Who reloads steel case .223?

[SuedePflow]

This seems to be somewhat controversial. I found a sack of once-fired .223 steel casings this past weekend in the bottom of my brass stash (it was my buddy's factory ammo). I got curious and loaded up 10 of them before I set off to the range. The things I noticed:

1) They don't seem to grow like brass does, so they all sized up with less effort and less resistance.

2) They also don't grow in length much either. All of mine case gauged perfectly and none required trimming at all. Huge win.

3) No crimped primer pockets means I didn't need to mess with the pockets and re-priming them felt better than brass usually does. When I say "felt better", I mean there was a very positive feel of seating. Very tight and consistant from case to case.

I loaded them to the exact same specs as the last brass loads I did; 25gr Varget, CCI primed, Dogtown 55gr FBHP, 2.250" COL. They shot wonderfully. Grouped just as well as the brass cased loads.

My local indoor range lets me pick up any brass that I want behind the firing line. Lately it's been slim pickens. But there's always a ton of steel cases laying around. So far, I'm having a really difficult time trying to find a reason not to start reloading large amounts of steel case .223 for plinking purposes.

Anyone else reload steel case .223? Any good reason not to?

 

[plmitch]

I used to do it with 7.62x54r steel cases when needed but never tried .223 steel, always had plenty of crap range brass available.

 

[zxcvbob]

I have dabbled with reloading them, but not enough yet that I have much to contribute. I do like that they never seem to need trimming.

They would really be good for loading on a progressive press...

 

[W.E.G.]

It has been done, and those who have done it post to the internet with great enthusiasm - at first.
Then you hear very little more from them.

Steel is less ductile than brass.

Steel cases will be more brittle when subjected to the swaging forces of a reloading press.

The chance of a case failure increases as the brittleness of the case increases.

If your application is such that case-failure will not result in your demise, or at least a wasted day, then you should give it a try.

Even if you have no disasters, how much money will you save over the course of a year by shooting steel-case reloads versus shooting reloads built on previously-fired brass?

Maybe a hundred dollars if you shoot a LOT of it?

IMO, life is too short to shoot crummy ammo.

It would take a desperate situation for me to consider putting steel-case .223 in my AR's.
I think I might consider a homemade bow-and-arrow before I would put RELOADED steel-case .223 in my AR.

Let us know how that works out for you.

 

[SuedePflow]

Then you hear very little more from them.

Maybe because they're too busy shootin, ehh?

Even if you have no disasters, how much money will you save over the course of a year by shooting steel-case reloads versus shooting reloads built on previously-fired brass?

Well, when I can't find free brass, I'd be buying once-fired stuff $100/1000. That alone would add up to a good chunk of change after a year's worth of reloading. I could potentially save several hundred dollars every year. That's like free car isurance.

IMO, life is too short to shoot crummy ammo.

I wouldn't nessacery call it crummy just because of the case. Remember, I'm choosing my powder and bullet, so I could actually make something nicer than many factory loads if I chose to. And the ten that I tried were reliable and accurate (granted it was only ten rounds).


From the googling I did today, several people reported an average of 10-12 reloadings before encountering split necks. That's pretty equivelant to brass. Hell, I'd be happy if they were only good for ONE reload being that they are free. Sometimes it nice to have specific ammo to take to the places where it's difficult or imporrible to recover cases.

 

[Reefinmike]

Are you able to pick up in front of the firing line during cease fires or the time between last shots called and close? If its outdoor and you can, just go on the nastiest weekday and you may not have any other shooters there. I managed to pick up 5,500 pieces of brass 223 in ~3 hours on the coldest day of last january.

Or just buy a thousand once fired for ~$70... they should last you a while. It would be pretty difficult removing all those berdan primers

 

[ghfljf]

If it works, OK. But maybe you should be careful not to reload them too many times.

 

[SuedePflow]

Are you able to pick up in front of the firing line during cease fires or the time between last shots called and close? If its outdoor and you can, just go on the nastiest weekday and you may not have any other shooters there. I managed to pick up 5,500 pieces of brass 223 in ~3 hours on the coldest day of last january.

