Why are bullet casings made of brass?

Answer 1

Well, all of these answers are correct to some degree. Early shells were made of other materials and had the problem of sticking in the chamber. The specific alloy used for cartridge cases was developed so that it would expand when fired causing the chamber to seal. Equally important was the characteristic that it contracts back to near its original dimensions so that it can be easily extracted from the chamber. Additionally it has a natural lubricity which makes it easy to remove from the chamber as well. Being a non-sparking material was less of a consideration than having a material which would not stick in the chamber and was soft enough that it could easily be reformed and could be reused.

Answer 2

First answer is good, it not spark, they use brass tools working on oil wells for this reason. Also, it not as corrosive if kept clean and dry. Some shells are designed to expand within the chamber so Brass work well for this too. A Colt .45 ACP does this, the shell is lose when chambered and when fired it expands to seal the chamber. This all I can tell you.

Answer 3

civilian business enterprise made bullet casings are often brass, yet i've got seen imported stuff have aluminum casings(non-reloadable). militia surplus is regularly brass or steel cased. bullets are often organic lead, lead lined with a copper jacket or some greater cutting-edge designs are organic copper with cuts made into them to strengthen, and then there is countless designs that comprise different metals and a few plastics like the remington accu-tip that has a hollowpoint bullet with a pointy plastic tip for aerodynamics yet on result expands.

Answer 4

Brass is a soft metal that will expand to some degree rather than split when subjected to the heat and pressure of gunpowder exploding.

Answer 5

Brass doesnt rust either, It works well in the chamber, also it slides well in magazines and clips (which ever you use....I know mags and clips are not the same ;) )
Steel can corrode and cause lots of problems unlike brass.
Just all around it is more efficient

Answer 6

Because brass is flexible and malleable, allowing it to more thoroughly seal the chamber when the gun fires.

Answer 7

brass is a soft not to damage any gun parts yet stable metal will hold up with the pressures of the gasses from gun powder

Answer 8

mostly because brass does not spark when contacting other metals. also brass is cheap and relatively lightweight.

Answer 9

It is readily and continually available, it isn't condusive to sparking (which could ignite the gunpowder), it is rather resilient to moisture and most light grade chemicals, and most importantly, it's cheap.

Answer 10

Traditionally it was easier to use for frontier gunsmiths because it was more mallaeble, and had a lower melting point.