TCW, Russian made steel case 9 MM ammo

I'm not anti-steel ammo in any way, but the price difference between brass 9mm and steel 9mm is usually small enough to keep me buying brass. 45 ACP, 357 Mag, and 7.62x39 are a few calibers where I find that steel makes a lot of sense.

As far as steel ammo in a Glock, I have put a couple hundred rounds through a G17 and it didn't even think about choking. To be honest, I have yet to find any Glock or Glockalike that was picky about ammo in any way. It may wear your parts faster, but given how easily and cheaply you can gunsmith anything on a Glock... screw it.

Mosin Bubba said:

given how easily and cheaply you can gunsmith anything on a Glock

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That's a legitimate point of view.
I have Berettas , Walthers , and High Powers. Different machines , treated (fed) differently.

I never worried about steel case 9mm in my Glock 19 that I got new back in 2012. Because I used to see a guy at the range with a Glock that had digested thousands of steel case rounds and that was all he ever shot in it. So I never worried about it much. Mine's now had close to 2000 rounds through it with no problems and probably close to 90% of it was steel cased. Got a couple SKS's that have also seen nothing but steel case ammo with the exception of a hundred or so rounds of 7.62x39 soft point handloads I made one year summer just for grins when I was laid off.

Waveski said:

Waveski said: ↑
9mm ammunition is not all that expensive , even today. I like my guns too much to feed them low grade steel.



To tell you the truth , if I had a Glock I would not be very inhibited from feeding it steel casings. Not to bash , but what gun is more utilitarian than a Glock?
Ok , that was a subjective statement.

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Its overall utility is one reason I use the glock and another is its ubiquity.

22250Rem said:

I never worried about steel case 9mm in my Glock 19 that I got new back in 2012. Because I used to see a guy at the range with a Glock that had digested thousands of steel case rounds and that was all he ever shot in it. So I never worried about it much. Mine's now had close to 2000 rounds through it with no problems and probably close to 90% of it was steel cased. Got a couple SKS's that have also seen nothing but steel case ammo with the exception of a hundred or so rounds of 7.62x39 soft point handloads I made one year summer just for grins when I was laid off.

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For the SKS and AK relative to steel cases and steel bullet jackets, commie ammo for commie guns

I've put about 30k rounds of mostly (90%) steel case ammo through a Glock 19. One of the plastic bits inside wore out. I sent it to Glock who diagnosed the issue, replaced all the internals, and had it back to me within a week - free of charge. I wouldn't worry about steel ammo harming a quality service type pistol.

Mosin Bubba said:

I'm not anti-steel ammo in any way, but the price difference between brass 9mm and steel 9mm is usually small enough to keep me buying brass

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I think the key word is "usually".

Usually, I can find one of brass S&B/Fiocchi in FMJ for under $200 a case shipped, quite often for around $180. Latest I've seen from SGAmmo was $269 a case, plus $16 shipping. Seems to be the going rate, IF you can find somewhere that has stock. Luckily I have some reserve stash, but I'm going to hold off on shooting much for awhile. If I can find anything under $200, steel or otherwise, it's coming home with me.

I did go to the range and put 100 rds of Blazer Brass 124 gr down the pipe of my P226, just to re-acquaint myself with it. Was pleased; it's a battered old WG that still runs nice. I used empty ammo boxes as target at 10 yds, put everything nicely on the paper.

Also put a few steel rds through my Century Arms C308 (the new Cetme), after adjusting the front sight. Flawless operation, and a satisfying point of impact.

lsudave said:

I think the key word is "usually".

Usually, I can find one of brass S&B/Fiocchi in FMJ for under $200 a case shipped, quite often for around $180. Latest I've seen from SGAmmo was $269 a case, plus $16 shipping. Seems to be the going rate, IF you can find somewhere that has stock. Luckily I have some reserve stash, but I'm going to hold off on shooting much for awhile. If I can find anything under $200, steel or otherwise, it's coming home with me.

I did go to the range and put 100 rds of Blazer Brass 124 gr down the pipe of my P226, just to re-acquaint myself with it. Was pleased; it's a battered old WG that still runs nice. I used empty ammo boxes as target at 10 yds, put everything nicely on the paper.

Also put a few steel rds through my Century Arms C308 (the new Cetme), after adjusting the front sight. Flawless operation, and a satisfying point of impact.

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Oh, for sure. These days, you take what you can get.

