opinions on steel cartridges

[juststarting]

Hi all

Just wondering about buying ammo with steel cartridges, i.e. not brass.

Thoughts, recommendations, etc?

Seems to be a lot cheaper for 308 but since I've never seen or used them before, thought I'd ask...


Thanks

[Rippah]

Steel is harder than brass obviously, harder on your chamber and your extractors.

AFAIK the only reason they use it is because it's cheap, not good.

[Arth]

You can't reload it either so don't buy it if you want to use it again.

[juststarting]

The rounds that I was were Hornady 308 steel cartridge rounds, which worked out to about 68c a round. I don't think I am too concerned with reloading. I don't reload, I may later, but at this stage - not really. So I don't factor in the 'keeping brass' for reloading factor.

Just wondering if they are more or less the same. Would they mess up my precious more so then brass, etc.

In fact I only seen these rounds recently, so I am wondering about health and accuracy of the rifle, more so than anything else.

[Title_II]

From what I have read, you'll lose barrel accuracy before they do any wear to your extractor (which is cheap) or your chamber. That steel is pretty soft. People have difficulty in quantifying any additional wear in semi-autos with 10,000 rounds through them.

I know a lot of steel is military garbage. Sounds like that is not the steel you are interested in. I don't know, but I would expect even high quality steel case rounds to be somewhat less accurate due to weak obituation in the chamber. Bullet presentation to the lands is supposedly pretty important to accuracy, but I am not a precision shooter.

So, I have no first hand experience but that is what I have read and what I think. I have shot steel but it was blasting with government junk so that probably doesn't mean much to you.

I certainly don't think there would be any issue buying a box and seeing what it does. If it sucks in your rifle then you don't have to worry about all the speculation.

[becks]

At 68c a shot that would be about as cheap as reloading for .308 anyway so if it shoots good?

[heeple]

Steel is harder than brass obviously, harder on your chamber and your extractors.

Harder on the extractors can't be good?

[Berper]

I haven't worn extractors out before but I suspect this might be one of those things that is true on paper but doesn't make much difference IRL.

Yes, steel is harder the brass so using brass cases will be easier on them in theory.

Extractor's don't really do a high impact job though so how much wear can putting steel cases through them really add I wonder?

[VICHunter]

Thinking the same as above about the extractors. It wouldn't bother me if the ammo shoots.