why cant you reload steel casings
2007-07-30 04:38:05 · 9 answers · asked by kg 2 in Sports ➔ Outdoor Recreation ➔ Hunting
You can do just about anything you set you mind to.
But the question should be SHOULD YOU.
Most steel cases are berdan primed that is true, and require special depriming tools.
Then you will have to secure a supply of berdan primers for they will not interchange with boxer primers.
To view the difference see link.
http://www.gswagner.com/bigreloading/preperation/boxerberdan.html
Down side to steel cases.
Steel can not be reloaded as many times as a brass case can be.
Steel is far more brittle then brass and more apt to rupture in the chamber.
Steel is far more abrasive and can damage the reloading dies.
All reloading manuals I own ( which are many) give no reloading data for steel cases and the use of steel in substitution for brass cases could cause a major pressure increase in chamber pressure and damage the weapon and or shooter.
I would have to ask why invest so much money in reloading equipment and weapons to just gamble every thing on saving a few cents on cases.
To me as a reloaded the brass cases are more economical in the long run to safe guarding my weapons and reloading tools.
Why gamble a $30 to $55 set of dies to avoid paying 15 to 50 cents for a peace of brass?
Let alone gamble a fine weapon or your hospital bill to save a few cents.
If you shop around you can buy quality brass cases as low a 3 to 5 cent each for once fired you don’t have to buy the high dollar new brass.
Stop to consider that a quality peace of brass can be reloaded 10 , 15 or even 25 times before it is trashed, depending on just how hot you like your reloads.
These are just my opinions and others my disagree, but I would stick with brass.
D58
Hunting with Rifle, Pistol, Muzzle loader and Bow for over 3 decades.
Reloading Rifle, Pistol and shotgun for over 3 decades.
2007-07-30 13:14:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
The biggest reasons are:
1. Its so cheap that buying components would almost cost more.
2. Berdan primed casings require special tools for primer removal.
3. Steel casings don't resize easy and will work harden, annealing them is a royal PITA.
4. Steel casings like to split easily and thus would be ruined anyways.
5. Reload data is setup assuming you use brass or nickel plated brass casings. Steel could have different internal dimensions, which could radically alter the pressure curve.
6. Steel rusts easily and you don't want your ammo rusting from the inside out.
That's the negative I can think of, the only positive would be that you have hundreds of them laying around.
2007-07-30 15:08:32 · answer #2 · answered by Matt M 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
It's not worth screwing up your dies to try and reload cheap steel cases. Steel tends to split when crimped. Brass is more pliable. Been there done that. I tried loading Wolf once fired steel, invariable the neck would split.
2007-07-30 09:57:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
The steel cases and berdan primes make it sort of pointless to mess around with them. If you want to reload go for brass cases and non-berdan primers. CCI blazer is the same thing; deep snow and tall grass shooting fodder.
2007-07-31 03:24:37 · answer #4 · answered by acmeraven 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Technically, you can reload anything that's capable of being loaded in the first place....it's just a question of is it feasible with the available equipment?
Brass was first selected back in the mid 19th century because it was soft enough to work with on the existing/contemporary equipment. That still holds true.
So while it *is* technically reloadable, it's just not really possible for the average shooter.
2007-07-30 05:08:16 · answer #5 · answered by randkl 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
wolf makes both brass and steel cases. you cant reload the steel but the brass you can.
2007-08-01 05:20:07 · answer #6 · answered by Jasper 1 · 1⤊ 4⤋
It has nothing to do with the Berdan primers. Basically it is not economically feasible to reload steel cases.
2007-07-30 09:37:22 · answer #7 · answered by MuhdER 4 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Too hard. And annealing the necks like you do brass would take more equipment and heat than the cases are worth. Even if you could figure a way to do it, they'd split at an alarming rate.
2007-07-30 05:42:01 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
Two reasons, the reloading dies can't reshape steel and the primer is Berdan (meaning it has two small holes instead of one larger hole which is known as boxer primed).
2007-07-30 04:44:00 · answer #9 · answered by MI Lighthouse 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