microscopic level you might notice accelerated wear on the firearms using steel cased ammunition… Read more »
My roller delayed HK93 loved them! The lacquer and poly coated ones made a hell of a mess though.
You forgot this CON of steel case ammo! IT CANNOT BE RELOADED!!!
I, too, will chime in and state that “This is because most steel-cased ammo uses a mild steel core” is not true with commercially available steel-cased ammo. If you are using old milsurp, that could be a different story, but anything you find on the shelf at Academy won’t be steel core.
What I am surprised about is that nobody got into the differences between milsurp steel-cased ammo and commercial.
At the state police academy I instructed at we banned steel case ammo during our rifle classes.
Because of the stuck cases problem.
We spent to much valuable instructing time trying to remove cases from students firearms.
I have shot many thousands of rounds of steel cased through AK’s and SKS’s with out trouble.
But in AR plat forms it can be problematic.
A small issue of jargon. I’m not sure what is meant by running a gun wet, or by “over-gassed”.
Are you serious or just playing around ? I will assume you may be new to this platform of firearm. Running wet, is keeping your firearm well lubricated. Over gassed review this article. You will learn the importance to being over gassed in the process. https://www.pewpewtactical.com/tuning-ar15-gas-system/
The problem with an over gassed AR is unless you don’t police up the brass for reloading or the upper doesn’t have a brass deflector, the cases will typically have a dent caused by the ejected case striking the deflector ramp edge hard. Another problem even if there is no deflector is the brass lands 20+ feet from the firing position. Before Uniquetek sold deflector bumpers I replaced the stock 1999 Colt Sporter gas key with an adjustable one.
Casings are for sausages and door frames. The correct term is CASE. See for yourself:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cartridge+cases+for+sale&atb=v314-1&t=chromentp&ia=web
“Cleanliest?” The word you’re trying for is CLEANEST.
Interesting article otherwise.
The U.S. produced some .45ACP steel cased ammo in WW II. I decided to try shooting some Wolf .45 in my Valkyrie Arms M3A1. Result: Broken expensive extractor. Won’t shoot it again!
Not gonna lie, your extractor was too soft if a handful of steel-cased ammo broke it.
For anyone interested, the guys at luckygunner did an extremely thorough and informative test on this topic a few years ago. They shot 10,000 rounds of each of the common steel ammo brands in four identical new rifles, with brass federal rounds as the constant to compare with. It’s a pretty long read but one i would suggest for everyone interested in shooting
That’s why I bought an under-seat rifle rack from 4WheelOnline. I agree that the price of steel cases has gone through the roof so the affordable ones are only made in hard plastic.
Jammoz — What?
I am not sure that steel cased ammo would wear out anything faster than brass, and would like documentation rather than theory on this. The reason? The steel case has a coating, which cushions against wear. Reloading would lose the benefit of this coating, as it wears off. But I do question the hypothesis, unless demonstrated, that a new steel case increases wear over brass.
Bill, I know that there has been testing on it, though I don’t have them bookmarked. Have you searched on extractor wear with steel cased ammo?
My experience with steel cased ammo in a Mosen Nagant was the coating was heated up with the explosion of the round in the chamber melting the coating and after a few rounds you couldn’t get a round to chamber because there was too much coating in the chamber.
Also, if you use the steel cased ammo close to dark it had a massive muzzle flash, if things come to a combat situation you want the flash coming from the other side so you can see where, they, are, not the other way round.