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Steel Case Ammo in MR1


ArtL

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The owners manual doesn't say if I can fire steel cased ammo in the MR1. Does anyone have any experience with steel cased ammo in this gun?

 

The MR1 is chambered for the 5.56 NATO round(.223) and should handle the steel cased ammo like the Russian mnf Wolf poly or the Bear ammo. I've found that some AR style rifles eat it like candy and some have problems. My AR didn't like it so I shoot nothing but brass .223 and 5.56. I would go out on a limb and say yes, but each gun is a little different when it comes to their diet.

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I've seen this discussed and tested countless times for ARs, so here is the basic consensus among those who research and test this type of thing:

 

The problem with steel cased ammo is mainly that causes failures to extract in certain guns under certain conditions. Why does it do this? Because steel under pressure (round firing) does not expand like brass does, and as such it does not make as tight of a "seal" with the chamber walls. This means more hot gas and carbon have a chance to make a home for themselves around the cartridge, leading to increased chamber buildup as opposed to brass ammo ... it also doesn't help that steel cased ammo uses notoriously dirty powder it would seem.

 

Now, were you to fire nothing but steel cased ammo, it likely would not be an issue, as each case would only be expanding upon firing to the size of every other case (in theory) ... it's when you shoot a bunch of steel cased ammo, then you switch to brass ammo that you have problems. The brass ammo expands into all that extra chamber buildup the lesser expanding steel case has caused, and many times the round will get stuck in the chamber and cause a FTE.

 

Normally, the extractor slips off the chamber rim, and in extreme cases rips part of the rim off ... You then have to use a rod to punch out the stuck brass, or use a stuck case extractor, but I've never personally used one, despite owning one (got it for free).

 

That's the main problem that many hours of research has determined. Steel cased ammo also is usually weaker (higher potential of squib loads), is often dirtier, less accurate, and tougher on extractors due to being steel as opposed to a softer brass case. The extractor breaking problem has largely been fixed with upgrades on the AR platform ... not sure about the MR1, but I doubt it would be an issue.

 

Long story short, if you want to shoot steel cased ammo, do it. I seriously, seriously doubt it will ever hurt the gun, so long as the rounds you use are the same spec as the chamber of the MR1 (5.56 nato). However, if you plan on switching from steel to brass, clean the chamber extremely well before doing so ... and carry a steel rod, to punch out the somewhat probable FTE that may occur.

 

Also, some guns just don't like certain ammo ... this isn't limited to steel case or brass case, but some guns are just finicky about what they eat, or they really don't like running certain ammo for whatever reason ... the key here is to test out ammo in your rifle before you need to rely on it. Better to fail at the range than fail in time of need.

 

I personally had 8k rounds of 5.56 that I bought for $100/k in 2005ish ... I shot maybe 50 rounds of it, and sold the rest years later for 3x the price. It just isn't for me. IMO, it's worth the small price premium to have cleaner, more accurate, reloadable brass rounds.

 

That's my $.02, and if you want lots more ammo info, cruise around the Ammunition forum of AR15.com.

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Thanks for the very informative info... I will buy a couple of boxes and give the MR1 a test. I have only used brass in my AR's, Mini-14's so have no experience. I do see it used quite a bit on the range so I will be in the test mode.

 

Thanks again

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Adding to what what Duggan said, another problem with steel cased ammo is the fact that a protective lacquer is applied to the cases to prevent corrosion.

 

It's been documented that this lacquer gets hot and imparts a residue on the chamber, which over time can build up and cause problems.

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Adding to what what Duggan said, another problem with steel cased ammo is the fact that a protective lacquer is applied to the cases to prevent corrosion.

 

It's been documented that this lacquer gets hot and imparts a residue on the chamber, which over time can build up and cause problems.

 

Adding to what tucker301 said, if you buy some steel cased ammo, buy the Wolf poly ammo which can be p/u pretty cheap and is pretty decent ...great ammo for the price and you're not faced with the same problems that the laquer coated ammo has.

