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I ran 3,000 thousand of steel case 9mm ammo through a Taurus trying to break it. I failed.
Steel Cased Ammo
- Thread starter Narragansett
- Start date
Rick H.
Member
If you have a vintage or otherwise collectable firearm I would not shoot steel case ammunition in it.....period. There is no valid reason to use steel case ammunition in a valuable firearm unless you are a risk taker. Now, do I care if you shoot steel case ammunition in your 70 year old Colt 1911? Not at all, have at it. Just don't come crying and wining when your old Colt breaks and you wonder why. It's a shame common sense is so short in supply these days.
Rick H.
Rick H.
OP
There has to be more to this story
Back in the day, brass was $350 a case of 1000. You could get Tula or Wolf for under $200 shipped. If you shot a lot, it was very cost effective.
I took a Pat Rogers 3 day carbine class back in the day. shot 1500 rds of Wolf in that 3 days. not one hiccup. He did give me a rash of **** for running it. I had brass as a back up.
I had more issues with brass ammo made by the British (Radway green) it was low powered NATO spec 5.56mm that was loaded for the Brit SA-80 guns. The US Army even put out a safety statement saying this ammo was for practice only as it was not cycling correctly.
I never owned a AR that would not reliable shoot Steel. It's not the horrible baba yaga that it's made out to be.
And when I retired from the Army on 2004, I sold my Beretta 92FS (My practice gun for my issued M9) to a guy to buy a Glock (I wanted to see what all the Hype was).
21 years later, it's still my go to gun. I've gone Tens of thousands of rds. thru them and never a hiccup. and Minute of man accurate. It's what I expect a handgun to be. Stone cold reliable, eats everything I feed it, and hits man size tgts out to 25 yds plus.
Steel had its place if you shot a lot, but now the price difference is not great enough anymore. Plus, I like to go to indoor ranges in the winter and steel is No Bueno.
If I can afford to shoot so much ammo that I need to change a barrel or an extractor, I'm thinking I can afford to do that.
AJ
US Veteran
"Minute of man" is OK, but "Minute of Chest" is better..........Just saying!
Waaaaay back, I shot a heck of a lot of .45 ACP galvanized steel case US surplus ammo at less than a penny per round (cheaper than .22 lr). No issues-other than the corrosive primers, but GI bore cleaner was around $1 a quart, so no issues. Plus, hot water & soap was next to free. I don't see much of a practice issue with handguns, but I'd get a spare extractor & spring JIC.
Never tried any steel in rifles-that I recall, might have a few rounds in bolt guns. There was a long technical paper on how cartridges designed around steel cases have a steeper body taper to assist extraction and reduce stress on the extractor. Steel doesn't spring back to original form like brass. Coatings to reduce rust can be major issues in cartridges designed for brass cases if not properly cleaned.
Never tried any steel in rifles-that I recall, might have a few rounds in bolt guns. There was a long technical paper on how cartridges designed around steel cases have a steeper body taper to assist extraction and reduce stress on the extractor. Steel doesn't spring back to original form like brass. Coatings to reduce rust can be major issues in cartridges designed for brass cases if not properly cleaned.
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It's a love-hate thing.
That damn gun just pisses me off. After the steel case I shot another 2,000 rounds of lead bullet reloads. 115gr, 124gr, 147gr. Same story. I only cleaned it once.
I screwed up once and loaded some rounds that wouldn't plunk in anything due to a bulge, except that Taurus. Fired them just fine, laughing at me the whole time. It's mission is to mock me.
It has a trigger like a weedeater. It's a bunch of stamped metal parts in a poly frame. It's uncomfortable. I hate it but I can't get rid of such an inexpensive reliable gun. It's not worth anything anyway. I see them go for $200 on GunBroker.
AJ
US Veteran
Which model of Taurus? I have a friend that has a few and thinks they are fine. My Granddaughter bought a Taurus in .32 H&R Mag for a night stand gun and loves it.
touchoneoff
Member
Quit shooting steel cased ammo a long time ago, for I don't own any ComBloc guns anymore.
