Brass vs Steel case in the "Rust Bowl"

http://hueysgunsight.blogspot.com/2010/11/shtf-ammo-testbrass-vs-steel-case-in.html

Original thread
http://www.survivaltopics.com/forum...-your-shtf-ammo-hold-up-field-conditions.html

A very good read.

linked fixed

The steel cased ammo, even the lacquer coated rusted heavily and would not even chamber in the authors AR. Even in an AR the steel ammo would not chamber.

Click to expand...

I wonder if the author knows that most ARs have pretty tight tolerances, including the chamber. Using rusted cases is always a bad idea, but he has a much better chance of getting one of those to fit into poorly built AK type rifle.

sonoran_Tj said:

I wonder if the author knows that most ARs have pretty tight tolerances, including the chamber. Using rusted cases is always a bad idea, but he has a much better chance of getting one of those to fit into poorly built AK type rifle.

Click to expand...

He tried it as well with his AK


"The first round would not seat. I had to use my boot on the charging handle to eject the rusty round..."

"Due to safety issues and the possibility of equipment damage, the experiment ended here.

Conclusions-
Rusty ammo doesn't fit in the chamber of the weapons I tested. I suspect this principal is universal to all weapons chambers.

All steel cased ammo rusts. The polymer coating does not prohibit rust at all. Brass ammo is a far better choice for prolonged exposure wet environments."


The original post with a lot of pictures.
http://www.survivaltopics.com/forum...-your-shtf-ammo-hold-up-field-conditions.html

Go to post #6 for the AK part
http://www.survivaltopics.com/forum...ammo-hold-up-field-conditions.html#post178963

I consider Colorado to be the "dry bowl," but I've had issues with aluminum-cased Blazer ammo in my 9mm, to the tune of about five or six rounds out of 100. That's unacceptible, even for plinking. In more than 1,000 rounds of firing good-quality brass-cased rounds, not one has failed to feed or fire properly. Certainly none of the Winchester XST, Black Talon (both nickle-plated brass), or Silvertips have failed to fire.

Interestingly, Admiralty brass (30% zinc + 1% tin, usually used for tubing), which is resistant to de-zinctification in corrosive environments, is nearly identical to cartridge brass (30% zinc). By comparison, naval brass is 40% zinc and 1% tin and is usually used for larger brass products requiring high strength.

It's the tin which inhibits corrsion, but unfortunately, tin (itself normally very maleable) reduces the maleability of brass, resulting in cracking under high stress conditions.

Cartridge brass is designed for good cold-working properties, primarily in the seating of bullets and re-necking cartridge diameters (squeezing) as well as cutting to length (shearing).

Another feature where brass excels is that of low friction! Lower than steel, and much lower than aluminum.