Steel rimfire shells

Attilathecanuk

Attilathecanuk

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On the way to Onoway
How come cartridges for rimfire (.22,.17) don't come in steel casings like milsurp ammo? It's my understanding (maybe wrong) that steel casings are cheaper to produce, so why not use steel instead of brass for rimfire?
 
Because rimfire casings have to be soft. Centrefire cases use separate primer cups so even in steel cased ammo the firing pin is striking the softer metal of the primer cup. In a rimfire the priming compound is in the rim of the cartridge, which is an integral part. The firing pin has to be able to deform the rim to detonate the priming compound, and would not be able to do so if the case were made of steel.

This is also why rimfire cartridges are less powerful than centrefire cartridges. The case walls on centrefire cartridges are thicker so they can contain higher pressures.
 
Ammo1_zpsbc9b788c.jpg


Such a beast was/is being made. These are Russian steel cased .22 lr. They were brought into Canada a few years ago.
 
Fun to shoot ritz crackers as mini skeet at close range, but otherwise useless... Not 100% sure the cases are steel, most likely some kind of soft chrome or tin alloy...

22_LR_SS_0039.jpg
 
Back in the 70's there were some that were steel and were a dark green almost black in colour and were branded with the USSR commie logo. They were also the the worse crap I have ever seen as every second or third one was a dud.
 
i would hate to use steel casings in my rimfires. the abrasive steel casing would surely wear out the chamber, Brass being softer does not do this as it acts like a lubricant. Cheaper is not necessarily better.
 
no chamber wear. brass can actually cause more wear that steel, but that is a long discussion. many issue is the harder case causes ftf and the design and lube can cause extraction issues
 
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