Does it really matter which casing your bullets have? Silver is cheaper, but I’ve heard stories of them destroying guns. Is it worth paying for brass casing?

Does it really matter which casing your bullets have? Silver is cheaper, but I’ve heard stories of them destroying guns. Is it worth paying for brass casing?

Brass is always gonna be softer. You want the casing to expand to create a tighter seal. Aka more force going forward rather than back.

Are you talking bout pistols or rifles?

Silver casings are nickel plated brass. Or are you talking bout aluminum? Like cci blazer aluminum?

So far i prob got several hundred or so gdhp (which are nickel plated brass) and prob 100 or so hydrashoks in my g19.4. No problems whatsoever. And I'm sure people have put 1000s upon 1000s of gdhp through their guns. Look up sage dynamics. He almost shoots exclusively gdhp for certain reliability and function tests during his burn downs.

Does it really matter which casing your bullets have? Silver is cheaper, but I’ve heard stories of them destroying guns. Is it worth paying for brass casing?

I assume that you are referring to steel cased ammunition and not nickel plated brass nor aluminum cased ammunition?

Steel cased ammunition is about as cheap to manufacture as can be. The thought that steel cased ammo is hard on guns often stems from the buildup of corrosion in the chamber of powder and rust-prevention materials used to coat steel cases in order to preserve the ammunition’s integrity in harsh conditions. Foreign manufacturers often use powders that are dirty and contribute to the chamber fouling. And the thought is that if you put enough steel cased ammunition through your gun that it will wear out quicker than just the usual brass cased ammo due to steel being harder than brass. I believe this is a bit of a misnomer. When combined with the aforementioned buildup in the chamber, what steel cased ammunition does do is change the pressure characteristics and therefore change the timIng of the cycle of operation in firearms such as the AR-15. In particular the extraction portion of the cycle. Steel tends to keep the chamber sealed slightly longer, causing the case to stick in the chamber as the action is unlocking and attempting to extract the fired cartridge case. This could wear out and/or break an extractor sooner than it’s normal lifespan. Now, does that mean it will wear out and/or break after 1k rounds? Or 10k rounds? Or 100k rounds? The answer is that it depends on the quality of your rifle. This applies to pistols as well but I believe it more prevalent in semi auto rifles than in semi auto pistols.

So what I tell people who ask me this is to shoot all the steel cased ammo you want. Just make sure you do a very thorough cleaning after each range trip. This includes using a brass/bronze/steel bore brush. And just be prepared to replace an extractor IF it ever breaks. Generally speaking they are not hard to replace yourself. Personally, I prefer not to shoot steel cased ammo through my guns for any type of shooting other than just plinking. When accuracy is not important like when shooting at cans and bottles at 50 feet, the steel cased ammo is perfectly fine. Also, if you are doing live fire holster training. But I prefer to be shooting .22 ammo instead if I am going to be doing fun plinking activities. It’s cheaper and more fun IMHO.

I do notice most SD HP is nickel plated brass

I do notice most SD HP is nickel plated brass

and most cheap ammo is steel and aluminum...

and most cheap ammo is steel and aluminum...

Sez the guy with no guns, ammo or loading equipment. 
 

I do notice most SD HP is nickel plated brass

Hey Rocky! 

Do you think the nickel plated brass aids in reliability? Or just prevents corrosion better? Or both?

Hey Rocky! 

Do you think the nickel plated brass aids in reliability? Or just prevents corrosion better? Or both?

 
  Like others here, I have no guns ammo or reloading equipment to base my opinions on. 
But to answer your question " Do you think the nickel plated brass aids in reliability ?" , not sure as the only nickel plated brass ammo I would have would be SD stuff and at over a buck a round, it would only be shot to make sure it works in whatever I was shooting it out of.
Corrosion is a moot topic here in Hawaii. 

I think the op is talking about aluminum or steel cases vs conventional brass.
I doubt that he/she is talking about nickel plated ammo. It's usually much more expensive.

The original question was whether or not paying for brass is worth the cost.
Imho, if you don't reload, then....no
If you do reload, then.....yes

I paid $90 for 440rds wolf steel 223 in 2017. I would not buy it again. It worked fine. But was very dirty. Like 30rds steel had the same dirtyness like shooting 500+rds brass.

IMO, not worth the extra work to clean and effort.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Sez the guy with no guns, ammo or loading equipment. 
 

heads

Thanks for the response everyone. Guess I’ll pay a little more for brass.