Holy jackpot! I wish I could obtain 5k+ cases for free in one outting. The most .223 cases I've collected at once was 500.

Regarding my local indoor range; They have a tiny 3-bay rifle range right next to the pistol range. The pistol bays have retracting target holders, so you can pick your range out to 25 yards and there never has to be a cease fire called to retrieve targets. I love that about this range. But the separating wall between pistol and rifle bays is not steel lined and the rifle section is a fixed distance with no retracting target holders. So, they have to call a cease fire for the entire range just for a rifle shooter to check or change out his target. And they like to limit how many times a cease fire is called, as well as how long it takes. So, no, I rarely have an opportunity to collect brass ahead of the firing line. The only time I can do that is when I'm the only shooter in the building, and that's not very often. And even still, I'd bet there's no more than 1000 pieces of 223 brass ahead of the line at any given point (not that I wouldn't love to pick them up anyway. I'm just jealous of your range that has the 5k piece goldmine. )

Or just buy a thousand once fired for ~$70... they should last you a while. It would be pretty difficult removing all those berdan primers

Just to clarify; the steel that I'm asking about reloading is boxer primed. Like I mentioned, it's a cakewalk to process.

Regardless, unless I find more free brass somewhere else, I'll end up buying some here and there anyway. I like to load 1000 pieces for every 200 that I shoot. So it would be nice to keep my brass for my stash and just shoot up cheaper steel stuff.

 

[SuedePflow]

If it works, OK. But maybe you should be careful not to reload them too many times.

I inspect all used cases every loading, so that wouldn't change for steel.

I guess I'm just wondering if there's anything that I'm missing as to why more folks don't do it. It seems like saving $.10/rd and cutting processing time in half would be pretty appealing to alot of people.

 

[joustin]

I would love to find 1k of 223 for $70 shipped

 

[Master Blaster]

You are risking case head separation and damage to your gun as well as personal injury. That is why you do not read about folks doing it much online.

 

[silicosys4]

I inspect all used cases every loading, so that wouldn't change for steel.

But what are you looking for? Does steel "rut" before it separates? What signs will you use to tell you that a particular steel case needs to be tossed? Are they the same as for brass?
Steel and brass have much different properties.

 

[tyeo098]

I've reloaded steel cased 7.62x39 cases about 3 times now. Apart from some cases having cracked case mouths, none have shown any rutting along the case web yet.

 

[SuedePflow]

But what are you looking for? Does steel "rut" before it separates? What signs will you use to tell you that a particular steel case needs to be tossed? Are they the same as for brass?
Steel and brass have much different properties.

From everything that I read from people that are actually doing it, steel cases almost always fail via a crack at the case mouth. Aside from worn out primer pockets, this is also seems to be a leading failure of brass cases. Different properties aside, they seem to have very similar longevities and cause of failures.

BTW, that's a familiar username. NABR, right?

 

[Walkalong]

I'd be buying once-fired stuff $100/1000. That alone would add up to a good chunk of change after a year's worth of reloading. I could potentially save several hundred dollars every year.

Even assuming only 5 reloads per case, that is still a lot of shooting. The bullets alone would be around 2500 to 3000 bucks.

But what are you looking for? Does steel "rut" before it separates? What signs will you use to tell you that a particular steel case needs to be tossed? Are they the same as for brass?
Steel and brass have much different properties.

That is my concern as well. I know how to check brass cases. Not so sure about steel. Brass is used for its unique properties, and works very well for ammo.

I know folks here load steel. A few have shared their experience with it. I forget how many times they were using the cases before tossing them.

I wish them luck with it. I'll stick with brass until I can't get it anymore.

 

[silicosys4]

What would concern me also is neck tension, and type of steel used.

