Steel case in Colt AR

[.338Lapua]

I bought a couple cases of Wolf .223 steel case berdan primed ammo to run through my Colt AR15 a2s2. Military buddy of mine said I shouldn't shoot it through the colt because the steel case could mar the chamber. Anyone familiar with this issue?

[TonyF]

Rubbish.

Hornady is now marketing a 75 gr TAP practice round using steel cases in an effort to reduce training costs for LE departments.

I personally know people who have run thousands of rounds of wolf through their AR15's with no ill effect.

Most mil spec AR15's have chrome lined chambers which is MUCH harder than the steel cases used in wolf ammo.

[roland]

I am glad to hear that Tony, I was wondering the same thing after reading other threads.

[Holleta]

I have personally shot a bunch of Wolf through ARs with the only "problem" being that Wolf was on the dirty side compared to most ammo I used. I have heard of some (rumor?) incidents of early extractor failure but I have not experienced that myself or even know any one that has. Mar the chamber?? Never heard of it and frankly don't believe it.

[DrakinClaw]

Originally Posted by Holleta

I have personally shot a bunch of Wolf through ARs with the only "problem" being that Wolf was on the dirty side compared to most ammo I used. I have heard of some (rumor?) incidents of early extractor failure but I have not experienced that myself or even know any one that has. Mar the chamber?? Never heard of it and frankly don't believe it.

Wolf does have a dirt factor all to itself!
Drakin

[.338Lapua]

yeah, I have heard that chrome lined chambers have no problems, but what if the chamber isn't chrome lined? Would that then cause an issue with the steel case?

[27hand]

Although I haven't shot my AR a lot, I probably have 1K of Barnaul and close to a case of Wolf through mine.

I have read on another list that if you shoot brass cased ammo after shooting a fair amount of steel cased without cleaning that you can get a brass case stuck in the chamber. If I read it correctly, the steel cases do not expand as brass cases do and some sooty residue blows back into the chamber. When you shoot the brass cased ammo, the soot binds the case into the chamber.

I'll do a search on another list for this info.

Tony, didn't Harry post a thread on this issue?

27hand

[JayBell]

the old issue was the varnish on the old steel cases.
not so big a problem in a chromed chamber, but in an unchromed chamber, like my old Robinson Arms m96, I shot half a mag, moved around, and the case had stuck to the chamber.
I had to pull the barrel, and hammer the case out with a rod.

the new stuff with the polymerr coating works fine, even if it is a bit underpowered in my experience.

also, I used this nasty to test my SBR to see how long it would go, meaning round count, without a cleaning...over 2 months, I got over 2800rds of wolf thru my SBR AR15 before I had my first fail to eject...

boy was that thing ugly dirty:-)

[MarcS]

The steel used in wolf cases is a very mild steel. You're barrel and extractor are made of a quality heat-treated steel. If wolf ammo damages the chamber or extractor of your AR-15, throw your rifle in the trash because it's a piece of crap, then be nice enough to inform us of the brand of this rifle.

[JayBell]

errr, maybe throw the extractor in the trash you mean.:-)

I've got a couple broken extractors over the years on COLT bolts, bad or poorly treated parts are common.