If you're shooting an AK, it's ok

Re: steel vs brass cased ammunition, my experience (and opinion) has been that it depends on the cartridge and firearm.  I've shot steel cased ammo in handguns, ARs, and AKs.  Some others as well, but those are the main ones.

Handguns - I haven't had an issue shooting steel cased ammo in my handguns.  Mostly Glocks and some others.  No issues shooting Tula and I think Red Army or some other cheap stuff.  All fine.  No ill effects on parts wear, at least that I noticed.

ARs - It depends.  The cheaper steel cases stuff like Tula seems underpowered and do not function well in my mid-length gas guns.  They work well with my carbine gas guns.  I bought a carbine upper from a known over-gassed company to test my theory on a wide range of steel ammo.  Mostly because it was readily available and as times about 30% cheaper than say PMC Bronze or 193.  Shortly after I got my test upper, both pricing and availability went to $hit.     That said, my shooting buddies and I have shot many hundreds (if not thousands) of rounds of Wolf, Tula, etc steel and assuming the right gun (gassing, chamber, etc), they've worked fine.  One thing I personally do is after shooting steel, I'll clean the chamber really well prior to shooting brass.

AKs - I prefer steel over brass.  I haven't shot brass AK ammo often, but when I did, I recall some problems.  Not major though.  It may have been a bad batch of ammo.  We were shooting some donated brass cased factory ammo, and occasionally, the bullet would seemingly pull through the side of the case neck.  Notices that occasionally when unloading a chambered round or when clearing the gun after a malfunction.  Same gun and same mags followed with "known ok" steel cased ammo, no problems.  I have some steel cased AK ammo (I think Winchester) that a buddy gave me.  I'll do some testing.   

Thanks for the response everyone. Guess I’ll pay a little more for brass.

....
Octopus...
Like drck1000 said it kind of depends on what you are talking about.
But your question was pretty vague.
You didn't even say what caliber you're shooting.

Handguns - I haven't had an issue shooting steel cased ammo in my handguns.  Mostly Glocks and some others.  No issues shooting Tula and I think Red Army or some other cheap stuff.  All fine.  No ill effects on parts wear, at least that I noticed.

The HK VP9 owners manual states do not shoot steel/aluminum ammo.  My striker plate broke and when I called for warranty, they asked if I shoot steel/aluminum.  I said yes, but only like 200rds (worked fine and wasn't super dirty, IIRC it was Blazer silver box).  CSC said that this time they will replace the part for free,but next time if I continue to shoot steel/alum they wont.  I ended up also buying an aluminum striker plate anyway, since the plastic one already broke once.

I know a guy who shoots aluminum from his VP9 all the time and no issues. He is also a way better shooter than I am, so I don't think it affects accuracy.

The HK VP9 owners manual states do not shoot steel/aluminum ammo.  My striker plate broke and when I called for warranty, they asked if I shoot steel/aluminum.  I said yes, but only like 200rds (worked fine and wasn't super dirty, IIRC it was Blazer silver box).  CSC said that this time they will replace the part for free,but next time if I continue to shoot steel/alum they wont.  I ended up also buying an aluminum striker plate anyway, since the plastic one already broke once.

I know a guy who shoots aluminum from his VP9 all the time and no issues. He is also a way better shooter than I am, so I don't think it affects accuracy.

I've shot a bunch of aluminum as well (forgot about that).  Mostly Blazer, which I think is ok to decent ammo. 

Guns are tools and need maintenance and occasionally replacement of wear parts.  While I can see wear parts having a shorting life shooting steel, something that would need to be replaced eventually anyways. 

I personally rather shoot quality brass cased 9 mm.  But won't shy away from shooting steel or aluminum cased 9 mm.  Gotta see if it will function in said firearm. 

I've shot a bunch of aluminum as well (forgot about that).  Mostly Blazer, which I think is ok to decent ammo. 

Guns are tools and need maintenance and occasionally replacement of wear parts.  While I can see wear parts having a shorting life shooting steel, something that would need to be replaced eventually anyways. 

I personally rather shoot quality brass cased 9 mm.  But won't shy away from shooting steel or aluminum cased 9 mm.  Gotta see if it will function in said firearm.

I have shot a lot of the Blazer Aluminum cased 9mm. Usually because one of us (My group I shoot with) donates a case from their stash. Usually, one of us ends up with with a few rounds that won’t feed or extract properly. That’s not bad in 1,000 rounds. Tho when everyone’s shooting Glocks/Sigs/HKs etc I would expect better. And we seem to not have the same thing happen when we shoot brass cased ammo. Maybe it’s just me? Anyway, for plinking and general practice the aluminum stuff works.