Steel case vs. Copper

[sdh1911]

Last Sat. I was shooting some surplus ammo out of an Izzy PU. All was fine until I put in some steel case stuff and sure enough it started sticking. The chamber on this gun is original and has not been polished like my other guns because I want it as original as possible. I cleaned the bore and chamber with a little G-96 and started shooting copper wash ammo without any problems, something to be said for copper. The gun shoots it pretty well and there is minimal recoil. I still want to try a tip I read some palce about lubing steel case stuff prior to shooting it will help get rid of the sticky's. But I am not sure what kind of lube I should use.-SDH

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[Claven2]

DO NOT LUBE CASES. extraction will be easier, yes. But pressures will also dramatically increase, possibly causing the bolt to fail.

If you love life, forget about lubed bullets and the whisperings of contenders for Mr. Darwin's award...

Put it this way. The Brits lube their proof rounds specifically to increase pressure during proof firing. If you want every pull of the trigger to duplicate proof loads, go right ahead

And I'll remember to bye-bye...

[woodchopper]

I have had teh same problems using steel lacured cases, the brass washed ones are fine in my nagants (hungarian heavy ball) but the Czech silver tips are a problem extracting.

[sdh1911]

Claven2, point taken. I'll stick to the copper wash.-SDH

[cosmo05]

Like Claven2 said, don't lube them. I think some of it has to do with the fact that steel is not as elastic as brass, not the laquer, how soft the steel is that was used to make the shell. 8mm Romo cycles fine, 8MM Czech 80's steel sticks. 7.62x54R Czech sticks, Hungarian is not so bad. However, the copper coated stuff does get a smoother ride out of the chamber, less friction. I've just cleaned my chambers really well, pay special attention to where the extractor cut out is, and most cycle fine with all the ammo, still get some sticky ones though, especially after the gun heats up. Brass is best though.

[markw76]

Lubing the case doesn't increase the pressure per se, it prevents the case from gripping the chamber and permits the bolt to take the full brunt, rather than having the case take much of it. Sometimes the lacquer or poly coating will stay in the chamber, especially after a long string of fire when it heats things up. Even a brass cased round may stick after that. I prefer to treat my milsurps as if I'd never be able to replace it, since that appears the way things are going. Anyone seen an inexpensive Luger lately?

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Have to correct your question.
How many gun control advocates does it take to change a lightbulb?
None, they live in eternal darkness!

[Rapidrob]

Mark is right on with his answer. A lubed casing will increase bolt head thrust only, not chamber pressure. A "greased" bullet will most deff not be a good thing to do as chamber pressure can climb past 100K psi in two MS. As you may know you HAVE to lube the Jlungman AG-42B 6.5 rifles ammo for it to stop ripping the bases of the fired cases. The Swedes even have a part number for the "oil" they used. Many WWI/WWII machine guns had to have lubed cases also.
As for the sticking cases, make sure to clean the chamber with Acetone and cotten patches. You need to disolve the coating off of the steel cases that is now deposited onto the chamber walls. Once you do this, the fired casing will be easy to extract. works well in the Mosin Nagants also. If your chamber has any rough spots on the walls, the steel case will not let go. Steel casings do not contract after firing as the brass casings do.Good shooting.

[EvilAquaSnipe]

I had the same problem with my M91-30 until I tried Brass cased... and now it works fine.

[sdh1911]

I think I may need a bigger bolt.-SDH