Steel case reloading

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GarandMan94

GarandMan94

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Does anyone know anything about reloading steel cased ammo? I have heard many people say that you cant or shouldn’t do it, but it would definitely save me alot of money.
I know that some brands use Berdan primers instead of Boxer primers so i cant reload those. Steel is also obviously less flexible than brass so i am sure more muscle power is required to operate the press. I will probably get less firing before the case cracks that i will with brass.
What other issue am I forgetting/unaware of
 
If you can find the Berdan primers, you could reload those cases. Deprime them using water pressure then reload like normal.

I haven't seen much Boxer primed steel out there.

It can be done and I have thought about doing it just to prove to me I could. However, never got around to it. Fair amount of hassle for limited gain as I have brass on hand now.
 
It is VERY hard on dies. Also, steel springs back from forming operations. Is very difficult to assure a good crimp/bullet fit. Crimping smashes the bullet & the steel springs back. That leaves you w a deformed bullet & a loose fit. So yes, it can be done, but it will never work as well as brass. EDIT in my testing(45acp) the steel cases tended to split lengthwise after just a few loadings. Also, after loading a few hundred, my dies (lee carbide) were incapable of making good brass cased ammo.
 
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GarandMan94 said:
Does anyone know anything about reloading steel cased ammo? I have heard many people say that you cant or shouldn’t do it, but it would definitely save me alot of money.
I know that some brands use Berdan primers instead of Boxer primers so i cant reload those. Steel is also obviously less flexible than brass so i am sure more muscle power is required to operate the press. I will probably get less firing before the case cracks that i will with brass.
What other issue am I forgetting/unaware of
Click to expand...

What caliber are you trying to reload? Is there brass that can be reloaded or are you just trying to go the cheap way through?
 
Steel case ammunition was never meant to be reloaded. It barely has enough ductility to last one firing. Brass has enough ductility that it can be reloaded many times till it work hardens and cracks. I recently read a book about WW1 artillery, the Brits were collecting their fired brass artillery shells and sending them back to be reloaded. Copper and zinc were expensive then, just as today.

If you do reload steel case, would be interested in reading how many reloads you get, and any issues you have.
 
I've reloaded Wolf/Tula steel 9MM and .45 ACP. Loaded them till they got lost in the grass at the range, or I just finally quit picking them up. They load just fine. I'm always on the hunt for steel .45 at the range. Softens the blow when I go looking for them and can't find all of them after I reload and shoot them.
 
I have converted steel 7.62x54r large berdan to boxer by drilling out the anvil and swaging in some copper tubing to hold a boxer primer for lower powered loads. The case would crack after 3 or 4 reloads. You could buy at one time a steel insert to push into the berdan socket that would fit a boxer primer, I never tried them.The aluminum cases 40 45 I have reloaded all split when fired. I really want to try some of the stainless steel 9mm cases being made just haven't wanted to spend the money for their dies yet.
 
If you decide to load steel case I would buy an inexpensive die set to start.

This is one. https://www.hornady.com/reloading/dies/american-series-dies#!/

The sizing die has a titanium nitride insert that would withstand steel cases well. I'm guessing you would have to lube those. I have used the 9x19 some and they don't run very well without lube. I've since moved on to carbide dies for all my reloading.
 
GarandMan94 said:
Does anyone know anything about reloading steel cased ammo? I have heard many people say that you cant or shouldn’t do it, but it would definitely save me alot of money.
I know that some brands use Berdan primers instead of Boxer primers so i cant reload those. Steel is also obviously less flexible than brass so i am sure more muscle power is required to operate the press. I will probably get less firing before the case cracks that i will with brass.
What other issue am I forgetting/unaware of
Click to expand...

As an academic exercise, I've loaded a few hundred steel cases in 7.62x39, just to see if I could. So yes, it works...once. And no, it's not worth it. It took a bit more effort to resize, and the primer pockets expand mightily after just one firing. To the point where shooting out of a 30 rnd mag, by the time you get to the last 10 rnds, the primers will be shaking loose. You could "fix" the primer issue by painting all the cases with fingernail polish after loading. About 10% of the cases cracked the 2nd firing. I loaded the cases that passed inspection a 3rd time. Those were horribly inaccurate, had almost zero neck tension, the primer pockets were even worse, and almost all of them cracked. Most importantly, by that point most of the lacquer on them was gone and they were sticking horribly in the chamber, and the extractor was really damaging the rims. So yes, it can be done, and no, there's no point in it unless you just want to try it to see if you can do it like I did. It just went into my list of things under the heading of "I could do this if I absolutely had too...".
 
Thanks for the information i think ill stick to brass unless I absolutely have too. Factory ammo and components are getting more and more expensive as the years go by, anything i can do to shave off a few cents per round helps.
 
