steel cases

STEEL CASE

Can a “case” be made for steel cased ammunition ( sorry, I had an uncontrollable compulsion to Spun The Pun )?  I bring this up after a thoughtful and helpful minion e-mailed me with a link to Wolf brand steel cased 303 British ammo, 38 cents each ( a smidge over 40 cents each after shipping if you bought two cases ).  I had no idea they made 303 in steel case and had never thought of it as being an option.  My usual ammunition acquisition strategy had been ( this was years in the past-the last time in the last two years I bought rifle ammo was a one time surplus find from Cheaper Than Dirt, a company I’m no where near as fond of as in decades past ) to buy the Eastern European deluxe brand of factory loaded ammo for 75 cents each from Sportsman’s Guide, with free shipping after using a coupon.  They used a brass case superior to others, it was reported to me by another minion, and at the same cost.  Hey, I’d have no problem buying American AND paying a premium for it, if I was assured that I was getting a quality product and that my dollars were going to American workers rather than a CEO, but since that hasn’t been true for a very long time I have no issue buying foreign.  It puts my money in the same pockets, but at a lower cost to me. 

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I mean, buy Ford?  Or Chevy ( that was my previous choice prior to the Detroit Bail Out, but their quality went down hill quicker than Hilary’s brain function )?  Are you friggin insane?  You are buying crap plastic construction which surrounds an unnecessary profusion of Windows OS computer chips guaranteed to start failing within the first few thousand miles.  At a higher price.  Why wouldn’t you buy a Toyota or Honda?  Patriotism?  It’s patriotic to automate out Union jobs, screw over your customers and focus your efforts on the emerging Chinese market?  I don’t think so.  What you reap, bitches.  And thanks to our recent discussion on guns ( I am certainly NOT a guru.  My minions provide me with a lot of input.  I would be an insufferable uneducated bloviater without them.  I’m happy to be corrected and taken to task by them.  Yes Men may go elsewhere ) I’m quite convinced that most American gun manufactures are not too far removed from the same quality standards of Detroit ( which isn’t even all Detroit anymore but also Italian ).  I can’t say that the ammunition makers aren’t also infected with the disease.

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Anyway, back to steel case ammunition.  In the past I was hesitant to recommend it, especially as any disruption in overseas trade made it time sensitive ( I voiced my concerns PRIOR to Obammy’s stupidity with Russian imports which jacked up the Mosin-Nagant rifles from $90 to $300 and doubled their 762x54r ammunition costs ).  Now, I view prepping time as so short that right now is the time to buy ALL stockpile items, even domestic ones such as wheat, because the oncoming economic collapse will eliminate all employment and trade.  So, your ammunition purchases are close to a One Off buy.  That leaves cost as the deciding factor.  To reload or to buy disposable ammo?  I’ve always been solidly in the camp on reloading, but I’m not sure if I can still hold that view ( unlike all these other idiots that use ten year old information to influence their views- such as “rimfire is cheap!”- I’m quite open to discarding old information and embracing new ). 

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Now, assuming steel cased ammo works just fine in the Enfield ( I have no experience, and the only gun I’m aware that actually loathes steel is the AR family ), we are left with cost.  A reload cost for the 303 is about 33 cents.   As the Enfield is infamous for shortening the life of brass cases, I only assume five reloads.  And that is WITH neck-sizing only, and annealing the tip of the case AND using the same rifle.  I could be wrong, and I’m not enough of a regular shooter to reload ( even if I have the equipment for post-collapse ) to have concrete information.  I use it as a benchmark.  So, fifteen cents for the case.  Another 15 cents for powder and three for a primer.  Without lead cost, 33 cents.  38 cents gets you a bullet and eliminates the need to reload.  And factory reloads are better for long term storage and reliability ( although not for accuracy ). 

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Reloading for pistol ammunition makes a lot of sense, with the six times powder use and the lack of pressure making case life far more robust.  But for thirty caliber rifles?  In my case, with a non-Mauser action ( I’ve talked to reloaders with Mauser actions and they don’t seem to get all that much more case life, but I’m wondering if that was because they full cased it?  But even if you had half the brass cost, it is still about 23 cents verses 38.  If you are starting out and need five thousand rounds, that price difference is a huge deal.  For others just supplementing? ) and lack of lead I’m hard pressed to care about the nickel difference.  If it is even a difference at all.  I’m wondering if the price difference isn’t eaten up with safe storage of your reloading components, not to mention eliminating ( for the most part ) component failures.  As I read the minions e-mail and did the math, I couldn’t help but wonder, What Am I Missing?  What am I overlooking here?  This article is my shout out for input to my other minions, rather than a definitive information piece.  What are your thoughts on quality and price.  I’m NOT factoring in convenience.  That is an oxymoron for survivalists.  A little extra work never hurt anyone if it saved them money.  Let the flame wars begin!

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