Steel cased versus brass cased ammo for your AR
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:55 pm
http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-v ... ased-ammo/
Interesting torture text comparing Wolf and Brown Bear steel cased/bimetal bullet ammo to Federal brass cased/copper bullet ammo. The results were predictable. The test consisted of 10,000 rounds of each ammo being fired through identical Bushmaster MOE carbines with chrome-lined bores and chambers. The test took place in Arizona, and included monsoon rains AND sandstorms while the rifles were fired so fast that they became very hot to the touch and extremely dirty. So while it was not a battlefield, it WAS a torture test in conditions which were hard on the rifles.
Not surprisingly, the Russian ammo destroyed the bores of the two rifles they were fired in, while the rifle firing the Federal ammo was still within spec after 10,000 rounds, although it did have significant flame cutting to the gas port. By the end of the test, the Federal barrel was still accurate, while the two others were keyholing like crazy. In fact, with the two rifles firing the Russian ammo, testers were able to drop a throat gauge into the muzzle, and it would drop right in without touching the sides. A throat gauge shouldn't even fit into the muzzle because of the rifling.
The Russian ammo did experience various stoppages, while the Federal stuff had zero stoppages over the entire 10,000 rounds. The Russian stoppages included several stuck cases, including an instance of a badly stuck case that could not be removed with a cleaning from the cooled off barrel.
In a cost/benefit analysis, the article concludes that for the vast majority of AR shooters who will not shoot more than a couple thousand rounds as long as they own the rifle, the Russian ammo will not do enough damage over that time to badly affect the rifle's performance. But for someone who is going to shoot more than that, the Russian ammo should be avoided because it will ruin the barrel. However, the Russian ammo DID suffer a certain number of malfunctions that the Federal did not, so if this is anything more than a plinker, you might want to buy the better ammo. For me personally, I'm on my second barrel, and I've already put at least 2,000 rounds through this barrel. I have never shot a single round of steel cased ammo, let alone Russian steel cased ammo through either barrels. To each his own.
All this assues of course that you can even get ammo for your AR anymore.
Interesting torture text comparing Wolf and Brown Bear steel cased/bimetal bullet ammo to Federal brass cased/copper bullet ammo. The results were predictable. The test consisted of 10,000 rounds of each ammo being fired through identical Bushmaster MOE carbines with chrome-lined bores and chambers. The test took place in Arizona, and included monsoon rains AND sandstorms while the rifles were fired so fast that they became very hot to the touch and extremely dirty. So while it was not a battlefield, it WAS a torture test in conditions which were hard on the rifles.
Not surprisingly, the Russian ammo destroyed the bores of the two rifles they were fired in, while the rifle firing the Federal ammo was still within spec after 10,000 rounds, although it did have significant flame cutting to the gas port. By the end of the test, the Federal barrel was still accurate, while the two others were keyholing like crazy. In fact, with the two rifles firing the Russian ammo, testers were able to drop a throat gauge into the muzzle, and it would drop right in without touching the sides. A throat gauge shouldn't even fit into the muzzle because of the rifling.
The Russian ammo did experience various stoppages, while the Federal stuff had zero stoppages over the entire 10,000 rounds. The Russian stoppages included several stuck cases, including an instance of a badly stuck case that could not be removed with a cleaning from the cooled off barrel.
In a cost/benefit analysis, the article concludes that for the vast majority of AR shooters who will not shoot more than a couple thousand rounds as long as they own the rifle, the Russian ammo will not do enough damage over that time to badly affect the rifle's performance. But for someone who is going to shoot more than that, the Russian ammo should be avoided because it will ruin the barrel. However, the Russian ammo DID suffer a certain number of malfunctions that the Federal did not, so if this is anything more than a plinker, you might want to buy the better ammo. For me personally, I'm on my second barrel, and I've already put at least 2,000 rounds through this barrel. I have never shot a single round of steel cased ammo, let alone Russian steel cased ammo through either barrels. To each his own.
All this assues of course that you can even get ammo for your AR anymore.