The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Art of the Rifle: Semi-automatics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old October 9, 2012, 01:05 AM   #1
silvermane_1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 6, 2011
Location: Burien,WA
Posts: 897
tula .223 rem steel jacket rounds in a mini-14?

i was wondering if any of you folks out there have had any experience with the tula .223 rem steel jacketed rounds in your mini-14, i saw a couple of 20 round boxes at wally's world earlier today for under $5 a box, would like to hear some info and feedback, thanks.

p.s. had to edit due to that fact folks thought i ment steel cased vs. brass cased, i ment steel wrapped lead.
__________________
Rugers:SR1911 CMD,MK 3 .22lr 6",Sec. Six '76 liberty .357 4",SRH .480 Ruger 7.5",Mini-14 188 5.56/.233 18.5", Marlins: 795 .22lr 16.5",30aw 30-30 20",Mossberg:Mav. 88 Tact. 12 ga, 18.5",ATR 100 .270 Win. 22",S&W:SW9VE
9mm 4",Springfield:XD .357sig 4", AKs:CAI PSL-54C, WASR 10/63, WW74,SLR-106c

Last edited by silvermane_1; October 13, 2012 at 12:07 AM.
silvermane_1 is offline  
Old October 9, 2012, 10:15 AM   #2
UtopiaTexasG19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 3, 2011
Location: S.E. Texas Gulf Coast
Posts: 743
From reading a lot of posts on this forum and others, it depends on the gun. Some guns appear to hate any steel cased ammo and some eat it up like candy. Some folks swear they would never use steel cased ammo in their guns and others use it all the time. There does not appear to be a consensus one way or another. You'll just have to try some out and see for yourself. My Mini 14 I bought back in 1972 eats steel cased ammo all day long without a hitch.
UtopiaTexasG19 is offline  
Old October 9, 2012, 08:17 PM   #3
stu925
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2010
Location: New York
Posts: 953
As far as I know it should run ok on the Tula stuff. I think most of the fears with steel cased ammo is in the Mini-30 where it's rumored that the steel cased berdan primed ammo is responsible for broken firing pins. Personally I won't run steel cased ammo in my Mini-14 because I reload. You might want to keep in mind that Ruger doesn't seem to approve of the steel cased Russian ammo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruger Manual
The Mini-14 Ranch and Mini Thirty Rifles are designed to use either standardized U.S. military, or factory loaded sporting cartridges manufactured in accordance with U.S. industry practice. Always be careful to ensure you are using the correct ammunition for your rifle. See “Ammunition Notice” & “Warning - Ammunition,” below.
Stu
stu925 is offline  
Old October 10, 2012, 05:14 AM   #4
shaunpain
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 12, 2008
Location: Chicago
Posts: 854
My brother's mini will eat steel or brass. I'd say as long as it cycles fine, use it. Just don't switch to brass after shooting steel. I think everyone knows that, though.
__________________
"Shut up, crime!"
shaunpain is offline  
Old October 10, 2012, 10:56 AM   #5
jmstr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 24, 2001
Location: San Joaquin Valley, CA
Posts: 1,281
Quote:
Just don't switch to brass after shooting steel. I think everyone knows that, though.
I didn't.

Do you mean on the same day, or do you mean for ever after? And why?
jmstr is offline  
Old October 10, 2012, 11:23 AM   #6
9mm1033
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 18, 2005
Location: A big city with far too many cars and people.
Posts: 932
Quote:
Just don't switch to brass after shooting steel. I think everyone knows that, though.
Really, I never heard of that either. Please explain.
__________________
No one reads or cares what is written in ones signature box. So I'm not writing anything worth reading or remembering.
9mm1033 is offline  
Old October 11, 2012, 01:29 AM   #7
Bamashooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 12, 2010
Posts: 1,860
My Mini-14 has 1911 style buffers on the op rod and gas tube. It will not shoot tula with them on. If I take the buffer off the gas tube it will shoot tula just fine. I prefer and almost always shoot brass cased ammo since I reload. Dont really care for steel cased ammunition.

