Brass-jacketed ammo rougher on barrel?

[peacebutready]

Good Day All,

In the past I've purchased Sellier & Bellot ammo and was happy with it. However, it looks like they now use a brass jacket for the fmj ammo. My guess is brass is less malleable and would be more rough on a barrel. Is that correct?

Happy Shooting!

 

[dprice3844444]

nope

 

[firesky101]

Even if there is a difference, it is so slight that with all the ammo you buy you could pay for a new pistol many times over.

 

[GCBurner]

The soft brass alloy used for bullet jackets is called "gilding metal", and has the property of very low friction.

 

[Waywatcher]

Actually, none of the above.

S&B uses a soft steel alloy for their metal jackets and then give it a quick brass wash or plating. The brass layer is microscopically thin; the steel is the jacket material on S&B ammo.

It may be marginally harder on barrels than copper or gilding metal, but if you can afford the amount of ammo to wear a barrel out, you can easily afford a new gun. (It's likely in the 100,000+ round range)

If you're honestly worried about wearing out a barrel, shoot lead bullets.

 

[TonyT]

I did not reralize that jacket materail in S&W's FMJ bulets are brass plated/washed steel. I do know that their bargain priced 9mm ammo uses a steel case which is brass plated/washed.

 

[Remllez]

I just tried a magnet on some RWS brass .38 specials I have and it didn't stick, so I'm guessing the slugs are a brass jacket over lead or a brass alloy. They shoot very clean and I see very little evidence of brass left in the barrels after many hundreds of rounds.

Brass is softer than steel so I agree with the others, it will take more rounds than we think to shoot a quality barrel to ruin. Lead, I guess would cause the least wear so that's always an option available to you.

I think more barrels are ruined by over cleaning well before they are shot out. I'd try as many different brands that I could afford until I found one that shoots the best. Soft lead pushed over speed will foul a barrel faster than any other metal I've shot leading, to over cleaning.

 

[peacebutready]

Thanks

Thanks for the responses, all.

 

[Tcruse]

Actually, none of the above.

S&B uses a soft steel alloy for their metal jackets and then give it a quick brass wash or plating. The brass layer is microscopically thin; the steel is the jacket material on S&B ammo.

It may be marginally harder on barrels than copper or gilding metal, but if you can afford the amount of ammo to wear a barrel out, you can easily afford a new gun. (It's likely in the 100,000+ round range)

If you're honestly worried about wearing out a barrel, shoot lead bullets.

s&B UPC 54908 50008 (both with red sealant and green sealant) do not attract a magnet, so no steel in bullet; 9mm 115g as sold by cabelas and cheaper than dirt. Cases are copper and suitable for reloading.

 

[JohnBT]

Fwiw, talking about bimetal bullets, I found some specs for Swiss RUAG/Geco 9mm. I was checking it out because a P-210 shooter from Switzerland recommended it to me after I bought a P-210.

This is quality ammo, brass cased, with a soft iron jacket covered with a little copper. It's a little hot and very accurate. J&G was selling it for $10/box by the case. I bought a few.

9mm GECO 124Gr FMJ. Swiss RUAG Mfg.

Fe = iron
Cu = copper
Pb = lead
__________________

Results

Jacket wt.-18.32grains
Core wt.-105.422grains

Jacket
4.83% Cu (plating)
94.6% Fe
.63% traces of Zn, Pb, Bi, Ni, Cr, Al

Core
98.65% Pb
1.3% Cu
<.05% Al, Fe, Bi, Zn

Samples run on ICP-OES in aqueous acid solution (digestion), 10% Aqua Regia by volume.

Yes, 95% Iron jacket (not steel) with a 5% copper plating. Core is lead.
__________________

 

[Tcruse]

Fwiw, talking about bimetal bullets, I found some specs for Swiss RUAG/Geco 9mm. I was checking it out because a P-210 shooter from Switzerland recommended it to me after I bought a P-210.

This is quality ammo, brass cased, with a soft iron jacket covered with a little copper. It's a little hot and very accurate. J&G was selling it for $10/box by the case. I bought a few.

9mm GECO 124Gr FMJ. Swiss RUAG Mfg.

Fe = iron
Cu = copper
Pb = lead
__________________

Results

Jacket wt.-18.32grains
Core wt.-105.422grains

Jacket
4.83% Cu (plating)
94.6% Fe
.63% traces of Zn, Pb, Bi, Ni, Cr, Al

Core
98.65% Pb
1.3% Cu
<.05% Al, Fe, Bi, Zn

Samples run on ICP-OES in aqueous acid solution (digestion), 10% Aqua Regia by volume.

Yes, 95% Iron jacket (not steel) with a 5% copper plating. Core is lead.
__________________

Very nice report. Last fall there was RUAG 124 g ammo available locally at reasonable prices. It was high quality and accurate. However, since the indoor range that I frequent does a "magnet" test (sometimes) and it fails, I probably will not purchase it in the future. I can understand that they have in issue with "hard steel" bullets damaging the backstop, especially when they have many AR/AK shooters that use surplus ammo. Without an easy way to "demostrate" to the customer what is OK and what is not OK they just use a magnet.