CactusCapt
Member
Go to a day even further back (around 1989, or so) and a 1K case of Chinese steel-cased 7.62x39 was $50 OTD at local shows. For <$200 (~$500 today when adjusted for inflation) you could buy a new SKS and a case of ammo. $50 more would upgrade you to a Mak-90.
Had nothing but problems with lacquer coated steel cases ammo once the barrel gets hot.
Steel case ammo is very hard on extractors too.
Steel case ammo is very hard on extractors too.
I bought a Mak 90 for $300 back in 1989. And shot wooden crate after wooden crate of $99/1200rds of Norinco. With the steel core.
I abused the hell out of that Mak 90. Sold it a few years ago and tripled my money.
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Love my G2C .40 uses Sig P226/229 mags too.
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It's a PT 809, which is an 18 round traditional DA/SA auto.
I've had a couple of others. I only had trouble with one (PT 738) and they fixed it and got it back to me in 10 days.
The ones I have are perfectly good guns. I have a couple of others but I'm not buying any more.
I also still have:
PT 911 (not 1911, 911)
PT 638 (that one's a hoot)
Model 83 revolver (has oversized throats but accurate enough for social purposes)
I got rid of a 92, the PT738, and a .380 revolver. Kind of wished I'd kept them.
AJ
US Veteran
Years ago I remember some complaints about Taurus gun. A 1stSgt that I knew had a Taurus PT 92 about 30 years ago. We had access to unlimited amounts of 9MM ammo through Police Agencies that used our ranges. He cracked his slide. Sent it back to Taurus and promptly got it back with a complete new upper. Eventually he sold it as he picked up a brand new Beretta 92 through a police buy. Then supposedly the Beretta's had a problem cracking slide when using some military ammo. The ammo was pulled and destroyed. I was stationed at a Naval Weapons Station and the incinerator was running 24/7, all you could hear was the popping of the rounds. i believe it was IMI ammo.......
Never really hear any complaints about Taurus guns nowadays.
IMI (Israeli) ammo spec'd hot for Sub guns(MP5) and Navy SEALS using it on early M9's that the slides were not properly heat treated. resulted on the addition of a large head pin that engaged a groove on the underside of the slide to keep the slide from flying backwards and heading the shooter in the face.
David Sinko
Member
I have reloaded a lot of Boxer primed Wolf steel cases for .223 and .45 ACP and even some Berdan primed steel when brass cased 7.62X39 was not very common. The only problem I ever had was the reloaded steel case .45 ACP in my 625 revolver. They were very difficult to extract so that was six rounds and never again. The appeal in .223 was in my DPMS AR which refused to chamber anything at or beyond the maximum case length. The steel cases never stretched and therefore didn't need to be trimmed. I never had a single problem with that rifle. I loaded steel cased .45 ACP because I didn't want to lose my brass at the matches. I never had a problem in the Glock 21.
AJ
US Veteran
IMI was all over the place it seemed. Our incinerators were running 24/7 for well over a month. There must have been .45 ACP involved also (or maybe it was just a blanket order for any IMI). We were carrying M1911's at the Marine Barracks. When it came time to draw ammo from the Issue Point at Camp Pendleton, we were told there was no ammo to issue to us. I asked to speak to the NCOIC of the Issue Point to remind him we were a Priority One as we were providing security at a Naval Weapons Station. He said come down and pick up our allocation. When we got there we were issued Winchester Match in .45 ACP (60,000 rounds worth). I asked him about it and was told it is all we have that hasn't been withdrawn from service. I still have some of that once fired brass on hand.
Murphy's Law
Member
Only in my Sam-7SF w/no problems whatsoever.
Valmet
Member
I’ve shot up a bunch of it over the years in Glocks (mostly 9mm) and have never had any issues.
