Tul Ammo

[ChemDave]

I went to Walmart last weekend to pick up some ammo and was reaching for the box of Tulammo as it was the cheapest in the case when the sales associate cautioned against using that brand. Are there any issues with using this brand in a modern firearm? He claimed that it can damage the weapon. Not wanting to risk one of my firearms I took his advice and bought a couple Winchester value packs (still a decent price) and passed on the Tulammo.

Anyone here have experience with the brand? I noticed they have steel cases. Is that the only issue. Any advice would be welcome.

[filgun11]

Steel cased ammo have always been debatable. Some have issues with it, some don't. I think the issue on some might be caused by the lacquer coating, which can melt and deposit on the chamber, which can get stuck.

In my opinion, as long it feed correctly, it's okay. If you don't shoot hundreds of rounds in one session, lacquer coating shouldn't be a problem. Clean the gun after shooting, and you shouldn't have any issues.

I used to use TulAmmo / Wolf on pistols before I started reloading. I don't use it for my AR, since cleaning the chamber and bore is a bit harder to clean compared to pistols.

Watch these and it should give you a bit of peace of mind:
http://youtu.be/Qpo9rknFDkU

Enjoy.

[renalp]

He claimed that it can damage the weapon.

That's a fairly vague statement, which I'd be inclined to ignore. I haven't had any issues with Tula or other cheap steel-cased ammo. If your gun feeds it reliably, there are probably more important issues to worry about in the universe.

However, I note with a bit of cynicism that Walmart used to sell Federal 9mm for $10 per 50. Then, one day, Tula appeared on the shelf for 10 bucks, and Federal went up to $12. Sure, I know ammo prices have gone up everywhere, but the overnight price shuffle seems suspect. Oh well.

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

Steel cased ammo can wear on your extractor faster causing FTEs more problematic on lower grade guns and metallurgy.

[Nic]

I have used this ammo on several occasions in my AK (wolf and bear steel cased too) with zero malfunctions of any kind.

This summer, I ran 300 rounds through it in one afternoon (that's only 10 magazines) and have not had any problems with it.

I can tell you that the AK was so freakin hot, I wouldn't have been able to hold on to it if not for the vertical foregrip on the rail. That amount of heat should have melted any laquer coating off of every shell, but still no problems and no malfunctions.

[joecooltech]

I mainly buy it just to store it in case of World War 3 but have shot many rounds of it to make sure it reliably goes through my guns about 2,000 round in Glock 30 LC9 and M&P 40c no problem at all.

For the price what's it hurt to have it.

[em2b96p]

Just watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ZB3UfG960

[Grunt33]

Oh crap, another misinformed sales associate.

The lowdown on Tula, Bear, etc:

- Steel (or whatever that crap is) cased ammo is harder than brass casing and can damage extractors due to the case not breaking if a round becomes stuck in the chamber. If a brass round becomes stuck, most often it simply tears the casing. If the weapon/ammo is performing correctly, it doesn't damage anything.

- The lacquer has nothing to do with anything, it's an urban myth. Most Tula and Bear ammo I've shot either doesn't have lacquer on it or so little I can't see it. The lacquer myth started because old AK ammo was soaked in the crap, it looked like brown furniture stain had been poured in the crate. By the way, you can't remove that stuff from the round by normal means. It's really on there. Your weapon won't get hot enough to melt it, and there shouldn't be enough friction to remove it, so it's a myth. People shot the crap out of cheap ammo and had stoppages, due largely to cheap rifles and lack of cleaning and maintenance, and wanted something to blame, which leads us to....

- Steel casing doesn't expand. Brass casing expands and will fill the chamber of the weapon, preventing blow-by of powder residue. Steel casing, since it doesn't expand, allows powder to blow back through the weapon. This gathers in your chamber and causes stoppages. Ever hear "Don't mix your brass and steel"? That's not an urban myth. Steel cased ammo, when shot alone, generally won't expand enough to cause a stoppage, even after the chamber is seriously polluted (verified by many 500-1000 round sessions between cleaning an AR). However, run steel, don't clean the weapon, and throw a brass round (which expands!) into that contaminated chamber and PRESTO! You get a jam. I'd say it's more of a maintenance issue, since steel case ammo runs fine by itself. Just clean before switching to brass.

- Steel cased ammo got a bad rep because the primer material on surplus 7.62x39 at one time was highly corrosive to barrel steel. I believe most of that's been shot up, as all new ammo I've seen states "non-corrosive". Even with the old corrosive stuff, it doesn't damage the weapon. Being lazy and leaving your bore filthy after a range session, letting that corrosive material in there, damages it. See the pattern of "laziness" being a cause?

- For fun, buy some Tula 45acp and a box of brass cased stuff. Mix and match the magazines when you fill them. You can actually hear the difference between Tula and a more reputable ammo brand. There's a reason it's cheap. I'm not downing Tula, I shoot it from time to time, but it can cause FTF and FTE on picky pistols, simply because it's pretty weak stuff.

[QuackXP]

- Steel casing doesn't expand. Brass casing expands and will fill the chamber of the weapon, preventing blow-by of powder residue. Steel casing, since it doesn't expand, allows powder to blow back through the weapon. This gathers in your chamber and causes stoppages. Ever hear "Don't mix your brass and steel"? That's not an urban myth. Steel cased ammo, when shot alone, generally won't expand enough to cause a stoppage, even after the chamber is seriously polluted (verified by many 500-1000 round sessions between cleaning an AR). However, run steel, don't clean the weapon, and throw a brass round (which expands!) into that contaminated chamber and PRESTO! You get a jam. I'd say it's more of a maintenance issue, since steel case ammo runs fine by itself. Just clean before switching to brass.

This is about the only issue I have seen with steel that seems to have been tested somewhat.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu18.htm

Through about 800 rounds (I know not much, so take my testimony for what it is worth) I have switched between steel and brass in-between range sessions where I was able to clean the rifle well and had no issues.

[Jdw-glocker]

Great video!