Steel cased ammo in 223.

[nnyrebel13]

I did a quick search last nite but didn't really find my answer. I was wondering if it is ok to use steel case ammo in a .223 Axis. I picked mine up last Friday and wanted to know in case I find a good deal on some locally. Brass case fmj ammo isn't too badly priced so far but steel cased is a little cheaper still.

[BoilerUP]

Yes.

I had a 12FV barrel that shot 75gr Steel Match sub-MOA.

[shoalwater]

I wouldn't recommend it, I don't shoot steel casings in my AR's, let alone in my bolt guns, where precision is the name of the game. To answer your question, yes, you can shoot it, but I wouldn't. Maybe the steel match stuff from Hornady, but I wouldn't shoot the ball ammo steel casing stuff.

[BoilerUP]

I wouldn't recommend it, I don't shoot steel casings in my AR's, let alone in my bolt guns, where precision is the name of the game

Why not?

[phantom_geo]

If I believe correctly the steel cases are coated and when fired become hot and the coating will stick to the chamber. I know Wolf ammo was always bad for this. I won't use it in my AR either for this reason. I have used it on a very limited amount in my AK-47 but not in any other firearm since I found out about the steel casings having a coating on them.

[BoilerUP]

Laquer/teflon on modern steel cases won't melt or do anything to the chamber.

Probably never did.

What steel WILL do is not expand as much as brass when fired, resulting in dirtier chambers, which is likely what can cause case sticking.

Steel Match & Wolf have never given any issues, bolt or gas gun.

[fgw_in_fla]

For what it's worth to you, I shoot lacquer coated steel cased mil-surp ammo in my AK47's & 74's until the barrel is hot enough to cook on. I've never had a case stick in the chamber.

[shoalwater]

Also if there are any burs on the steel case, especially on the neck, they will scare up a chamber pretty quickly due to the steel being much harder than brass. Like I said, you can shoot it all day long and may never have any issues, you just won't catch me running it in my guns. I am fortunate enough to have plenty of brass for everything I own, except this dang 284 I'm building may have to give in and neck up 6.5X284, so I don't have to shoot any steel. To each there own.

[n4ue]

Waaay back before ammo got scarce, my boss bought 10,000 rounds of Wolf .223. Although I use only handloads in my HBAR and other .223s, I shoot the Wolf out of his collection of .223s weekly.
I use the Wolf in his S&W MP15 with a Slide Fire stock and do 'mag dumps' all the time. Never had a single problem. Run a BoreSnake through it every now and then and after every other range session, clean the bolt assembly. It is dirty, but not a big deal for this old Navy Gunner's Mate... ha ha

ron

[pisgah]

I see so much BS in this thread I cannot comment on it all!

Yes, steel-cased ammo is fine in your Axis. It may not be the most accurate stuff available, but my Axis will put 5 shots of Silver Bear 62 gr. softpoints in to less than an inch at 100 yards. That's good enough for my use. The steel case may be harder than a brass case (but not much--it's very mild steel) -- but no way is it harder than the steel of the chamber. If lacquered cases ever were a problem, it was only in tightly-chambered auto and semiauto rifles after extensive firing -- no problem at all in a bolt rifle, or in the millions of sloppy-chambered AKs through which billions of steel-cased rounds have flowed.

[ejk24]

I have shot a lot of Wolf , Tula ,and Silver Bear out of my Axis and have had zero problems .Its a little on the dirty side but reasonably accurate and cheap to casual target shoot with . The Silver Bear is the most accurate of the 3 in my guns . I clean them after a shooting session and all is well .I have shot hundreds of rounds of lacquered steel cased 7.62x54 military surplus out of my Mosins with no problems other than a split case getting stuck once in a while that comes out easily enough but most of that ammo is 40 or 50 years old . The main thing is keep your gun clean after you are done shooting .

[jonbearman]

Full metal jacketed bullets were designed to a military spec in this country at 2moa max,now russia may have even worse standards for all we know.Now your rifle may shoot them fair but they are garbage for anything but plinking.Do yourself a favor and get at least prvi-partizan ammo,at least it is brass and reloadable.If you dont reload,start,it will save you a ton of money as time goes by.The new wolf isnt laquer and hasnt been for some time. It is a polymer coating that simply wont burn in any rifle enough to cause chambering issues. The steel in wolf boxer primed steel cases is soft as gum and wont harm a chamber and if it does the barrel wasnt worth a hill of beans to start with.I have sized alot of wolf boxer primed steel and it is easier to resize than brass.