I wasn't aware of brass plated steel cases until a recent purchase from freedom munitions. I thought I ordered my usual hum-drum 9mm 115 grain RN range ammo. I opened the shipping box and found I ordered "American Steel". Thinking it was a packaging mistake, I checked out the shipping order and did a little online research. Just looking at the ammo I couldn't tell any difference. I was able to confirm these brass plated steel cases were attracted to a magnet, however. Can and should you reload these cases? Why are they priced slightly over normal brass?? I was always under the impression steel cased ammo was econ-O-junky.
Brass plated steel cases
- Thread starter roundgun
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To me its a new one!
Someone has to pay for the plating process and I can't imagine that its very thick so I don't know that you'd want to resize it.
Someone has to pay for the plating process and I can't imagine that its very thick so I don't know that you'd want to resize it.
Arik
Member
Steel case is typically cheaper.
You can reload steel case but you'd have to read up on it.
It's not necessarily junk but many people seem to equate dirty with junky. I look at it as I'm either shooting or not.
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You can reload steel case but you'd have to read up on it.
It's not necessarily junk but many people seem to equate dirty with junky. I look at it as I'm either shooting or not.
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Oh no..........
now we have to start reading the fine print and foot notes !!
Bummer.
now we have to start reading the fine print and foot notes !!
Bummer.
Here is a past thread on them.
US Made, Brass Plated Steel Cased Ammunition.
There is a lot of junk out there, always run a strong magnet over your range brass to pull out the stuff.
US Made, Brass Plated Steel Cased Ammunition.
There is a lot of junk out there, always run a strong magnet over your range brass to pull out the stuff.
I found a bunch of the stuff a while back. Didn't know they plated steel with brass, thought it was only the shiny zinc type coating. Live and learn.
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Mistered
Member
Neither have I - mind posting a pic?
Tinhack
Member
I used to do brass, nickel, zinc and copper plating for antique car restorations. Brass plating has very narrow parameters for it to come out nice and is expensive. I wonder if it's really brass or some other flash plate like zinc and chromate.
It's probably easier on your chambers....
.... but it's still a steel case and it won't be worth sizing. Just get some 'brass' brass.
Once shot stuff can be had pretty cheap and better outfits have higher quality.
.... but it's still a steel case and it won't be worth sizing. Just get some 'brass' brass.
Once shot stuff can be had pretty cheap and better outfits have higher quality.
hdwhit
Member
You can try, but I doubt you will find the results satisfactory.
Since steel has a dfferent "modulus of elasticity" from brass, you may find dies designed to resize brass may not adequately resize steel cases resulting in inadequate neck tension to hold the bullet.
If you try it, proceed with care knowing that you are doing something experimental. Check each step and be prepared to abandon the effort if it doesn't work right.
If you do achieve success, please come back and share with us what you did to get it to work.
Why would you even consider anything like this that may cause problems when the cost of 9mm brass is so cheap? Last time I looked, there were several companies selling cleaned 9mm for less than $40 per 1000.
Arik
Member
It's not experimental. Plenty of people do it. Don't ask me why but they do and there's tons of info online about how to.
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It's what they say it is
Brass or copper it's still steel cases.
I have bullets (projectiles) that a brass plated and some that are copper plated.
American Steel
Freedom Munition’s American Steel is here and is going to change the way you look at steel cased ammo. Our steel cases are made in America, they are brass plated for enhanced feeding and reliability and loaded with an X-Treme bullet. American Steel is new ammunition but at a remanufactured ammunition price point.
STORMINORMAN
Member
It can be done, but...
Sellier & Belot had a 115gr 9mm loading called Range Safe and I inadvertantly found some (about a dozen, or so) cases mixed in with my brass: noticed them as I sort by manufacturer after cleaning and before any actual reloading. They have a red paint around the primer cup, and were a little bit more difficult to re-size, took a little more effort to hand seat new primers.
They fired and ejected normally, no difference that I could discern... I didn't bother to try and reload them a 2nd time.
I have all the brass 9mm cases I can ever imagine needing and almost always find a box or two of once-fired ones at the range: all nice and shiney, and all the same manufacturer, usually.
Cheers!
Sellier & Belot had a 115gr 9mm loading called Range Safe and I inadvertantly found some (about a dozen, or so) cases mixed in with my brass: noticed them as I sort by manufacturer after cleaning and before any actual reloading. They have a red paint around the primer cup, and were a little bit more difficult to re-size, took a little more effort to hand seat new primers.
They fired and ejected normally, no difference that I could discern... I didn't bother to try and reload them a 2nd time.
I have all the brass 9mm cases I can ever imagine needing and almost always find a box or two of once-fired ones at the range: all nice and shiney, and all the same manufacturer, usually.Cheers!
BigMoneyGrip
Member
I've reloaded plenty of the Winchester steel cased 9mm. No problems whatsoever. I have a big magnet on a rod that I use to pick it up with. Some of it has been loaded 4 times, plus the factory load.
M E Morrison
Member
is that plain steel case - or brass plated steel case?
also, I wonder what primer they use - berdan perhaps?
That presents a new twist for my range, which does not allow steel case (we recycle the brass to keep our costs down). If that starts getting through the front desk, it will cause problems when we get to the recycler.
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