Those steel cases were never meant to be reloaded so the quality of steel might not be consistent between batches, and i doubt you can call and ask Tula....even Hornady wont give you the time of day considering reloading questions other than tell you not to do it.
This inconsistency might lead to problems with some cases being able to resize or hold neck tension if the steel is too springy.
Also, crimping. If you aren't trimming, crimping over and over on the same steel probably makes its own issues. I'd rather have a split neck than a separated case head though.

All sources say the steel cases are hard on dies too....still waiting for pictures of ruined dies followed by a round count though...


I will watch with interest, but right I will let others do the pioneering until more is out there about it.
If I can reload 7.62x39 safely while saving considerable money over Tula or Wolf, I'd be interested....I can't find a cheap enough source of brass and bullets to make reloading for my AK and SKS more economical than buying steel cased ammo.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

too much free 5.56 brass laying around to fool with it. if i couldn't find any brass for free, i might try it. it'd be nice for when i shoot at a friend's place in tall grass where we can't really find any brass.

 

[SuedePflow]

All sources say the steel cases are hard on dies too....still waiting for pictures of ruined dies followed by a round count though...

I've never bought that argument that steel cases wear out dies prematurely. And most threads that have a person claim that, follow with two or more people claiming it to be untrue.

Given my brief experience, it seems that with less resistance on the sizing throw, it would seem less 'work' is being done. I can't imagine how that would equate to heavier wear on a die set.

 

[silicosys4]

Brass on steel dies is self lubricating to some degree. it is also softer and less abrasive. Steel is not. It is hard enough to remove die material. While brass is reforming in the die, steel is both reforming and grinding on the die. Make sure you use carbide dies and plenty of lubricant if you reload steel cases.

Here is how I see it

Take a piece of 1000 grit sandpaper to a piece of hard wood and press hard, then a rasp, but don't press as hard....then see how much material was removed given the workload you experienced.


I personally think that not enough people have been reloading steel for long enough to ruin dies, or they don't want to talk about it if they did.....and deal with the I told you so's.
So again, I'm waiting until more is known before I go there.

 

[SuedePflow]

I lube every case for every caliber. Lube is cheap.

 

[Twmaster]

I've reloaded steel 223 cases. There was a time where I could not get much brass and these free cases were welcome. I now have a couple of thousand brass cases to work with so I'm not loading steel. Although if I were going somewhere I knew I'd lose my brass I'd load some steel for that event. I still save the steel cases I find. Never know when the next panic might come and components get scarce again.

 

[SuedePflow]

You are risking case head separation and damage to your gun as well as personal injury. That is why you do not read about folks doing it much online.

So reloaded steel .223 cases are definitely more prone to case head separation? I'd be interested to read about instances of this if you can link to them.

 

[SuedePflow]

I've reloaded steel 223 cases. There was a time where I could not get much brass and these free cases were welcome. I now have a couple of thousand brass cases to work with so I'm not loading steel. Although if I were going somewhere I knew I'd lose my brass I'd load some steel for that event. I still save the steel cases I find. Never know when the next panic might come and components get scarce again.

Did you tumble them? If so, was there an issue with it removing the exterior coating and making them more susceptible to corrosion?

 

[silicosys4]

Honestly, I would feel fine for one, maybe two reloads on steel, and like people are saying, they would be great for those times when I want to shoot without caring about losing brass.

The biggest barrier for me is that I wet tumble, and the few steel cases that have snuck through the initial sort and into the tumble rust overnight after being laid out to dry. The SS media takes everything off and takes the cases back to bare white metal....and they are wet inside and out so you can guess what happens. If a steel case might be abrasive, a rusty steel case definitely is.
I guess I could oven dry them if I were running only steel though.

Then they would still corrode as loaded ammo unless coated or oiled....and both tend to be bad or troublesome, or both....

So I stick to reloading brass.

 

[Twmaster]

All I do to these steel cases for cleaning is brush out the primer pocket once decapped. If grungy outside I wipe the case off. Inspection inside the case with a light shows not a lot of dirt so I don't stress over it. I want the exterior coating to remain so no tumbling. I also use the wet stainless pins method to clean my brass like Silicosis4. That process does ruin the coating and cause the cases to rust.