should I shoot Herters .308 steel cased ammo in my Remington 7400.and why shouldn't I?
Should you?...... Its a free country - You can do what you want....... Why shouldn't you?...... If I got it right - That Herters ammo is foreign made steel case ammo..... Most of that stuff has a reputation for being dirty and likes to foul semi-auto rifles up..... I suppose if you use a little of that stuff now and then it would be ok........ Usually that steel cased stuff is used by folks that own military style semi-0auto guns and bolt action rifles...... Those types of guns for the most part are well suited to use that cheap steel case...... A Remington 7400?..... This is just my opinion - but that's a hunting rifle and isn't up to the rigors of blasting a few hundred rounds of ammo off in an afternoon....... Get a different gun for that...... Occasional use?... Yeah its alright...... If this is for hunting use a better grade of brass cased ammo.......
Won't hurt anything, but do be aware, if you're plinking with it, that FMJ (and maybe even steel core), cheap ammo offers more chance of penetration and ricochet so be sure you've got a good back-stop so you know where those rounds wind up.
I shouldn't have an R-25, however probabilities are that when you use metal cased ammo in it you are going to sometimes handle stuck instances. That's the rate you pay for the cheap ammo. As a rule when a case sticks without problems tapping the butt firmly on the ground then pulling the charging handle will dislodge and eject the case. It can pay to invariably have a cleaning rod with you, if the above repair does not work, you push the case out with the rod.
Kudos to NXile for his/her post. Ironically, I recently posted a similar answer in this forum and got many thumbs down. The problem with the non-expansion of steel cased ammo is not limited to the blow-back and soot build-up inside the action. The other problem is that your Remington 7400 was engineered at the Remington factory as a sporting firearm that uses brass cased sporting ammunition. When you switch to the steel cased ammo, the casing doesn't have a chance to grab at the walls of the chamber to slow it down. The result is heavier recoil on the action of the gun. Over time, you will break something. Also, I don't like the idea of steel rubbing against steel inside the chamber area of a gun. I know sure sure I won't use steel cleaning rods or brushes to clean the barrel of a rifle. So why would I want to chance shooting steel cased ammo? The only stuff I will shoot steel cased ammo out of are the junky SKS and AK style rifles that I don't care about. Anything with real value...and I only use brass ammo with non-corrosive priming.
