Re: Reloading Steel .45 ACP Casings.

[brucev]

Re: Reloading Steel .45 ACP Casings.

Reloading steel .45 ACP casings? I'd never have thought of it! But now my morning coffee is working on what little brain I have available. I'm a thinking there might be some real possibilities for those steel TULA cases I've previously let fly. Just imagine... if a top end load is developed in brass cases, surely the steel cases would allow a little more "potential." I'm not sure it'd be something I'd do a lot in a 1911 pistol. But I've got a 625-2 that I positively adore. It is one of the most accurate revolvers I've ever owned. I've been thinking about seeing what it might be up to come next deer season. Just thinking out loud... Saturday morning... you know. Sincerely. brucev.

 

[David Sinko]

I sometimes reload steel .45 ACP cases, mostly just to find out how well it works. I would never attempt top end loads in steel cases. I have used somewhat light loads with cast bullets in my Glock 21 with Bar-Sto barrel but had cycling problems. I'm not sure why this happens, but obviously it's due to the steel case since the same load in brass functions perfectly. I have some plated bullets loaded to 165 power factor in steel cases that I will use for lost brass matches. These seem to work fine.

I will never again shoot any steel cases in any of my 625s. Six rounds of factory loaded Wolf had to be forcibly extracted from one of my cylinders, and I never want to go through that again.

I have come to the conclusion that steel cases can be successfully reloaded, if necessary. But I will not do it as a matter of habit.

Dave Sinko

 

[Skip Sackett]

Bruce,
There will be no problem with steel cases in either of your firearms IF you keep one thing in mind, they are not brass.

Yeah, sounds stupidly simple, I know, I am good at that!

I have successfully loaded Wolf steel cases on numerous occasions. Light loads, light bullets for the most part.

If you load heavy in them they may not "shrink" very well and cause the problem that David mentioned above.

So, yes to being able to (as long as they are boxer primed) and no to the "load them hot" thinking. But, you are an adult and can do as you like. If you run them hot, let us know how that works out for you!

Another thing to think about, capacity. Fill each with water and see what they weigh. Then weigh them dry and empty. Might have more room in the steel cases.

Hope this helps!

Be safe!

 

[Skip Sackett]

After about 4 reloads

 

[rsrocket1]

I keep the steel cases I find and reload them for use in places where I can't retrieve my empty cases. I also keep the empties and reloads in ziplock bags with descant in them so they won't rust.

 

[Hawker Man]

I think a good analogy for casings, be they brass or steel is this: They are like a inner tube and a tire, where the inner tube holds the air and the barrel/chamber hold the pressure. If you install a thicker inner tube in a tire, it will not hold more pressure, as that is the function of the tire. If you make casings out of steel they would not hold more pressure, as that is the function of the barrel/chamber.
Also you must consider the battering you will be giving you gun as you try to push the bullet faster and faster. If you don't think a 45 has enough power, get something bigger.
It is brass for me.
That's just the way I see it.

 

[sjmjax]

This was a heated discussion several years ago.

Out of curiosity, I decided to try it.

I fired 50 rounds of Wolf in my 1955 revolver and saved the brass. Didn't want to use range pickups or cases that had sat for long out of concerns regarding rusting and case deterioration.

Processed much like any other cases. Used a mild load of 231 and 200g LSWC.

Then tested them in several different semi's and revolvers.

Function in all guns was fine.

Accuracy that day was rather "ho-hum". Not sure why. Generally that particular bullet/powder combination gave good groups. Don't know if it was the steel cases or if I was just having a bad day.

About 20% of the recovered cases were split like the one show in Skip's post. [10 out of 50] This may be a contributing factor to the flyers and accuracy issues I experienced.

My conclusion was that "yes, it can be done and does work".
I'm still concerned with once fired steel cases having the protective coatings damaged and that may in time lead to internal rusting and case weakening.

I have way too many regular brass cases on hand to need to resort to steel recycling. But, I would do it in some kind of "emergency".

 

[Peter J.]

About 30 years ago I bought for $5 something close to 1500 World War-2 once fired "EC" headstamped steel cases. The guy selling them said that they weren't worth reloading because they were steel. Well, I have reloaded some of them most likely 15-20 times and maybe have had only one "split" on me. The primer "cup" is a little bit smaller than a standard brass case, but you can squeeze the primer in using a manual rock-chucker type loading press. I know it sounds bad, but it works for me. They function well, but have only used them in 1911's.

 

[Jellybean]

Skip, good post, but weighing won't give a good answer since the cases are made out of different materials, he'd have to check the amount of water by volume.

The reason some companies use steel cases are because they are cheaper than the alloy used to make cartridge brass. The problem with steel cases is that they are not as malleable as the alloy and will not tolerate firing and resizing as well, and will fail much faster. As one poster above said the case is just an innertube, and putting a heavy load in a steel case is a bad idea. The cases real job is to seal the back of the chamber and the best choice for this with heavy loads is a "brass" case.

I'm not going to tell you what to do with your gun, but people have been destroying fine firearms for centuries, if you look around you might be able to find the information you are looking for and still be able to go shooting the next day.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Another thing to think about, capacity. Fill each with water and see what they weigh. Then weigh them dry and empty. Might have more room in the steel cases.
Be safe!

Just gotta read it right, Jelly!

I guess I should have put in the post: Weigh each one independently against itself dry and wet. Maybe that would have solved some of the confusion!

 

[john traveler]

I too have reloaded several hundred WWII EC43 steel cases. The reloads functioned fine in M1911 pistols with ONE exception: they tended to break extractors. In M1917 revolvers, a commonly encountered problem is that if the steel cases are fired without half moon clips, a burr is left on the headspace step in the chamber, and this can cause extraction problems.

The US military loaded countless rounds of steel-cased ammo in .30 M1 Carbine, .30 M1 Rifle, BAR and machine gun, .45 ACP, as well as .50 BMG and 20mm cannon. They used zinc chromate coating as a rust preventative, but field reports of cases rusting through where belt links broke through the zinc chromate coating were common. Steel cases were determined to be a suitable alternative to brass-cases ammunition during wartime shortages.

 

[Jellybean]

Just gotta read it right, Jelly!

I guess I should have put in the post: Weigh each one independently against itself dry and wet. Maybe that would have solved some of the confusion!

No you did it right Skip, I've been having brain fart moments all over the place this morning.

 

[Skip Sackett]

No you did it right Skip, I've been having brain fart moments all over the place this morning.

Well, if those smell as bad as the normal ones, I am glad I am here and you are there! hahaha

 

[fredj338]

Can you reload boxer primed steel cases? Sure. SHould you, not really. Steel cases were never designed to be reloaded. The mild steel used is not as ductile after firing, unlike brass cases, they want to take a set & stay the size they are. It's why many note stiff extraction. It's also why you will see a drop in accuracy w/ each add'l. reload.
It takes a lot more force to size the steel cases. A sim force, IMO, is applied to the guns parts on firing. You wouldn't shoot your gun dry w/ lubericant, so shooting steel against steel, even mild steel, just bugs me. As noted, free country, do as yo ulike, but I only tried it as an experiment for possible future bad times, not as something to make my ammo cost cheaper. I can get all the brass cases I want at my local IDPA matches. I am amazed how many guys shoot factory ammo.