GarandMan94 said:
Thanks for the information i think ill stick to brass unless I absolutely have too. Factory ammo and components are getting more and more expensive as the years go by, anything i can do to shave off a few cents per round helps.
Click to expand...
Definitely the recommended course of action. I would also say another thing you might look at is in the calibers you shoot the most, you may want to look at doing a big bulk purchase of new brass from starline. If you can buy in a qty of a thousand, it's not unreasonable. Then you get new brass, will only be fired in your guns, you know it's providence, and for most calibers, you'll get 10 or 15 loads out of it at sane pressures. May be a big up front cost.......but will pay off over a lifetime of reusing.
 
GarandMan94 said:
Thanks for the information i think ill stick to brass unless I absolutely have too. Factory ammo and components are getting more and more expensive as the years go by, anything i can do to shave off a few cents per round helps.
Click to expand...
Cast bullets is your biggest savings. It takes a little more care. But it's worth it.
 
EricBu said:
Definitely the recommended course of action. I would also say another thing you might look at is in the calibers you shoot the most, you may want to look at doing a big bulk purchase of new brass from starline. If you can buy in a qty of a thousand, it's not unreasonable. Then you get new brass, will only be fired in your guns, you know it's providence, and for most calibers, you'll get 10 or 15 loads out of it at sane pressures. May be a big up front cost.......but will pay off over a lifetime of reusing.
Click to expand...
I have thought about that, and i probably will in the future when i run low, or if I start using a new caliber. I primarily re load .38 special and .45 ACP. I use really light loads for .38spl: 158gr plated SWC with a 3.5gr alliant Bullseye charge. I usually get 12 reloads before a case fails.
 
Bfh_auto said:
Cast bullets is your biggest savings. It takes a little more care. But it's worth it.
Click to expand...
I have thought about that but lead poisoning scares the crap out of me. I am a welder so i know all about the problems fumes from molten metals can cause. I dont even buy pure lead bullets, i always get either plated, FMJ or TMJ bullets so i dont get any on my fingers. I know it costs a little more and i am probably being more cautious than is truly necessary but fear is rarely rational.
 
GarandMan94 said:
Does anyone know anything about reloading steel cased ammo? I have heard many people say that you cant or shouldn’t do it, but it would definitely save me alot of money.
I know that some brands use Berdan primers instead of Boxer primers so i cant reload those. Steel is also obviously less flexible than brass so i am sure more muscle power is required to operate the press. I will probably get less firing before the case cracks that i will with brass.
What other issue am I forgetting/unaware of
Click to expand...
the new Hybrid Sig cartridge will be Steel base and Brass top. operating pressures of 80,000 psi!
 
GarandMan94 said:
I have thought about that but lead poisoning scares the crap out of me. I am a welder so i know all about the problems fumes from molten metals can cause. I dont even buy pure lead bullets, i always get either plated, FMJ or TMJ bullets so i dont get any on my fingers. I know it costs a little more and i am probably being more cautious than is truly necessary but fear is rarely rational.
Click to expand...
I understand your fear/concern with lead poisoning. I had similar concerns. Having said that, my credentials are that I have been shooting and reloading for over 50 years, I was a range officer for over 5 years and I lunch with five, equally old f---ts, who have been shooting and reloading longer than me. Some of them even cast their own lead projectiles. They, like me, reloaded literally 1,000s of uncoated lead projectiles and none have suffered from lead poisoning.
Facts: Local neighbors wanted to shut down our outdoor range due to 'possible' lead contamination. After numerous state testings, no water runoff had suspended or dissolved lead.
The only case of lead poisoning that I knew of was a gentleman who worked for years in a poorly ventilated indoor gun range.
Disclaimer: It only makes sense to wash your hands after handling lead and/or after shooting. Same goes for washing hands before eating.
 
just Ask if you need brass… most
of us will send it to you for free! Yes! it’s that type of forum and community here
 
GarandMan94 said:
Thanks for the information i think ill stick to brass unless I absolutely have too. Factory ammo and components are getting more and more expensive as the years go by, anything i can do to shave off a few cents per round helps.
Click to expand...
The best thing to do to shave a few cents off everything....vote Republican.
 
There are a bunch of past threads on reloading steel cases if you search for them. Personally I have reloaded boxer primed steel and aluminum cases with limited success but found it not worth the effort as long as brass cases are available.
Loading and using lead only projectiles is not a particularly bad problem. Just shoot in a well ventilated area (outdoors preferably) and when handling the lead bullets don't smoke or eat anything. Wash your hands well after both things and there will be minimum problems. You do know that standard primers have lead in them anyway rite? When you clean cases there is removed lead in either the dust from the media or the juice from wet cleaning. If you decide to cast bullets follow the same precautions and keep the lead around 650* to 700* and there will be no lead vapors. This is not as big a problem as some will have you believe fortunately.
 
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