kind of a dumb question

[john keyes]

why is some ammo not brass?  I remember a long time ago when CCI had their stuff..whatever it was, you couldn't reload it.

but there is a lot of stuff that is steel?  is there an advantage to it? forgive but is steel cheaper than brass? or does it hold up better..?

 

[Grumulkin]

The CCI stuff is called Blazer ammo and is still offered.

There is no advantage to steel except the price and it's not reloadable.

[Siskiyou]

Steel and aluminum cases are lower cost.  I suspect that brass is more difficult to obtain.

Neither is considered reloadble, but I suspect somebody has an exception to that. Statement.  CCI developed aluminum case handgun ammunition to sell at low prices.

When I first picked up some CCI Blazer cases at the range my first thought was, “What is this c…”.  In those days we were stilling carrying .357 Magnums on duty.  Officers from another unit brought Blazer ammunition for qualification.  We were firing a sixty round course of fire, and by the time we got to the end of the course with our heated up weapons those shooting the Blazer ammunition was having ejection problems and their weapons were binding up.  I understand they were firing first generation Blazer ammunition and it has been modified a few times since.  After that shot a memo came out direction us not to purchase or carry it.  The concern being that an officer would be carrying it on duty and it would lock-up his weapon.  That was twenty years ago and I have not seen Blazer ammunition at a LE shoot since.  I suspect the Bean Counters buy it every once and while.

The only steel case ammunition I have seen is foreign military ammunition.  The ability to reload is not a factor in its manufacture.  The concept is to produce low cost military ammunition in a high volume.  Most of the foreign steel case ammunition has a lacquer coating.  There are reports that when the lacquer coating heats up it causes fowling.  At least one manufacture will not warranty their firearms if steel case ammunition is fired in it.

I recently read that Wolf ammunition is using a polymer coating
http://www.wolfammo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=115

I have never purchase Wolf ammunition.  I have felt that it is subsiding the Russian Army.

[SHOOTALL]

there was an article out last summer saying some steel cases were reloadable at least one time . picking up cases would be easy with a magnet . but what would ranges use for ground cover if they get picked up ?
in the 60's or so S&W made the mod. 12 an AL. frame 38 for use in choppers ( to save weight ) along with the 130 gr jrn bullet . Can't remember but the AL case may have come out of this project. the project failed .
Winchester still loades the 130 useless bullet .

[troy_mclure]

back when i started reloading pistol ammo a few years ago i had no books nothing, i used the loads listed on the bottles, and the directions on the press.
i picked up a bunch of aluminum brass and tried to reload it. it would either crumple during sizing, or during the bullet seating. or it would not crimp closed and the bullet would be loose.


this was for a 40s&w.

[John Traveler]

Steel small arms ammunition cases were developed as a wartime contingency when strategic materials (copper, zinc, etc.) becomes short in supply.

The Allies manufactured it in massive quantities, as well as the Germans.  Much of the US small arms ammo production in 1943-44 was steel cased, and again during the Korean War.  The former USSR and it's client states have produced almost exclusively steel cases since WWII, with the idea that "wartime" production capability should be maintained.  The US and much of western europe, being wealthier nations, uses brass cartridges as opposed to the Russians, Chinese, and their allies.  One point that should be noted, is that small arms that are designed for use with steel cases have large, sturdy extractor designs, as steel cases have higher extraction forces than brass.  Note that large, sturdy extractors are a signature characteristic of Soviet weapons designs.