Rifle Won’t Cycle Steel Cased Ammo

[gotboostvr]

Steel cased ammo from overseas typically works better in the loose chambered guns from overseas. When it comes to AR's, its really a roll of the dice if it will work or not. I think it is tight chambers. I have seen that stuff stick in AR chambers, and sometimes the extractor will bust the rim and the case needs to be removed with a cleaning rod. I have seen mini 14's do the same thing.

The issue with steel 223, is the nearly straight taper of the cartridge, combined with the lack of elasticity of steel.

Brass will shrink back a little after expanding, the steel dosen't (at least, not nearly as much) and binds itself to the chamber walls. The more extreme taper of 7.62x39, means it only needs to move a very small amount to release off the chamber walls, versus the almost straight 223 case body needing to drag along the chamber to extract.

A little lubrication will go a long way to help the 223. Emphasis on A LITTLE. You don't want it dripping. Shoot for "your phone screen after eating fried chicken while scrolling THR"

 

[2ndtimer]

My mid-length AR won’t cycle steel cased ammo. I finally tried some just to see how they would work. Accuracy was tolerable but just barely. It’s not really a problem but I kinda feel it should be able to handle it. My 20” rifle length shoots it reliably without incident. What might be causing this and can I fix it myself? With all other ammo I’ve tried, including my sometimes tame hand loads, it cycles great.

None of my AR’s will cycle steel case ammo, either. But that is because I enjoy them and want them to enjoy a long serviceable life. (Hopefully I will do the same ). I have never chambered any steel case ammo in ANY of my firearms. The only way I would consider it is in TEOTWAWKI situation. And even then, I would hope it would be for an SKS or an AK.

 

[jonnyc]

Thank you...more for me. Steel cases work just fine in most of my guns. My CZ75 and Sig P228 don't seem to like steel or aluminum cases, but the other 30-40 that chamber steel-cased calibers are GTG.

 

[WisBorn]

Commie rifle, commie ammo!
I hate to use that term, but from my experience. Rifles chambered and designed in communist countries cycle steel case just fine.

As an RSO during the past ammo shortage. I watched many shooters going after their 5.56 AR Rifles with pocket knives to remove cases.
If you want to shoot cheap steel case ammo? Buy an AK or Mosin Nagant and have a ton of fun!

 

[MEHavey]

....or . . . .
just lube the case,

 

[DMW1116]

My 9s seem to really like Aluminum cases ammo. No problems at all. I’ll probably shoot it up in my 20” rifle and then get away from it entirely. No point in having ammo “just in case” if it won’t work.

With regard to @Slamfire ‘s post, I wonder if the mid length system has a timing issue more than a pressure issue. I didn’t get extraction troubles, just stovepipe jams.

 

[MEHavey]

If a lubed steel case doesn't jam/stovepipe... the rifle doesn't have a timing issue.

If's just that the rifle's design is optimized for barely tapered cases made of a material
that actually lets go of the chamber wall upon falling chamber pressure, regardless of
firefight conditions as things get increasingly dirty.

By contrast, the AK's design doesn't care one way or the another.

.

 

[dobedo]

I'm not sure what "self lubricating" means. Can you elaborate?

Brass has a low friction coefficient, which means it doesn’t build up heat as quickly as other metals.

 

[Slamfire]

As an RSO during the past ammo shortage. I watched many shooters going after their 5.56 AR Rifles with pocket knives to remove cases.
If you want to shoot cheap steel case ammo? Buy an AK or Mosin Nagant and have a ton of fun!

When I shot NRA Across the Course, the AR15 displaced my beloved M1a, and took over the firing line. All the AR15 had was velocity, and competitors were always pushing the things, trying to up the velocity to compensate for the ballistic coefficient of the bullets available. And that meant jams. Failures to feed and failures to eject. GI magazines also created issues. One tool that was essential for a AR15 shooter is a needle nosed multitool. This is the one I carried since the mid to late 1990's. The port on a AR15 is too small for fingers, but the needle nose worked, and it was on you.



I also saw a number of failure to extract with cheap steel cases. It was very frustrating for the shooter and the line. Pit pigs, pulling the targets, hate alibi's. Double alibi's made us even more unhappy. GRUNT!

 

[TonyAngel]

Man, this is an age old topic and was more relevant when steel cased ammo was a LOT cheaper than brass cased. These days, steel cased costs about as much as brass.

Still, I've shot thousands upon thousands of rounds of steel cased ammo and it served its purpose. If your rifle won't cycle it, while being able to cycle other weaker .223 loads, it's probably due to a number of things. Likely something of a combination of a gas port being properly sized for full power 5.56 and the burn rate of the powder.

I doubt it has anything to do with any sort of coating, even lacquer. That stuff just plain won't come off of the casing no matter how hot you get it.

If you're getting stuck cases, I've had good luck with turning the gas down. Slow things down a bit and give the steel case a chance to contract. This assumes that you have a nice smooth chamber area.

In the end, with ammo prices being what they are, I wouldn't burn too many brain cells worrying about it. Just shoot brass cased ammo. I've been shooting a lot of PPU.

 

[S.Crockett]

What brand? Not all AR's are created equal.

That’s true.

The worst combo is trying to feed cheapo junk ammo to a cheapo low-brand AR. Predictably bad ju-ju results.

 

[DMW1116]

Man, this is an age old topic and was more relevant when steel cased ammo was a LOT cheaper than brass cased. These days, steel cased costs about as much as brass.

Still, I've shot thousands upon thousands of rounds of steel cased ammo and it served its purpose. If your rifle won't cycle it, while being able to cycle other weaker .223 loads, it's probably due to a number of things. Likely something of a combination of a gas port being properly sized for full power 5.56 and the burn rate of the powder.

I doubt it has anything to do with any sort of coating, even lacquer. That stuff just plain won't come off of the casing no matter how hot you get it.

If you're getting stuck cases, I've had good luck with turning the gas down. Slow things down a bit and give the steel case a chance to contract. This assumes that you have a nice smooth chamber area.

In the end, with ammo prices being what they are, I wouldn't burn too many brain cells worrying about it. Just shoot brass cased ammo. I've been shooting a lot of PPU.

Both mine currently see about 90% my own hand loads and the rest is some variation of 55 grain FMJ in either 223 Rem or 5.56 loadings. I have some guests coming to shoot so I may just use up the last of my meager stash of steel cased ammo and be done with it. I don't buy it anymore as I can hand load cheaper with much better accuracy, and the local range doesn't allow the type of shooting to chew through a couple of magazines and be happy with basketball sized groups at 50 yards.