Steel cases in an AR ?

[Sea Buck]

Couldn't pass up the sale at Cabela's on Herters ammo, and bought 100 rnds. However, it is steel cased, and made in Russia. Will the steel cases tear up my extractor?

[MikeGunz]

No. Shoot away

[Metal god]

They can in larger numbers you said 100 did you mean 1,000. Shooting steel is not that big a issue . Just make sure you clean the chamber really REALLY well after shooting .

[Technosavant]

Some guns will run them fine, some won't. The only way to be sure with yours is to try it.

Usually the issue isn't the extractor, but general extraction (the steel cases tend to stick in the chamber sometimes). But if yours runs it fine, go for it.

[scsov509]

No. Shoot away

+1. Even if you have problems, spare bolt parts are cheap. An extra extractor costs as little as $10, BCM's entire bolt rebuild kit is like $30, or you can pick up spare bolts for like $50-60. So it's just not worth worrying about, and I've not seen steel cause any more problems than brass anyway.

[scsov509]

Usually the issue isn't the extractor, but general extraction (the steel cases tend to stick in the chamber sometimes). But if yours runs it fine, go for it.

BCM's extractor upgrade usually cures all extracting woes.

[ripnbst]

If you have issues running steel cased ammo your rifle isn't worth it's weight in scrap.

Ok that's an exaggeration but any AR worth a damn will run Steel case no problem.

[UtopiaTexasG19]

I have read posts on other forums that the steel cased Herters is just re-boxed Tulammo and is not very accurate and has more than occasional "no fires" per 100. I don't know if this is true personally but have noticed on many web sites that sellers are out of almost all other brands of steel cased
.223 except the Herter's which makes one wonder why very few are buying that particular brand in .223.

[AKsRul.e]

I own 4 ARs and they all work with Wolf steel case.

[Quentin2]

I have read posts on other forums that the steel cased Herters is just re-boxed Tulammo and is not very accurate and has more than occasional "no fires" per 100. I don't know if this is true personally but have noticed on many web sites that sellers are out of almost all other brands of steel cased .223 except the Herter's which makes one wonder why very few are buying that particular brand in .223.

I've had more trouble with Herter's sticking in the chamber than with Wolf or Tula. If Herter's is Tula (and it sure looks like it) something else must be going on since if you read Herter's reviews on Cabelas a lot of folks are having sticking problems. In my BCM and Daniel Defense the extractor will rip off a piece of rim but a case still sticks here and there. So it's not the extractor.

I'm still a fan of steelcase for practice due to the cost.

[Mrgunsngear]

I love steel ammo (no, I'm not kidding) and shoot it about 95% of the time when I'm shooting... I shoot silver/brown bear, wolf, combloc surplus, ect... The only ammo I've ever had issues with is Herters. It was insanely dirty and didn't function properly in my Glocks and AKs (if those guns can't run it, nothing can ). So I stay away from it nowadays.

Now as far as shooting steel cased ammo in your ARs----I'd bet at least 75% of the issues people report on the internet are caused by mixing brass and steel without cleaning in between. The steel cases don't expand like the brass does allowing fowling issues that can cause issues when brass ammo is introduced into the mix. If you shy away from that you'll likely be okay (generally speaking).

[djcantr]

The steel cases are much softer than normal steel. I haven't shot a ton of it but I do have about 2,500 rounds of it on hand so I hope it continues to function well. I think if you have an AR that's bordering on having an extraction problem the steel case ammo might make it surface but if it's 100% dead nuts reliable then the steel case ammo won't cause a problem. From what I understand the Tula is the weakest of the factory ammo and then Wolf is a little step up. Extraction/cycling issues, if any, might be due more to the light rounds more than the physical makeup of the cases.

[Technosavant]

If you have issues running steel cased ammo your rifle isn't worth it's weight in scrap.

Ok that's an exaggeration but any AR worth a damn will run Steel case no problem.

Baloney.

Most will, but there's plenty of ARs that are otherwise decent that for some reason just don't like steel cases. If the only failing is that it won't run steel case, then that's not a bad AR, it's just an AR that doesn't like steel case ammo.

The quality control of steel ammo is not the same (some, like Hornady, is likely good, the Russian stuff is so-so on its best day), so failing to run the super cheap Russian steel ammo is hardly a statement as to the quality of the rifle. The Hornady steel stuff costs just as much as brass cased ammo, so I don't really see the point in messing with it.

[the led farmer]

Just don't shoot brass after shootin steel without a thorough cleaning, you will get them stuck. Brass before steel is ok

[batmann]

Try some to see if yours will run the stuff, not all AR's will. My S&W has run over a 1000 Silver and Brown Bear (similar) with no problems, but those who mentioned how dirty the Russian stuff is are right on.
I used good brass cased ammo to make sure mine was sighted in and would function. The advise to run the brass case first and then the steel is also correct for the reasons stated------Russian ammo is dirty---dirty---dirty and can foul your chamber making brass very hard to extract, if not impossible.
Run your brass case ammo first, then the steel case and all should be fine.
One more thing-------IF you decide to go with the Herter's or any other steel case ammo, BE SURE AND GIVE YOUR CHAMBER A GOOD (VERY GOOD) CLEANING WITH A BRUSH MADE FOR THE SPECIALLY MADE FOR THE JOB.

[arizona98tj]

I've shot a fair amount of Herter's out of my M&15. I find it to be about 3~4 MOA ammo. For drills and range practice, it works just for me. I bought a couple of years ago when Cabela's was putting it on sale for cheap and then used a discount coupon to reduce the price even further. It appears the 62 HP and 55 FMJ grain loads share the same powder charge since the 62 HP grain loads simply run slower. Neither of them are what I would consider a hot load, according to my chronograph.

[Asfand]

I have shot thousands of steel case rounds in my colt sporter and DPMS rifles. Faced no troubles at all.