Steel Case loading

[HAMMER1DOWN]

I have a bunch of .223 rem. brown bear steel cased ammo that i just use to do some shootin, and i was wondering if there would be a problem if i pulled the bullets and loaded them with some X-Terminator powder and 55gr. nosler ballistic tip???

[Unclenick]

As long as you reduce the load and work it up carefully, watching for pressure signs, you should be OK. Don't count on a load previously worked up in brass to be a match. The steel may resist expansion more and raise the pressure.

[Slamfire]

I tried that with 308 Chinese ball. And the answer was it turned out to be a bother.

I had to use a dremel tool and a grinding bit to chamfer the inside of the case mouth. Without a chamfer the case mouth shaved thick slices of copper off the side of the bullets.

However, once I put in bullets, and dropped a mid range charge of a known powder, the "Chinese Match" actually shot well.

But it took too much time.

[Sevens]

This is NOT an expert opinion, but it's my opinion.

I wouldn't buy new steel cased ammo for any of my firearms, and I sure wouldn't reload any of it, either.

IMO, they make cases out of brass because of it's properties-- it's a softer metal, softer than the firearm that's chucking it in & out of it's chamber. It expands, to allow the bullet to be seated, to allow the bullet to leave, to expand to the dimensions of the chamber and to return to close to it's original shape. It also works well in steel reloading dies that physically stretch them in so many ways.

When you go to steel, all those properties are tossed in to the crapper.

A lot of foreign milsurp crap comes covered in that lacquer. Why? I think it's to help them chamber more reliably. That means that lacquer is getting wiped all over the innards of my guns, and trying to reload them without lacquer is subjecting the chamber to steel-on-steel.

I don't like it, I don't need it, so I'll never use it.

Doesn't mean anyone else shouldn't, but that's my opinion. Doesn't mean I won't listen to evidence or thought to the contrary, but it would have to be a pretty good campaign to change my mind.

[Unclenick]

Steel can be made soft enough for cartridge case applications, and is, but it does need the coating for rust prevention and lubing and that does make a mess. I've worked a Dillon 1050 when a steel case got in by mistake. Even though it was Berdan primed and the machine succeeded in resizing and reloading it, you could feel how dramatically the press handle force requirement increased. Not good for the gear, so don't reload them (and yes, I know that's not what the original post proposed; I'm just adding the warning). They will work harden and crack more readily than brass.

I doubt the gun will be damaged by the stuff. They make it for full auto weapons, after all, which would take a real beating if it were hard on the chamber. It probably does a better job of containing pressure at the head than brass does. I just avoid it for the cleaning problem and the concern about it getting into my brass for reloading by mistake. A magnet makes a good sorting tool.

[ilbob]

I don't know much about steel rifle rounds, but I do know a fair number of people reload steel pistol cases. They generally don't brag a lot about it because people tell them it is bad to do so.

A fellow I shoot with regularly reloaded some steel 45s as an experiment. He said they shot fine and he did not think they were any harder to size than brass shells. But he stopped after a few dozen because he has like 20,000 brass 45 cases, and there was no real benefit to reloading the steel cases.

[Sevens]

I doubt the gun will be damaged by the stuff. They make it for full auto weapons, after all, which would take a real beating if it were hard on the chamber.

While I would certainly agree with this, I can't bear think that the chamber on a Chicom SKS is just like one of my prized firearms. (not that I own anything particularly valuable, but they mean a lot to me and I wouldn't want to treat them in a way utilitarian communist battle rifles were designed to be treated)

[HAMMER1DOWN]

I pulled the bullets on 20 of the steel cased rounds and chamfered the inside of the case mouth and loaded them up. To my surprise they shot a little under an inch at a hundred yards!?! That is way better than i could've hoped for and i didn't have to worry about findin all my brass. To me it was worth it.

[amamnn]

The trouble with steel is that it is the opposite of brass when it comes to ductility. That is, when you work the brass by shooting and reforming it in your die, you harden the brass a bit. Working steel softens it. Steel that is mild enough to be worked in a handloading die is not going to be reliable enough in its ductility for me to feel comfortable with the neck tension and bullet release and use it. I don't know, and have never heard of, anyone reloading steel cases long enough to know if the softening becomes a safety issue. I think most of us are afraid it will scratch the dies.

[Hylander]

I wouldn't buy new steel cased ammo for any of my firearms, and I sure wouldn't reload any of it, either.

+1

[HAMMER1DOWN]

by the way i don't plan on going through the whole prcess i am just pulling the bullets with one of those hammer type pullers and emptying the powder and using a new powder and bullet just so when i am in the heat of coote hunting i don't need to stop and find all my brass

[H&R088]

I wonder why ammo companies don't offer aluminum or steel cases to reloaders. They may only be good once, but I lose a lot of brass when shooting semi-automatics.

[mrawesome22]

What Sevens said.