09-18-2012, 03:11 PM
I've owned AR's that ran on steel case as long as you kept the gun hot. I could go for 300 rounds without issue, but if I let the gun cool down a little, it was stuck like Chuck as soon as I started blasting again.
I've seen Bushmasters that both couldn't run on steel case, and others that ate it like candy. All had 4150 CMV Chrome-lined barrels.
Slight variations in the chamber dimensions gun-to-gun can cause this. If you plan to run steel case, you can polish your chamber so that any rough surfaces from the tooling process no longer provide a textured surface for the steel case to purchase aggressively, preventing extraction.
The best surface for this is a Melonited (nitro-carburized) barrel, in my opinion. The surface is so smooth with a 68-70 Rockwell hardness, that steel case runs through it like butter.
I personally avoid steel case in my 5.56 NATO & .223 Wylde chambered AR15's, as I see malf after malf with it in high-volume courses. I do have several Nitro-carburized barrels that I might just run it through, but I have so many piles of 5.56 and .223 brass, I don't have a need to mess with steel right now.
I've seen Bushmasters that both couldn't run on steel case, and others that ate it like candy. All had 4150 CMV Chrome-lined barrels.
Slight variations in the chamber dimensions gun-to-gun can cause this. If you plan to run steel case, you can polish your chamber so that any rough surfaces from the tooling process no longer provide a textured surface for the steel case to purchase aggressively, preventing extraction.
The best surface for this is a Melonited (nitro-carburized) barrel, in my opinion. The surface is so smooth with a 68-70 Rockwell hardness, that steel case runs through it like butter.
I personally avoid steel case in my 5.56 NATO & .223 Wylde chambered AR15's, as I see malf after malf with it in high-volume courses. I do have several Nitro-carburized barrels that I might just run it through, but I have so many piles of 5.56 and .223 brass, I don't have a need to mess with steel right now.