Against all advice I......

[Boomyal]

.....just ordered 1000 rds of steel case, lacquered .223. I couldn't pass up the price of $208 for the 1000 rds. I'll give a report on their performance. I got them from Sportsman's Guide and there were a ton of reviews that spoke well of them. The other bonus is that if you are a 'club' member they let you spread the payments out over 4 months, without interest.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Doesn't take long to go thru 1000 rounds

 

[Boomyal]

Doesn't take long to go thru 1000 rounds

I know. I might burn them up before I have even finished paying for them. That is unless they jam the AR up after every shot.

 

[mjf55]

Used some Wolf brand steel .223 in my son's ar and it seemed every other one would jam. Maybe his is just fussy on what it eats.

 

[Boomyal]

Used some Wolf brand steel .223 in my son's ar and it seemed every other one would jam. Maybe his is just fussy on what it eats.

It'll be interesting to see. Did it jam going in or coming out?

 

[MTboatguy]

I ran close to 2000 rounds of brass yesterday and reloaded most of them today, I won't run steel in my guns, we extensively tested steel when I was in the service and failure rate was just to high, it does not expand the same as brass to seal the chamber and had to many jams, when you are running guns that your life depends on, you just can't run something you can't trust.

Hope it works out for you.

 

[boatman37]

step-son just bought a new rifle (i believe it is an AR but i have only seen a picture of it on his phone). he bought tons of accessories and said he is going to buy about 5000 rounds. on the bright side he may be able to write this off as he is on the CERT team and uses it for raids and high risk warrants

 

[mjf55]

It'll be interesting to see. Did it jam going in or coming out?

Incoming jams. The spent casings ejected cleanly.

 

[Boomyal]

I ran close to 2000 rounds of brass yesterday and reloaded most of them today, I won't run steel in my guns, we extensively tested steel when I was in the service and failure rate was just to high, it does not expand the same as brass to seal the chamber and had to many jams, when you are running guns that your life depends on, you just can't run something you can't trust.

Hope it works out for you.

I'll be sure to always have magazines available with brass shells. Otherwize I am hoping for some reasonably functional, cheaper plinking.
btw, what do you figure your reload per round cost is?

 

[MTboatguy]

I'll be sure to always have magazines available with brass shells. Otherwize I am hoping for some reasonably functional, cheaper plinking.
btw, what do you figure your reload per round cost is?

Right now, I am between .09 to 12 cents a round on reloads, depending which bullets and powder I buy.

 

[thumpar]

My reloads come out to be just under 20 cents a round. 8.5 for bullet, 3.5 for primer and 7 for powder. I have cases that have been reloaded probably 10 times.

 

[gm280]

@ thumper, you reloaded your .223 cases five times now. Did you have any stretch and needing cut back? Bottle neck cases are notorious for stretching. Also for those of you that do have issues with steel case ammo jamming, try a product called Mpro7 oil. Seems Academy Sports carries it and everybody that has tried it had ZERO jamming issue after that. I myself haven't tried it because I have no steel case ammo. But it would be worth the try and see. JMHO!

 

[thumpar]

I use this https://littlecrowgunworks.com/product/worlds-finest-trimmer-wft/?v=7516fd43adaa It trims the case from the neck after sizing. They works great but you have to keep them clean or the sizing will end up all over the place.

 

[Boomyal]

......Also for those of you that do have issues with steel case ammo jamming, try a product called Mpro7 oil. Seems Academy Sports carries it and everybody that has tried it had ZERO jamming issue after that. ........!

gm, where would you apply it? I found it on Amazon and I have Prime.

 

[gm280]

gm, where would you apply it? I found it on Amazon and I have Prime.

If I remember what they stated, use it to lube the entire bolt assembly liberally. Any part that moves within the upper receiver assembly. I haven't bought or use it myself, but others swear by it. IDK.

 

[thumpar]

With the lacquer steel it is more about cleaning than lube. The lacquer gets hot and sticks to the chamber. In an AK it is not a big deal because the chambers are loose and angled more than .223. Lube may help but make sure you clean it well. I rarely lube my AR. A friend of mine is a class 3 dealer. He has an M16 SBR. He hadn't cleaned it and it finally locked up the firing pin. That was after 10,000 rounds on full auto. He washed the bolt in a mud puddle and took some oil off the dipstick of his truck and it was running again.