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Just wanted to get some opinions on steel case ammo for my AR. I've never used it in my AR but with prices going up and ammo getting hard to find i thought about trying it. I've heard it can damage extractors,firing pins,etc. I've always been told by 2 different gunsmiths to stay away from it but I see Hornady has there own steel case ammo and didn't think they would sell ammo that would damage guns. Any thoughts?
Steel Case ammo will run fine in good rifles. It tends not to like GI mags, but usually works just fine, and even better in Pmags.
Generally I consider steel case as plinker, and "guest" ammo.
Save the good stuff for defense and important training/classes.
I have fired several thousand rounds of Wolf 55g steel case ammunition through my RRA UTE over the past few years. It is dirty and not as accurate as other 55g ball, but it ran without any issues in my carbine. The steel plates I shot with the Wolf ammo did not know the difference and still fell over when hit.
The round count on the carbine is over 9,000 rounds with only about 2,000 rounds of brass case ammunition fired. I picked up an extra extractor and firing pin after reading several horror stories on the internet about steel case ammunition breaking parts. I still have the new spare parts in my range bag, I never had to use them. All I have replaced to date is two sets of gas rings, one set recently. The rifle still ran, but the gas rings looked worn and I replaced them as a precautionary measure.
Wolf ammunition smells funny when fired and I do have to clean more frequently than when I fire U.S. manufactured ammuntion. If you shoot steel case ammunition, pay close attention to keeping the chamber clean.
Im curious what hardened steel parts would be damaged by the softer annealed steel of the ammo case?
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