Before Virus days I was receiving steel case shipped free to the door at $6.44 a box. No problems with pistols. They eat it up. I would have to take a RamRodz swab and push through and clean the barrel and feed ramp at about the 200 rd mark and then keep on shooting.

Ernie Bass said:

Before Virus days I was receiving steel case shipped free to the door at $6.44 a box. No problems with pistols. They eat it up. I would have to take a RamRodz swab and push through and clean the barrel and feed ramp at about the 200 rd mark and then keep on shooting.

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Since this thread started, just now ordered 1,000 rds of Tula and Wolf at $189.00.($9.19 a box delivered to my door step.( My Micro 9mm's love them and they are not Glocks. Thousands of rounds through them. And I am not saying this to disparage Glocks. I like them, but they are not the only game in town. Just hate to see every thread that is started with the nonsense that only Glocks are built tough etc etc.

Show me where I can find less expensive ammo? PS I wil have them delivered in a about 1 week. Had a arrival yesterday and one coming today as well as other shipments all within a week of order. . I was glad to see them get Wolf and Tula back in stock. I am sure they will go fast.
Have a order of America Eagle to be delivered today. 500 rds 124gr.($12.82 Per box)
ORDER PLACEDMay 12, 2020
TOTAL$64.21.

Anyone have experience putting steel ammo through a CZ75B? I think that it might be a bad idea?

barnetmill said:

Related, but separate issue is that glock uses a lot MIM parts and some think that hardened tool is the way to go for many glock parts. I am not sure of what the OEM glock extractor is made of.

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The amount of money saved on steel ammo will pay for a new extractor many times over.

Before the pandemic, SportsmansGuide had 1000 rd cases of Wolf for I think $130 if you were a member of their buyer's club. They offer a trial period for 30 days free, so you could buy as many cases as you want for that $130.

The next best price I could find 1000 rds of brass 9mm for was like $160 or $170. $30-40 for every 1000 rds is a good savings, basically buy 3 cases, get 1 free compared to brass and I severely doubt that an extractor in a Glock or any quality pistol is going to be damaged in less than 5000 rds of steel. Even if it was all you'd have to do is ship it back to the factory and they'd replace it free of charge.

If we're talking an older pistol, an heirloom pistol like a Luger, I would only shoot brass in that. Use common sense.

buddyd157 said:

well online, 9MM brass that i was searching for, was well over $300 per 1,000 rnds

this Wolf, at 1,000 rnds, was UNDER $200 with shipping.

at my local gunstore, just a few days ago, 1,000 rnd of 9 MM brass S&B was OVER $300.

doing the math, it makes sense to me, to buy cheap steel over higher priced brass, if only for range practice.

i had read at least 2 different articles, where the casing makes no difference in wear and tear on any of the parts of any 9 MM hand gun.

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Prices on ammo are inflated right now due to extreme demand. In a normal market, PSA had WWB 9mm on sale for $9/box seemingly every other day; that's $180 a case. Maybe I can save $1/box or $2/box on steel versus brass, but I'm fine with paying that premium. I'm a low volume shooter anyway; I don't burn through enough 9s for it to add up to a significant amount of savings.

Now for say 357 magnum, you're talking $12/box with Wolf vs $22 or $23/box for Federal. Even on very low round counts, you can save some good money there.

gifbohane said:

Anyone have experience putting steel ammo through a CZ75B? I think that it might be a bad idea?

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I have a 9mm Jericho, which is basically a knockoff CZ 75. It feeds steel fine, but the slide tends to get sluggish whenever excess grime and powder starts building up, and steel case ammo gets it dirty faster. My Jericho in 45 does the same thing.

Wipe it down every so often and it shouldn't be an issue.

Sebastian the Ibis said:

I've put about 30k rounds of mostly (90%) steel case ammo through a Glock 19. ... I wouldn't worry about steel ammo harming a quality service type pistol.

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IMHO, Ain't much of a gun if steel cased ammo breaks it!

With the volume I shoot at steel plates, even the $2/box savings with the steel case adds up! Its back to circa 2005 where the steel case is cheap enough that its not worth reloading 9mm unless I use lead bullets.

IMHO at 115gr 9mm velocities lead bullets are more hassle than steel cases -- especially in Glocks or other polygonal rifled barrels.

TTv2 said:

The amount of money saved on steel ammo will pay for a new extractor many times over.

