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txmatt wrote:

Excaliber wrote:

skub wrote:I had a 5.45x39 upper for my AR, and the only ammo I could find for it was steel cased. After I had shot a magazine or two through it on each range trip, I had pretty frequent problems with FTE. The explanation that I got, which seems reasonable, is that the steel doesn't expand and conform to the chamber like brass does. This leaves room for blowback of residue into the chamber, around the steel case. After a while the residue is sufficient to keep the cartridge from extracting.

The steel case will most assuredly fully expand to meet the chamber walls under the high pressure of the burning powder.

I suspect the problem may be more due to the fact that steel does not have the natural lubricity of brass. This may increases the friction between the chamber and the empty casein some guns enough to produce extraction failures.

A dirty chamber will aggravate this situation further.

That and the lacquer coating on the steel case.

For the last couple of years Wolf has produced its steel case rounds with a polymer coating instead of the old lacquer. Lacquer residue is no longer an issue unless you're shooting some old stock.

skub wrote:I had a 5.45x39 upper for my AR, and the only ammo I could find for it was steel cased. After I had shot a magazine or two through it on each range trip, I had pretty frequent problems with FTE. The explanation that I got, which seems reasonable, is that the steel doesn't expand and conform to the chamber like brass does. This leaves room for blowback of residue into the chamber, around the steel case. After a while the residue is sufficient to keep the cartridge from extracting.

The steel case will most assuredly fully expand to meet the chamber walls under the high pressure of the burning powder.

I suspect the problem may be more due to the fact that steel does not have the natural lubricity of brass. This may increases the friction between the chamber and the empty casein some guns enough to produce extraction failures.

A dirty chamber will aggravate this situation further.

Texas Size 11 wrote:What are y'alls opinions on this? I have never used it, but I hear people talk about it being "dirty" and prone to causing jams as well.

I have used Wolf steel case ammo in my Kimber, Springfield and Glock pistols for well over 10 years with very satisfactory results. For the most part, it feeds and extracts just fine in my guns. It will occasionally fail to feed or eject (maybe once in 400 or 500 rounds) but for me that's an acceptable tradeoff for the cost difference and gives me the opportunity to practice unanticipated stoppage drills. It does leave lots of carbon deposits on the gun, but since I clean after every range session, I don't see this as an issue. I've saved a boatload of money on ammo purchases over the years.

There are guns that do not do well with this ammo. A close friend of mine had consistent FTE's and double feeds with Tula steel case ammo in his Kahr PM45. Switching to brass cased ammo cured the problem completely. However, my daughter had a squib load in the first box of Tula 9mm that she fired. It lodged a bullet so tightly in the bore it had to be removed with a hammer and punch. Although it is allegedly produced in the same factory as Wolf ammo, it doesn't appear to be as well made and it is not on my list of acceptable ammo.

Your mileage may vary.