Incidentely, The mini-14 with both buffers will shoot everything Ive ever put in it without one single issue. That includes all factory and handloaded ammo.Tula is the only ammo that Ive ever tried that would not. I have to admit, I was kinda glad.
Bamashooter is offline  
Old October 12, 2012, 05:15 PM   #8
Tucker 1371
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 29, 2008
Location: East TN
Posts: 2,649
I'm trying to get away from steel case as much as possible and still keep shooting. I was running some Tula thru my ACR (really just trying to get rid of it bc I have some m193 surplus now) and the bolt literally tore a section of the case head off. The primer was good so the round fired but I had to stop shooting and run a rod down the barrel to pop the case out of the chamber. I had spent about 500rds of the same batch of ammo with no failures other than a stovepipe but this IMO is unsat.

Once this crap is gone I wont buy it again. I will continue to run The Herter's thru my M1A (I know, I know, it's bad but it keeps my shooting, I feel guilty for it every time I load a mag) but since it's apparently just rebadged Tula I may consider trying to hunt down some Port Surplus or Silver Bear .308, I know SB isn't much better but it seems like a slight upgrade to me. If SB makes 5.56 I'd look into them over Tula if you're broke like me and must go steel cased.
__________________
Sgt. of Marines, 5th Award Expert Rifle, 237/250
Expert Pistol, 382/400. D Co, 4th CEB, Engineers UP!!
If you start a thread, be active in it. Don't leave us hanging.
OEF 2011 Sangin, Afg. Molon Labe
Tucker 1371 is offline  
Old October 14, 2012, 06:35 AM   #9
stubbicatt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 15, 2007
Posts: 1,707
Try a couple boxes and see how it works for you. If it doesn't work, don't use it.
stubbicatt is offline  
Old October 14, 2012, 08:47 AM   #10
shaunpain
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 12, 2008
Location: Chicago
Posts: 854
Sorry for the delay, gentleman, but concerning shooting brass after shooting steel...

These guys do a better job of explaining it through a test here: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu18.htm

What I have read from many sources has led me to have a strong belief that steel cases don't expand as much as brass cases do in the chamber, therefore, steel cased ammo will leave more powder and residue in the chamber than a brass case (which, by design, seals the chamber almost completely). Many people have had problems shooting steel cased stuff, then without reaming the chamber out, start shooting brass and have extraction failures. I'm no expert, but I certainly will stay away from doing so. If you have done it and you didn't have any problems, then honestly I'm sure you're fine.
__________________
"Shut up, crime!"
shaunpain is offline  
Old October 14, 2012, 08:51 AM   #11
shaunpain
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 12, 2008
Location: Chicago
Posts: 854
This is the nugget from the source above that will be most helpful in understanding what I mean:

Quote:
"What's happening here is that the steel Wolf cases aren't expanding enough to form a good seal when fired, so some of the (dirty, carbon-filled) gasses are getting between the case and the chamber, causing a build up of carbon in the chamber that is far in excess of normal. Then, firing a brass case that DOES expand fully will result in that case being "glued" into the chamber by the carbon buildup.

It actually looks to me like the SA brass is BRITTLE, not too soft. Soft brass will be deformed at the case rim where the extractor pulled through it, while hard, brittle brass will just have that section of the rim broken off.

Likely, neither ammo would be a problem on its own, but mixing them is clearly bad news.
-Troy"
__________________
"Shut up, crime!"
shaunpain is offline  
Old October 14, 2012, 05:27 PM   #12
mr.t7024
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 6, 2012
Location: Ma, near a brook
Posts: 229
Tula

I have a new ruger Mini 14,I bought a case of the Tula very cheap.I had 2 misfires. I checked the ammo no powder. I called Ruger they said if you use that ammo it will void the warranty. I returned the ammo and bought some Federal.
BTW that Tula only has a very light copper wash covering a steel bullet. I am not in favor of sending a steel bullet down a steel barrel, just saying. Cliff
mr.t7024 is offline  
Old October 16, 2012, 09:10 PM   #13
silvermane_1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 6, 2011
Location: Burien,WA
Posts: 897
thanks folks for all feedback and info so far, i'm thinking that i dodged the bullet on this steel bullet issue.
lol
__________________
Rugers:SR1911 CMD,MK 3 .22lr 6",Sec. Six '76 liberty .357 4",SRH .480 Ruger 7.5",Mini-14 188 5.56/.233 18.5", Marlins: 795 .22lr 16.5",30aw 30-30 20",Mossberg:Mav. 88 Tact. 12 ga, 18.5",ATR 100 .270 Win. 22",S&W:SW9VE
9mm 4",Springfield:XD .357sig 4", AKs:CAI PSL-54C, WASR 10/63, WW74,SLR-106c
silvermane_1 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:33 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05302 seconds with 10 queries