Ar-15 shooting steel casing

[Leggdpms]

I've always shot brass out of every gun I've owned until today. I was in Walmart today and seen that they have .223 20 round steel ammo for 4.97 a box, so I bought a box to see if it would fire, the ammo fired about five rounds and had a failure to eject. On my old Ar I used to be able to shoot it with no problem but this Ar has a slim gas block and also a diffrent gas tube but it is a carbine has system. Would it being a carbine has system would that effect it shooting steel case ammo? And info on this will help.

 

[AD Marc]

Could be related. Do you have an upgraded extractor (heavier spring, o-ring)?

 

[Leggdpms]

No sir just gas tube and block.

 

[AD Marc]

That would probably solve the problem.

BCM SOPMOD Bolt Upgrade/Rebuild Kit

 

[HavokCycle]

don't shoot steel ammo. really. it depends on your setup, but some guns just don't like it, particularly carbines, as they tend to run 'hot' physically. the shorter barrel and gas system loves to collect the steel case lacquer and it builds up on the bore, causing your FTE.

 

[davedolli]

I have shot quite a few rounds in my Double Star and DPMS carbines with no ill effects so far. I always clean them well after range time.

Dave

 

[Socomike]

I have shot several K of steel ammo out of my rifles and never had a rifle that did not like steel cased ammo in general. That said, I did have some trouble with Tula Ammo from walmart. I chalked it up to being severely underpowered.

I always keep a K or 2 of steel cased ammo on hand for plinking days.

 

[michaelw2608]

I never could get steel cased ammo to fire out of my Bushmaster Predator. Same problem as you, fte after a couple of rounds. I just figured it had to do steel not having the give that brass has. It wasn't a huge deal for me, since it was a hunting rifle and not a range gun.

 

[ctbreitwieser]

I couldnt even guess the last time Ive shot brass out of my ARs, and Ive never had a problem with any steel cases in my guns. The biggest problem Ive ever had is getting a few dented primers that dont go off with Silver Bear, but if I load them back up they always go off. It hardly ever happens though.

 

[Leggdpms]

Very nice input guys. And yes this ar is a dpms orical with a lot of upgrades but main is the gas block and gas tube. I only want to shoot steel because its cheap and as I shoot prolly 3 times a week it would be nice to save a little money doing it as well as having fun

 

[mvician]

the shorter barrel and gas system loves to collect the steel case lacquer and it builds up on the bore, causing your FTE.

BS


The lacquer does not melt and build up any where.
A tight chamber and a weak extractor combined with the carbon deposits left from the steel case not expanding as well as a brass case it what causes failures to extract.

 

[LEaSH]

I love steel cased ammo. I don't want a finicky firearm, only 22's are allowed to be that way. If I were to have an AR that didn't run on everything - I'd make sure I knew why.

The most I've shot through one rifle (in a range day) was 200 Tula's through an 20" FN barreled AR. Not a malfunction of any kind. But I can see how it might become a problem with another hundred rounds.

Dirtier than anything I've ever seen, but worked well.

 

[scatwater]

My Frankinstien gun seems to shoot tula all day long. Walmart tula is a good price. Wood chucks beware!

 

[CarnageRush]

I've not had any problems in my mix master. It's a DPMS upper and barrel and running a Colt bcg.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Whatever you do, buy a box or two and make sure your rifle will cycle it properly before you stock up. Some peoples AR will cycle it fine, others have issues.

 

[Leggdpms]

Yeah that's what I'm going to do. What do you guys think will solve this problem? Upgrade the extractor?

 

[AD Marc]

The extractor upgrade won't hurt, but as we are starting with a lower quality rifle, there may be other issues at play. The extractor upgrade will solve one potential problem area.

After that is done, if there are still problems, we can figure that out. I find that 9/10 times, non magazine related issues on the AR boil down to the extractor or buffer/spring weights.

 

[Reload1]

Tight or rough chamber

I had a friend who's rifle didn't like steel case ammo. His chamber was a little rough. He cleaned it really well and then spun some 4000 steel wool in it. I'm not saying hog it out just enough to smooth it a little. Ran great after that. Still had to keep it clean though. The ammo tends to be a little dirty too so keeping the gas system clean and clear is important too.

 

[avboiler11]

My AR shoots 75gr Hornady Steel Match flawlessly; same rifle experienced multiple failures to eject/feed with 52gr Steel Match.

 

[Leggdpms]

Yeah ima clean the hell out of the bolt carrier and see what it does