Alternate cartridge casing material?

[gvnwst]

Okay, so i have been thinking about casing materials. Steel is cheaper than brass, but harder on the gun. But what about aluminum and plastic cases? It seems like a plastic casing would not stand up to the heat and pressure of a modern "high performance" cartridge. But i have seen empty plastic .223 casings at the range before, and they seemed to be in good shape. (these plastic ones have a brass rim like shotgun shells) And where does aluminum fit in here? I know none of these are reloadable, but it seems like the military would have latched onto the cost saving benefits.....(oh, wait, that is the military i am talking about...nevermind on that)

 

[NavyLCDR]

The military has latched onto cost savings benefit of brass. It's called recycling. There is so much ammo that is shot on the range in training that the military benefits from recycling the brass. Also, it's cheaper to just order brass cased ammo for all their needs rather then brass for range use and aluminum for combat use where the brass will not be picked up.

 

[gvnwst]

Okay, that makes sense. What about for civilian uses? Espically plastic cases.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

Are steel cases really any harder on the gun? Back before I started reloading I used to shoot wolf and barnaul in my AR, and got the occasional FTE because the extractor ripped the rim off the case. I've never seen a brass case do this, leading me to believe that either the steel used is even softer than brass, or the Russians have really bad QC.

 

[Tommygunn]

Steel cases cause problems in some guns. The AK guns are OK with it because they generally have hardy extractors as the Russians designed 'em to use steel cases.
I have heard that M-1 Carbines have had problems because their extractors are not always hardy enough. But OTOH some have used it OK in carbines.
I wonder if the AR ripping off the case head was due to a dirty chamber and a sticking case .... brass is generally softer than steel, and I think the Russians know how to make good ammo ....but I really don't know.
It probably depends on the gun.

 

[WNTFW]

no case, paper, brass, steel, aluminum & plastic has been done. Caseless ammo is the next frontier. Sounds like what they got away from.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Don't know. Here's another one:
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-301934.html

 

[average_shooter]

How about making cases out of carbon fiber or something similar?

Might be initially more expensive but it'd be really neat to have cases that would last forever and not need resizing each time. Also might cut down on weight when carrying a lot of it.

Hmm...

 

[MAKster]

I believe the main problem with steel case ammo like Wolf is the quality control of the ammo not the steel itself. Most of the FTE problems are caused by out of spec cases. If a higher quality manufacturer made steel case ammo I doubt there would be anywhere near the problems.

 

[d2wing]

CCI used to sell pistol ammo with aluminum cases. It seemed to work just fine.

 

[nalioth]

Steel cases being 'hard on guns' is a myth.

There are millions of Commie guns (and parts kits in this country) that speak differently.

The commies have gotten their steel alloys down pretty well, and the steel in the cases is much much softer than any steel used in a quality firearm.

Most folks who blame the steel casings for "gun trouble" are actually having trouble with:

a) cheap gun parts (buy your AR15 from Cheap Charlie, and most likely get Cheap Chinese parts) that would probably have failed with brass cased ammunition (but they're cheap and never bought any).

b) the lacquer or polymer coating on the steel cased ammo

 

[KBintheSLC]

Caseless ammo is the next frontier.

I agree... with the great advances in electronic "primers" that only need a battery to ignite, I see no reason for cases at all. Eventually, I bet we will see automatic weapons that fire using only a charge pellet and a bullet.

CCI used to sell pistol ammo with aluminum cases.

They still do, but you still run into the same issue... it is a limited natural resource that requires large amounts of energy to refine.

 

[Dunkelheit]

I think the main problems of the russian steel cased ammunitions are the varnished cases. I believe if the gun gets hot enough the varnish could start to adhere and jam & pollute the gun.
Another problem could be the fact that steel don´t really expands in the chamber and the powder deposits could get behind the case. When you use brass ammo after shooting steel ammo without cleaning the gun the expanding brass could jam in the powder deposits especially in guns with low toleranzes as ARs oder SIG.

 

[captainkirk]

Another problem could be the fact that steel don´t really expands in the chamber and the powder deposits could get behind the case. When you use brass ammo after shooting steel ammo without cleaning the gun the expanding brass could jam in the powder deposits especially in guns with low toleranzes as ARs oder SIG.


+ 1 This is the real problem with steel ammo.

 

[gvnwst]

CCI used to sell pistol ammo with aluminum cases. It seemed to work just fine.

Yeah, that is one reason i made this thread, i have a bunch of cases from a desceased friend that are aluminum...

Thanks for the replys, does anyone know more about plastic cases?