Reload Wolf steel cases?

[toysoldier]

Being a scrounger and overall cheap SOB, I pick up empties at the range. In examining a Wolf .45ACP case, I noticed that it had one flash hole. A pass through my decapper popped out a Boxer primer. Has anyone reloaded these? Will they cause excessive wear on reloading dies? Does case life compare with brass? What about work hardening and annealing? What sort of lacquer is used on the steel case? There are lots of questions, but with the price of brass spiraling up, this may be an alternative.

[superjay01]

I have heard of a few guys doing it with some success. The biggest problem I would think that you would have would be the elasticity of steel vs brass.The steel isn't going to be as elastic so when your try to reform them it might not reform right and thus not chamber right into the firearm. I would think that they would also be more brittle than brass so you have more of a chance of the case splitting. The other problem you might run into would be that the case would loose tension so the bullet may not stay seated or the primer for that matter. As for them being harder on your dies, maybe I could see that, but they are made out of carbide which is strong stuff. My personal experience with wolf ammo is not good. I decided to use it for a shoot at a local club I belong to. I was shooting my AR and they functioned well for about 400 rounds. Then the cases started to get stuck in the chamber and would not come out. I took it to my gunsmith and he told me that the lacquer on the wolf cases come off after the gun heats up and then the cases stick. He also said that they are harder on the ejector.  My only question is that if you are getting free brass why would you want to take the chance of doing harm to your reloading equipment, firearm, or worst case scenero yourself to say a few cents by reloading steel cases?

[toysoldier]

The challenge.

[KN]

My guess is you are going to ruin your dies and put a lot of stress on your press.   KN

[Savage]

My guess is that you've already made up your mind to do it. Let us know how it turns out.
Savage

[toysoldier]

My guess is that you've already made up your mind to do it. Let us know how it turns out.
Savage

You might be right. I made up a dummy round, and the press effort didn't seem any greater. To do it right, I should buy a box of Wolf and fire it in my gun. Measure the cases before and after firing, and compare it to the Remington stuff I've been firing. Maybe the steel doesn't expand as much. Then reload it and check accuracy, bullet retention, etc. It will be awhile before I get around to this.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive done it just to try it. It can be done but most will split on the first firing after being reloaded and ive yet to have one that made two loadings without spliting. Hardly worth the efford.

[toysoldier]

LS--Thanks. That's the sort of information I was hoping to find. Asking questions on this forum can save a lot of time and trouble.