Norinco M305 steel cased ammo?
- Thread starter Buster95
- Start date
No apologies needed!
I was not cracking wise. I think it is a very good question. I have been reading these dicussions for several years now and am still not sure. I have shot steel cased ammo for years in several kinds of rifles ( in the olden days FN/FAL,AR10, etc.) Never had a problem and enjoyed the luxury of not having to crawl around on the ground looking for my brass afterward. Shot a sub 2" group of the bench yesterday with my 2007 M305 with some Norc steel cased ammo. It is my least accurate M14 and I push it hard because I have a USGI barrel I would like an excuse to rebarrel it with. So far it just seems to shoot better the more I shoot it.
Anyhoot, back to the steel. It shoots better than some good FMN NATO ball, PRIVI ball, and waaay better than South African ball for me.Because of all the rumors and "expert opinions" I don't use it in my more primo toys, but about 900 rds of the stuff in the past 2 years hasn't seem to be an issue. So I'm always interested in more discussion!
I figure that I might eventually hear something that definively settles the issue in my mind, because cheap ammo leads to
, which of course leads to
I was not cracking wise. I think it is a very good question. I have been reading these dicussions for several years now and am still not sure. I have shot steel cased ammo for years in several kinds of rifles ( in the olden days FN/FAL,AR10, etc.) Never had a problem and enjoyed the luxury of not having to crawl around on the ground looking for my brass afterward. Shot a sub 2" group of the bench yesterday with my 2007 M305 with some Norc steel cased ammo. It is my least accurate M14 and I push it hard because I have a USGI barrel I would like an excuse to rebarrel it with. So far it just seems to shoot better the more I shoot it.
Anyhoot, back to the steel. It shoots better than some good FMN NATO ball, PRIVI ball, and waaay better than South African ball for me.Because of all the rumors and "expert opinions" I don't use it in my more primo toys, but about 900 rds of the stuff in the past 2 years hasn't seem to be an issue. So I'm always interested in more discussion!I figure that I might eventually hear something that definively settles the issue in my mind, because cheap ammo leads to
, which of course leads to
My thought on this is, you were reading about a statement for Springfield M1A's and what type of ammo the company prefers you to use. If I had an M1A I would go with what the company suggests, If I have a Norinco M305 then I would not hesitate in using the Norinco ammo as they are manufactured for each other and at one time if I'm correct its what the Chinese Army used, so if your using a $400 Norc Id say fire away. I have a Norc and I will be picking up one of these 1040 round crates very soon. If you have a $1800 Springfield or even the $2000+ LRB or SEI/USGI builds I would go with what those companys say.
I've been shooting the steel cased, copper washed Norinco 7.62 x 51 in my M 305 without problems.
"...its what the Chinese Army used..." In 7.62 x 39. No 7.62 x 51 used by the Reds. The steel in steel cased ammo is mild steel. Much softer than any steel used in any rifle. Shouldn't be an issue.
"...Springfield M1A's..." Yeah. Warrantee's void if you use reloads.
"...Springfield M1A's..." Yeah. Warrantee's void if you use reloads.
I shoot the MFS 308 win steel cased ammo beside leaving a copper color in the chamber I've had no problems with it. Just shoot it and if it wears out just buy another one as you went through allot of ammo and can afford another rifle.
I've had alot of experience with steel cased MFS in my m305 over the years(1000-1500 rounds). At first it seemed fine, but the frequency of extractor blow outs kept increasing after the first 1000 rounds or so. Eventually I switched back to brass ammo and the problem was solved. For a period of 1 year, I didnt have a single blow out while using normal brass ammo. I decided earlier this year to go back to steel for another chance, and within two rounds, the extractor and ejector blew out again. I've spent $50-100 on replacing lost extractors, and ejectors(and springs) and I have since stopped using MFS in 308. A small price to pay, but a nuisance when you're waiting for parts in the mail because you ran through all of your spare extractors on the last visit to the range.
Although there was no other signs of physical damage to anything else on the rifle, I found paying a bit extra for ammo was worth the hassle of not having a gun out of action at the range every time. I also noticed that this stuff didn't group as tightly compared to other brands. The chrome lined norc barrel should be able to take steel cased ammo without a problem, so dont worry about wear and tear there. I'd be more weary if your barrel was stainless steel or chrome moly. There doesn't seem to be any issues with the throat of the chamber in my norc barrel and accuracy was pretty consistent over the years. Needless to say, I will never put this stuff through my m305 again, but that's my preference.
Also, this is amongst the dirtiest ammo that I've ever fired and I've noticed it takes a lot more patches to clean the bore after range visits compared to winchester, hornady or remington. I still use MFS.223 in my CQA whenever there's a shortage of UMC in the shop. Not a single problem with the AR except for the PITA cleaning the bore.
If you dont mind eating through your spare bolt parts kit down the road and dont mind spending 2 hours cleaning the gun after every visit, then by all means continue using this stuff. I prefer to take care of my rifle and dont subscribe to the "buy another rifle if its broke" mentality. The money buying a new rifle could have been used getting a reloading kit or better ammo.
Although there was no other signs of physical damage to anything else on the rifle, I found paying a bit extra for ammo was worth the hassle of not having a gun out of action at the range every time. I also noticed that this stuff didn't group as tightly compared to other brands. The chrome lined norc barrel should be able to take steel cased ammo without a problem, so dont worry about wear and tear there. I'd be more weary if your barrel was stainless steel or chrome moly. There doesn't seem to be any issues with the throat of the chamber in my norc barrel and accuracy was pretty consistent over the years. Needless to say, I will never put this stuff through my m305 again, but that's my preference.
Also, this is amongst the dirtiest ammo that I've ever fired and I've noticed it takes a lot more patches to clean the bore after range visits compared to winchester, hornady or remington. I still use MFS.223 in my CQA whenever there's a shortage of UMC in the shop. Not a single problem with the AR except for the PITA cleaning the bore.
If you dont mind eating through your spare bolt parts kit down the road and dont mind spending 2 hours cleaning the gun after every visit, then by all means continue using this stuff. I prefer to take care of my rifle and dont subscribe to the "buy another rifle if its broke" mentality. The money buying a new rifle could have been used getting a reloading kit or better ammo.
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