Ammo $$ going up??

[bigdeer2000]

will steel cased ammo damage an ar 15? i have been using the brass cased but the steel cased is quite a bit cheaper.

 

[TractorLegend]

I had trouble with the Wolf stuff in a Bushmaster Carbon 15 .223 pistol. You could measure overall lengths between name brand and come up quite a bit different/ off spec in the Wolf. I had several misfire/ jams and the gun was overall finicky and unreliable so I traded it off. it was a newer model plus it was sent back for warranty mods and still was a turd. I then became no fan of Bushmaster.
The 200.00 AK 47 never hardly jams but the 800.00 Bushie did quite regularly---go figure.

 

[Soundguy]

will steel cased ammo damage an ar 15? i have been using the brass cased but the steel cased is quite a bit cheaper.

Does it resize ok.. and how is it primed?

soundguy

 

[Podunkadunk]

I had trouble with the Wolf stuff in a Bushmaster Carbon 15 .223 pistol. You could measure overall lengths between name brand and come up quite a bit different/ off spec in the Wolf. I had several misfire/ jams and the gun was overall finicky and unreliable so I traded it off. it was a newer model plus it was sent back for warranty mods and still was a turd. I then became no fan of Bushmaster.
The 200.00 AK 47 never hardly jams but the 800.00 Bushie did quite regularly---go figure.

Your misfires are of course from the cheap Wolf ammo. That's no fault on your rifle.

The jamming that is probably occurring as a result of it not being the factory spec ammo, hopefully you keep it clean. Your 800.00 Bushmaster is a fine weapon, made with tight tolerances (hardly any rattle), if you treat it with respect and feed it what it likes to eat it'll always do right by you. If you'll keep it clean and gunk free you won't have to use the forward assist button too much either

Ak's on the other hand rattle like a snake when you shake them. They're made that way on purpose. They'll shoot anything that remotely fits in the tube and the relaxed tolerances allow for expansion, compression just enough to stop MOST jams, even if it's filthy. You've heard it a hundred times, but you can drop them in the mud, pick it up and fire away. Try that with your AR-15...I don't care who makes it or what ammo is in it. I have a Colt. It is "finnicky". You just have to take good care of them....not saying you didn't

My wife blasting away pic....

 

[DieselPower]

Does it resize ok.. and how is it primed?

soundguy

NON RELOADABLE! You might be able to get it resized once or twice before the cases start to either crack or crumple. The worst thing is what they will do to your dies, they will destroy them, even carbide dies. Don't even bother trying to reload steel cases.

 

[TractorLegend]

As far as my opinion on my particular Carbon 15, I guess I left out the part where I tried different brands in a clean gun and couldn't get through three clip loads without some jam or another.

I am no fan of Wolf ammo, but think a gun should be designed to function on the "better" ammo without buying the most expensive.

 

[SkyPup]

Does it resize ok.. and how is it primed?

soundguy

I've never reloaded steel shells, but I don't think it would be a good idea.

Even if you used high quality carbide dies since steel does not have the resilency that brass does and you may get the steel case stuck in your die or it could be malformed or cracked from the pressure.

Sounds like it would be very dangerous to try to reload steel shells......

 

[Soundguy]

NON RELOADABLE! You might be able to get it resized once or twice before the cases start to either crack or crumple. The worst thing is what they will do to your dies, they will destroy them, even carbide dies. Don't even bother trying to reload steel cases.

I take it that it is berdan primed then.

I've seen lots of people with jigs to reload berdan.. ( brass though.. not steel ). i think they use a water press to get rid of the primer, then flatten the anvil, and drill a new hole in the center.. lots of work.. but....

Soundguy

 

[SkyPup]

Shoot all the cheap Berdan primed ammo you want, but don't waste your time trying to reload it or import Berdan primers, it's not worth the effort....

 

[DieselPower]

I have not shot the Wolf ammo in quite some time so right off the top of my head I'm not sure if they are Berdan primed or not. The main problem is not the primers, it's the steel case. Most are not designed to be reloaded and if you check the head stamp on them usually have a big N R which stands for Non Reloadable. Steel unlike brass cases are almost impossible to resize due to it being a much harder metal and not very maleable. Not only that but it's extremely hard on dies (wear), tend to stick in the dies (steel to steel) and the epoxy or paint finish on them is a whole other problem in itself.