Steel seems to be much less expensive. What is the reason why? I've heard steel will ruin a barrel after time....is that true? But with the price difference maybe it don't matter? Is steel reliable? What are the negatives about steel I should know before buying?
I guess you dont get out much or read the news. Brass - is mostly copper. And ever since the earthquake that decimated the west coast of South America 3 or 4 years ago and crippled the biggest copper producing area in the world - anythng made with copper - wire, buss bars, brass items etc, the cost has gone up 5x and not really gone back to what they were. The steel - is in the case, not the bullet. So, your worries about ruining the barrel are unfounded. The only drawback to steel case ammo - they are coated with a lacquor to prevent rust - is when you go burn off 3 or more mags in quick secession and then leave a live one in the chamber. The quick firing will heat up the barrel - enough to melt the lacquor. Leave a live round in it - it wont come out without firing. Onced this happens - excellent chance all the next rounds will jam until you clean the chamber with mineral spirits or other solvent and a brass brush. Like all things in life - when you use the generic product in 'moderation' things work ok. The only time you will be unhappy to have bought steel case ammo - is when you decide to reload. You cant handload steel - only brass does this. And smart people who are preppers and do not reload but rely on a 5.56mm rifle for protection - save thier brass. Because some day their might be an ammo shortage - I know, it's a stretch and will never happen - and having that reloadable brass means they can make more. You put 2 or 3 pounds of 4198 powder and one brick of small rifle primers in a cool dry place - this would be an even smarter thing. And a 1K box or two of Armscor 62gr fmj with the brass gives you an A in my book for being prepared. Much easier to store a few cans of powder than several thouand rounds of ammo. Toss that brass and projectiles in the garage or under the house.
Steel is a far more common thus cheaper metal than brass which is made of copper and zinc. The steel case stays in the firing chamber so does not do a thing to the barrel. It does have a different coefficient of expansion and when the gun gets hot it could jam in the chamber more than brass. Some of the steel has a lacquer coating on it that could gum up the works. The biggest disadvantage with steel is that as it is worked it gets weaker so reloading it is not real practical as you will get a lot of blown cases and head separations. In the long run you come out ahead buying brass and reloading than you do buying steel and throwing it away.
Steel is a cheaper material than brass. Simple as that. Steel is harder than brass as well so it can cause wear on the chamber and bolt at a faster rate. What some places do it's not pure steel but they mix in other softer metals to make the casing softer so it's not as much as issue as people make it out to be. People tend to dislike steel cased ammo as well due to it running dirtier and the coating on the casing gumming up the insides. But these people from my experience do not clean their guns. Ever. And then when they start to act up they wonder why.
steel bore - brass copper chrome-lined steel bore - steel is fine. steel jacketed bullets are harder than copper jacketed bullets and would result in higher pressure, more wear in a steel barrel than a chrome-steel barrel. chrome-lined steel is roughly 2X as hard as 4140 steel. even better, nitrated chrome steel is roughly 3-4X harder than 4140 steel. but it s fairly new is a bit pricey. most AR barrels are chrome-lined. you can tell easily if the chamber and bore has a silvery look. regular steel is just black. steel cased rounds are reliable, however plain, uncoated steel cases may feed with some difficulty due to a rougher case finish that results in more friction than the polished, smooth brass cases. cheap ammo (doesn't matter if steel or brass) always shoots more dirty. aside from that I would recommend you try a bit of each of go with whatever shoots most accurate and feeds without problem.