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it is not the cost of the extractor, but of your life if it happens at the wrong time.
Current price on PSA website and I assume postage is extra
Tula 9x19mm 115gr FMJ Steel Cased Ammunition 50rds - TA919150

Write a Review | Ask a Question
In stock

$ 8.49 ($0.17/Roun

Winchester USA 9mm 115gr FMJ ammunition 50rds - Q4172

1 Review | Ask a Question
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK

barnetmill said:

it is not the cost of the extractor, but of your life if it happens at the wrong time.

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If that's the major concern, then buy a spare extractor and swap it before and after every trip to the range. Basically have a range extractor and a carry extractor, that way you can run the range extractor until you get tired of clearing FTE's.

I said something to the effect of 5000 rounds of steel case before damage occurs, but really I think it would take 10k rds before it would even be noticeable and at that point where it's visual that the extractor is not in optimum condition, then you know you should change it soon for reliability purposes. Even then, that doesn't mean the pistol cannot function properly, it's just a warning sign, a check engine light if you will.

The bottom line is that you're going to spend more money shooting brass than you will steel. If that's worth it to you for perceived reliability longevity, that's your choice, but the chances of shooting steel becoming a problem in terms of reliability is unlikely.

I do wish Lucky Gunner would do a brass vs steel test in 9mm pistols like they did 5.56 for AR's. What we know is that 5.56 is not a case that was meant to be steel cased, but shorter pistol cases are generally fine, especially those that have any sort of taper to them, which 9mm does.

I do not need Lucky Gunner to do a test with Steel Case ammo on Pistols.Why? Because I have been shooting Steel case ammo for years out of many pistols and never once had a broken extractor. How about this, if you carry pistol is so cheap then just get another Pistol. And again, I was getting Tula and Wolf at $6.44 a box delivered to my door step with fee shipment. And in no way in this world would I pay more for WWB of all ammo made
. I am sitting on a boxes of that crap right at this very moment that will not fire out of any Pistol. Something wrong with the powder. Feels like it is wet or something. Should have Called Winchester but just got too lazy.
And as one poster said "shoot a lot of ammo down range and $2.00-$4.00 starts to really add up fast. How long does it take to go through 50 rds. No time.
If a person wants to pay MORE for cheap range ammo, then have at it. I have no problem at all with that.

TTv2 said:

If that's the major concern, then buy a spare extractor and swap it before and after every trip to the range. Basically have a range extractor and a carry extractor, that way you can run the range extractor until you get tired of clearing FTE's.

I said something to the effect of 5000 rounds of steel case before damage occurs, but really I think it would take 10k rds before it would even be noticeable and at that point where it's visual that the extractor is not in optimum condition, then you know you should change it soon for reliability purposes. Even then, that doesn't mean the pistol cannot function properly, it's just a warning sign, a check engine light if you will.

The bottom line is that you're going to spend more money shooting brass than you will steel. If that's worth it to you for perceived reliability longevity, that's your choice, but the chances of shooting steel becoming a problem in terms of reliability is unlikely.

I do wish Lucky Gunner would do a brass vs steel test in 9mm pistols like they did 5.56 for AR's. What we know is that 5.56 is not a case that was meant to be steel cased, but shorter pistol cases are generally fine, especially those that have any sort of taper to them, which 9mm does.

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The original statement was while written with a period was a questioning thought. and in a later post I responded. what seriousness of a broken extractor might be.
The original thought:

I figure maybe the extractor might suffer some stress.

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Changing out an extractor regularly is not going to be happening. Anyway I am not sure sure if it is problem. Years ago what some would advocate is to have two identical pistols. One for training and the other for carry that is only shot enough to confirm that it works. I think what I will do is at some interval is to change out the striker, extractor, and recoil springs. One also needs to regularly inspect the trigger linkage if it has been polished. I have an inspection plate for that.
A lot of people in the parts business are pushing parts machined from bar stock claiming they are better than the mim parts with no more than anecdotal evidence such as a glock mim striker breaking after 30,000 rounds.

Recoil springs we already know require changing at certain intervals depending on what caliber one is shooting, but I don't disagree that after high round counts around 20k or higher the high wear parts like extractors, ejectors, and strikers should be checked and replaced if needed.

How steel case affects the service life of these parts relative to brass is questionable. The one I would be most concerned with is the striker pin because Russians love those hard primers.