Steel Cased Ammo?

[Stafford]

I used to run Winchester USA Forged 9mm in my Glocks and M&P's at the range. But, after searching online, I was able to find brass at a similar or better price than the Winchester steel cased at Walmart. And of course, Walmart quit selling handgun ammo anyway.

 

Now, ammo is hard to find and expensive. However, it seems that steel case is plentiful and at ok prices compared to brass. Typically, I'm seeing Wolf, Tula, and USA Forged available at various places. I never had an issue with the Winchester USA Forged, but apparently a lot of pistols don't run this stuff very well. No experience with Tula or Wolf, but I expect my Glocks would do just fine.

 

However, how do CZ's do with steel cased ammo? All I've ever run is brass through my Shadow 2, SP-01, and C-100. Do I need to stick with brass, or will they run the steel cased stuff without issue?

 

 

 

 

[BJB]

CZs run steel cased ammo just fine. 

 

BTW: Steel cased ammo is fine in USPSA provided the projectile jacket is non-magnetic. Some Tula and/or Wolf use a steel jacket, but some has "bi-metal".  Check the projectile with a magnet before competing with it.

[regor]

Tula has always run fine through my SP-01. They do have harder primers, so you will want to test it out for reliability with whatever main spring you use before running it in a match. I found the 11.5# with CGW internals gave my periodic light strikes, but switching to a 13# mainspring resolved the issue.

 

Also to BJB's point, I think the magnetic projectile rule is one that many folks don't even know exists, so there's a high probability your local MD won't care, but it's worth checking with them before taking to a match. 

[Stafford]

I placed an order with Cabela's last week and got a confirmation email that they had received my order. However, I noticed right after I ordered they were out of stock. The next day I received a message that there would be a delay in shipping. And this week I received  a notice that my order was canceled.

 

Today, I ordered some Winchester USA Forged from Natchez Shooting Supply. I have yet to receive a confirmation email. However, they are now showing out of stock on the USA Forged. Maybe I'll get it???

[robert.a.brewer.]

Is this ammo out of stock condition widespread?  Could it be with the recent record sun sales, the ammo is now in short supply?

My first thought was, try Natchez, but I see you did.

[rowdyb]

9mm is somewhat tapered in its case vs straight walled. That makes using 9mm an easier proposition to shoot steel cased ammo. Because where do guns usually puke on steel case? Extraction.

[gnappi]

4 hours ago, robert.a.brewer. said:

Is this ammo out of stock condition widespread?  Could it be with the recent record sun sales, the ammo is now in short supply?

My first thought was, try Natchez, but I see you did.

Most 9mm ammo in South Florida is either gone or what is left is increasing in price which sort of limits sales. 

 

I have a dealer friend who has had other dealers and ranges asking him to sell ammo to them! If a range has no ammo they can't sell firearms or have shooters use the range. Ah, the joy of being a well stocked reloader

 

 

 

 

[Stafford]

19 hours ago, robert.a.brewer. said:

Is this ammo out of stock condition widespread?  Could it be with the recent record sun sales, the ammo is now in short supply?

My first thought was, try Natchez, but I see you did.

 

I called Natchez this morning and they could see my order for processing, but I had not received a confirmation email. The CS rep emailed me one and said I should receive an email this afternoon. 

 

In the meantime, I saw the same ammo at Midway and placed another order for the same amount - 500 rounds. I've already received confirmation and a tracking number.

[Benevolence]

I’m in a similar boat. Was able to get 750 rounds of the Winchester steel case from Natchez but I shot it in one day thinking things were going to get better. Now I can’t find anything and am tempted to finally get a Dillon 750 because I can’t even shoot for less than 30cpr. And FWIW, my P-10F ate all of it without a hiccup; even had lower recoil and a 3lb striker spring in without any issues. 

[Stafford]

I had a stockpile of brass ammo at the start of the pandemic stay at home point in March. However, my local range continued to stay open as an essential business. So, I found myself making two trips per week, even three a couple of times. I used very little 9mm and usually replenished with whatever they had in stock at the range - usually Winchester @ $14.99 per box. So, I maintained my 9mm stock for a brief period.

 

I realized I could find .40 at $11.99, then $12.99, and later $13.99, so I forgot about shooting 9mm for a while and only shot .40 which was available and cheaper than buying 9mm. As we moved to phase 2 in my state, matches opened back up so I started shooting 9mm again and I could find it online at ok prices. So, I've been shooting a lot. In fact, in an 8 day period, I shot in 3 matches and made 2 range trips. So, I started going through my 9mm stash and needed to pick some more up.

 

So, we'll see how the steel case runs in my CZ's, hopefully well. If so, I'll keep buying it.

[Stafford]

Just received an email from Natchez that my order shipped. 

[robert.a.brewer.]

9 hours ago, Stafford said:

 

I called Natchez this morning and they could see my order for processing, but I had not received a confirmation email. The CS rep emailed me one and said I should receive an email this afternoon. 

 

In the meantime, I saw the same ammo at Midway and placed another order for the same amount - 500 rounds. I've already received confirmation and a tracking number.

 

I see that Midway is now out of stock on 9mm Winchester USA Forged 115g.  Maybe you bought the last 500 rounds.

I hope they fix the supply soon.  I do not need another hobby (reloading).

Edited June 25, 2020 by robert.a.brewer.

[Stafford]

After the Midway purchase, I still saw them available for several hours. So, I doubt I got the last of the lot. But as for Natchez, I may have gotten the last batch. I checked back within minutes of purchasing, and they were no longer available there. 

 

Midway shipped UPS and expected delivery is tomorrow. Natchez shipped Fed Ex, and that shipment is also scheduled to deliver tomorrow.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Stafford

[Stafford]

Back from the range and shot 250 rounds of the USA Forged. Ammo was much hotter than I remember - surprisingly hot. Lots of muzzle flash, loud, and sparks flying out of the barrel and floating down to the ground. Weird.

 

Ran 25 rounds through my Glock 17 without issues.

Ran 25 rounds through my SP-01 with one failure to feed. 

100 rounds through my Shadow 2 with no issues.

100 rounds through my C-100 with one early lock back with one round left in the mag.

 

So, two failures. Good enough for the range and I’ll run it in my Shadow 2 this week at my local match.

[risingsun]

On 6/23/2020 at 12:14 PM, Stafford said:

However, how do CZ's do with steel cased ammo? All I've ever run is brass through my Shadow 2, SP-01, and C-100. Do I need to stick with brass, or will they run the steel cased stuff without issue?

 

 

I broke in my S2 with around 500 rounds of Wolf I bought from SG Ammo. It ate them all, no issues. No experience with Win USA forged though.

 

[Stafford]

A couple of my mags didn’t seem to like the USA Forged. A Glock 17 magpul lost spring tension and I had to unload it. Seemed like the mag was done for. But, then I loaded it up with brass and it held tension??? One of my CZ mags seemed to do the same thing, but I loaded it with only 10 and it ran fine. Maybe not enough slickness on the cases to load properly?

[rowdyb]

Correct. They do not have the same property as brass and can feel "stuck" as they won't slide the same.

[Stafford]

Why now all of the muzzle flash? And what are the sparks flying out and floating to the ground? Strange.

 

Also, I found it to be very accurate. 

[BJB]

1 hour ago, Stafford said:

Why now all of the muzzle flash? And what are the sparks flying out and floating to the ground? Strange.

 

 

Commercially produced ammo doesn't always use the same powder.  They don't really care about velocity as much as they do pressure.  So you can see variances in the same brand over time in different lots.