Tulammo .223 ammo

[ColdDayInHell]

Hey THR, I just bought 20 rounds of .223 Tulammo for 4.99$ plus tax and never used it before in my S&W M&P15. I have used Brown Bear and my AR loved the rounds but it is harder to find now. It was dirtier but mine ate those rounds right up. Those were 62gr bi-metal HP's while the Tula is 55gr FMJ.

Sorry to ramble, but has anyone used this ammo in their AR's? Specifically the M&P15? And some people say to never use steel cased ammo, but for the price and target shooting, it's hard to beat it. I would never use steel cased ammo in my handguns but my AR has been okay with Brown Bear. Any info would be great. Thanks

 

[1KPerDay]

Works fine for me so far in Colt, PSA, SCAR-16, and Mini-14. No issues whatsoever. You might want to search the forum for threads on steel cased ammo. It's a bit like oil threads on motorcycle/auto forums.

This is a good watch also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ZB3UfG960

 

[ColdDayInHell]

I tried a search for "tulammo .223" but it didn't work. I will try searching steel case, thanks!

 

[brnmuenchow]

Not specifically in the S&W M&P 15, however you may get a thread of people telling you it's fine, and it's not... in my experience I say give it a try and if it works go with it. I have known people that won't run it in their AR's period for many reasons like wearing out the guns internal parts, or gumming up the chambers with the lacquer that the case is coated with, or the ammo is "dirty". Some AR's my friends have won't run steel very well, but mine does. As far as permanent damage... if steel case ammo will hurt the internals because of "internal parts tolerance" it would only be through using steel case in very large quantities with poor maintenance practices. Worse case scenario I can think of offhand would be your rifle possibly not being as accurate after 10K+ rounds through it. Just keep it lubed and clean and you should be fine. IMO

I guess for the record I do run steel through more inexpensive AR's, and brass through more expensive AR's.

 

[kyletx1911]

run them in my del-ton nary a problem a little dirty but i can get by that

 

[jdub3]

I've only run them in my Mini-14, but for me, in that gun, they are more accurate than any bulk brass-cased rounds.

 

[fallout mike]

I shoot quite a bit of it through my m&p 15. Never had any issues.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

Is this the same thing as Wolf? Are they both made at the Tula Cartridge Works?

 

[TwoEyedJack]

I have run both the 55 gr. and 75gr. Tulammo loads in a PSA upper with a chrome lined chamber. The 55 gr. loads stick sometimes and are not very accurate. The 75gr. loads rarely stick and are pretty accurate. I did have to switch to Pmags to get the 75 gr. loads to feed reliably.

 

[goon]

It runs fine in my BCM midlength, but the action doesn't usually lock open on the last shot. I'd call it dirty and a little underpowered, but I shoot it when it's available.

 

[kingcheese]

Had a friend seize up a rock river, steel case expanded and ripped the extractor off

 

[TonyAngel]

Do you mean it ripped the rim of the casing off? If it broke the extractor, I'd say that was a faulty part.

 

[Hacker15E]

Runs great in a PSA 14.5" carbine.

Even reloadable!

 

[kingcheese]

It broke the broke the grabbing part of the extractor, so it wasn't a faulty part just poor standards to make the ammunition, the case might as well have been welded in his chamber

 

[allaroundhunter]

I have 10 boxes on hand at the moment. For the price, it is hard to beat. Great plinking ammo, and my AR (Doublestar) shoots it quite well actually.

 

[SlowFuse]

Tula for me is the same as any of the other russian steel case stuff. Accurate enough for plinking but dirty. If you don't mind cleaning you're good. I run a mix of steel and brass through my ARs. The only thing that gets strictly steel is SKS, AK, Mosin etc.

Hacker, is that the result after tumbling (laquer/poly coat removed)? In SS media perhaps?

 

[fallout mike]

Kingcheese, would you explain the poor standards of making the ammo that caused his gun to break a part.

 

[Ro1911]

I have a M&P 15 OR and it eats anything I put in it, it's sad to say it shoots steel cased more reliably then my AK does. I really like the Tula ammo, I never really liked wolf as a company so tula works for me, as far as brass vs steel cased goes brass is better, but I've never had any issues with steel. Alot of people will tell you that steel will wear out you gun and that is pure BS, I have 1000's of rounds of steel cased down range and no more wear then when I was shooting brass cased.

 

[jrdolall]

I have Tula in the following calibers because Wallyworld carries it and it is the cheapest on the occasions that they have any available. Don't go there on your way to the range planning to buy ammo you want to shoot today because, after all, it is Walmart. Academy has .223 on ad for $4.19 fairly regularly and I load up a few boxes when that happens
.223
9mm
7.62x39
.380
.45
I have never had a single problem that I could attribute to the ammo. I can't speak to corrosion issues but I have seen no reason to avoid Tula.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

Thanks for all the replies THR! Looks like I will be shooting Tula today.

 

[mljdeckard]

I would PREFER not to use it in an AR, but the truth is, if you are using a mil-speckish upper with chrome lining, you will probably never have a problem.

Generally I use Russian ammo in Russian guns.

 

[Hacker15E]

Hacker, is that the result after tumbling (laquer/poly coat removed)? In SS media perhaps?

Yes, that's after stainless tumbling. The poly coating comes off very easily, and usually leaves a shiny, somewhat gray case. The only thing I do different is to swab the inside with a q-tip after they come out of the tumble so they don't surface rust inside.

I've experimented a little with the cases in terms of rust prevention, and they all essentially have stayed rust free so long as they're stored inside the house (in a humidity controlled environment, that is). Some I've waxed, some I've just wiped after sizing, and some I've re-tumbled after sizing. So long as they're not left with water physically on them afterward, they keep just fine.

Had zero issues with FTL, FTE, etc, without the poly coating.

 

[benEzra]

Runs great in my RRA 16" midlength with standard carbine buffer. Mine has a 5.56x45mm chamber and is chrome lined. I use Tula in local USPSA matches and for general plinking, and haven't had a single failure yet.

 

[ForumSurfer]

I run Tula in my BCM carbine upper with no issues. I've ran Tula in pretty much every handgun I've owned, too.

 

[ljnowell]

Kingcheese, would you explain the poor standards of making the ammo that caused his gun to break a part.

My extractor isnt weak at all, but I wouldnt shoot it again out of my AR either. I had the same thing happen that he is describing, but mine didnt break the extractor. It would fire one round then hang up. I had to beat the case out of the chamber with a hammer. Not little taps, I had to BEAT IT out of there. So hard that I was afraid I was damaging the gun. The extractor ripped the rim right off the case it was siezed in there so bad. No more for me, my reloads are better anyway.