gamefan86
Member
I've shot Tula ammo with my ar15 and had no problems.
Not worth it considering the smaller price difference between steel and brass case ammo these days.
Yeah let me know where that 22 cent brass 223 ammo is!
Well before the M855 debacle, you could get brass cased .223/5.56 for 28 cents per round shipped.
But if you want to shoot crap ammo through your guns, by all means go ahead and deal with the consequences.
Pricing has changed significantly since luckygunner did their test. The numbers don't favor steel case ammo anymore.
The raw economics here are completely against using brass. The math does not lie. You will still save substantial amounts of money by shooting steel-cased ammo.
You are making a good point, but perhaps extrapolating too much about how generalized this concern is. AK, Sig 556, etc. barrels are really not that expensive, even including installation. Even the Tavor barrel is only $450, and that includes a new matching bolt.Certainly does when shooting an AR. For my SCAR though, that cost of that barrel is $650-950 for the assembly. I imagine for most other non-AR pattern 5.56 chambered rifles, barrel cost is a similar degree of expense compared against an AR barrel.
Wow, I tell you what, geco is not what I'd call low class ammo.Just to settle this, I checked the prices just now:
Cheapest steel-cased shipped: 25.3c/r (Wolf)
Cheapest brass-cased shipped: 35.6c/r (Geco)
Stupid Belgians. SCAR's a real treat though. I quite enjoy my 16S.You are making a good point, but perhaps extrapolating too much about how generalized this concern is. AK, Sig 556, etc. barrels are really not that expensive, even including installation. Even the Tavor barrel is only $450, and that includes a new matching bolt.
The SCAR is just outrageously expensive in comparison to most other guns. That said, yes, doing a little math on the barrel replacement cost is probably good due diligence. (Yet another reason not to buy a SCAR or ACR, perhaps.)
Eh, the Geco stuff is not match ammo. It's very good for cheap brass ammo, but that's about it.
Still, you are correct - if you are shooting for groups, you may be constrained in your choices anyways.
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Just to be clear, the Wolf, tulamo etc is not just steel cased, they are steel (they call it bi-metal) jacketed. Indoor ranges like Freestate won't allow it.
Yes because they don't want to have to pick it out of the brass they resell... Its not a good reason from a shooters position.
Still running 20%+ or more expensive than steel case. In any case, who cares what it sold for before the price went up. I mean back in 1999... it does not matter. In my experience brass is consistently significantly more expensive. Sometimes it may just get to 10% but if you are shooting a lot, that is significant.
If you think Wolf or any steel case current production is crap ammo, you must not shoot surplus ammo. You want to see junk ammo that has squibs or hangs... its out there. So yes, I will continue to shoot it through my guns and deal with the insignificant consequences. I buy good quality guns that can handle it.
The only real good reason is to get the brass to reload. Otherwise for non-target shooting... anything more is a waste of money.
However by all means, please keep buying brass ammo. Less demand on steel case means better prices for me!
I once shot 1400rd of steel case 7.62x54r in 4 hours in one of my MGs. Not one stuck case or any other issues with it. On our normal shoots, I shoot around 1K rounds in 6 hours. Been doing it for years now. Never an issue with the steel case.
If you are shooting 556... you need to make sure you are cleaning your chamber neck. Not just the bore. The build up of carbon in the neck can get it sticking. However its not the lacquer.
Just to settle this, I checked the prices just now:
Cheapest steel-cased shipped: 25.3c/r (Wolf)
Cheapest brass-cased shipped: 35.6c/r (Geco)
That's $412 bucks of savings over 4000 rounds, which is roughly the worst case scenario in terms of barrel life. In reality, you will not be doing continuous mag dumps out of a white hot barrel in horrible weather, so you are going to have even more barrel life than that. Assuming you could eke out another 50% of barrel life (6000 rounds), that would be $618 of savings for 6000 rounds.
Cost of a White Oak / Shilen match barrel is $275-$310. An entirely new PSA upper w/ CHF chrome-lined barrel and no BCG/CH is only about $330.
The raw economics here are completely against using brass. The math does not lie. You will still save substantial amounts of money by shooting steel-cased ammo.