 

In terms of steel over brass...if the gun runs it fine, then use it. Most of the steel cased ammo is good stuff, it just non-corrosive and can usually be found much cheaper than brass cased.

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It is still beyond me why people buy such expensive firearms only to go "shoe string budget" on the ammo. I ran five rounds of Wolf through my MR1 and it made one **** of a mess versus my normal Federal AE 5.56mm & .223rem. And I simply used it just to see if it cycled it and it did in a kind of sorta way.

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It is still beyond me why people buy such expensive firearms only to go "shoe string budget" on the ammo. I ran five rounds of Wolf through my MR1 and it made one **** of a mess versus my normal Federal AE 5.56mm & .223rem. And I simply used it just to see if it cycled it and it did in a kind of sorta way.

 

A contradiction based on your previous comment

"Art as much as I like offering up help to fellow MR1 owners I still gotta ask. Why in the **** would you need/want to use steel cased ammo in one? "

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A contradiction based on your previous comment

"Art as much as I like offering up help to fellow MR1 owners I still gotta ask. Why in the **** would you need/want to use steel cased ammo in one? "

How many MR1's have you had as I have owned three to date. When I had my first one I tried several different loads and a buddy had five rounds of Wolf he didn't want. So I shot it just for the **** of it with no intentions of ever buying more.

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How many MR1's have you had as I have owned three to date. When I had my first one I tried several different loads and a buddy had five rounds of Wolf he didn't want. So I shot it just for the **** of it with no intentions of ever buying more.

 

Makes no difference whether I've owned one or not! If the steel cased rounds work fine, that is a good enough reason to shoot it, especially to save a few bucks when out plinking or burning a bunch of rounds for fun. If it doesn't, then don't buy it. Just because it's an MR1 doesn't mean someone has to shoot brass rounds exclusively, just because you said so.

I do agree that good ammo is what should be used for hunting and serious shooting or if one prefers to spend the extra dollars. In my case, the AR-15 I shoot doesn't like the steel cased stuff so I shoot brass, M193 and M855 or BVAC fmjbt reloads.

By the way, The myth about Wolf and other similar steel cased ammo is that it will wear your gun out quicker because the steel is much harder then brass. Well yes hardened steel would definetly do some damage but this is soft steel, as soft as brass. I wouldn't buy the laquer coated rounds either, only shoot the polymer coated rounds. It is no doubt dirty, but any ammo will cause rust and corrosion if you store the gun without cleaning it, you may just have to clean it better and quicker.

Edited by hattles
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Makes no difference whether I've owned one or not! If the steel cased rounds work fine, that is a good enough reason to shoot it, especially to save a few bucks when out plinking or burning a bunch of rounds for fun. If it doesn't, then don't buy it. Just because it's an MR1 doesn't mean someone has to shoot brass rounds exclusively, just because you said so.

I do agree that good ammo is what should be used for hunting and serious shooting or if one prefers to spend the extra dollars. In my case, the AR-15 I shoot doesn't like the steel cased stuff so I shoot brass, M193 and M855 or BVAC fmjbt reloads.

By the way, The myth about Wolf and other similar steel cased ammo is that it will wear your gun out quicker because the steel is much harder then brass. Well yes hardened steel would definetly do some damage but this is soft steel, as soft as brass. I wouldn't buy the laquer coated rounds either, only shoot the polymer coated rounds. It is no doubt dirty, but any ammo will cause rust and corrosion if you store the gun without cleaning it, you may just have to clean it better and quicker.

I'm not going to string this out but I must say that the reason I mentioned owning a few MR1's is because I know how they work.

You can coat cheap ass steel cased ammo in what ever you want but it still shoots dirty. The piston guide rod of the MR1 uses a diverter on the end under the gas ports that Wolf or any dirty ammo fouls very quickly.

So aside from the affects of the steel case (and there will be some in a MR1) it will also make a mess.

In closing it's worth the couple bucks to not use cheap stuff as I have better things to do than spend a few hours it cleaning up.

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