Since there is an ammo shortage I asked my local range if it is okay to shoot a box of steel case now. The reply was “Absolutely Not”.
From what I have read, and in talking to others, the ONLY reason for not being able to shoot steel at an indoor range is 100% financial. The ranges will have 1,000 other excuses though. As I understand the ranges sell the brass for money and get nothing for steel. Their buyers pay less if they find steel because they have to magnetically remove the cases.
I have been wrong before, so… What have you heard? Opinions? Facts?
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I’ve not heard of banning steel “Case” ammo but I have heard of banning steel “Core” ammo. It’s a range guy, he could have heard you wrong?!?!?
Cheers,
Craig6
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@Craig6 No I said “case”. And when I ranted on about them losing money from non-brass… he was a quiet as a mouse. I hung up.
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Found this on their site…
- Do not fire any steel shot, BB’s, steel core, steel case or military surplus ammunition. Steel can cause fires on the range when it hits the steel trap. Lead BB’s/ pellets are OK to shoot on either rifle or pistol ranges.
Crap?
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Well there you have it I guess. I never worried about steel cases as it is an easy fix (magnet). Does this range not allow you to recover your brass? I refuse to participate at ranges that have that ban in effect.
Cheers,
Craig6
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I am going to pin the manager down when I go next week… I need more “ammo” if others have comments about what to say. Thank you.
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What you said “Crap” I hate it when they put it in Black and White. Maybe if you tell them you will clean up your steel cases after your done, either clean the bay beforehand or shoot on a clean one. Just a thought. 
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The answer is two fold. Do they allow you to keep your brass that you shoot? If they do not, they are definitely making money on selling the brass. They probably are anyway; a lot of people don’t pick it up.
Second, steel case ammo is very typically topped with a bullet that is steel (lead core), with a copper coating. That steel bullet is very hard on traps and yes, they start fires. Outside of selling brass, this is the very common reason to not allow steel case ammo on a range with steel targets.
My 3gun match long range ammo is a steel case, however it is loaded by Hornady with their copper bullets. 
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Ummm how do you get “steel” out of Lead and Copper? Sounds like a normal FMJ. 
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I was told that steel case will ruin a pistol. its kills the extractor. have you had any trouble?
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Put a magnet to it. They use a mild steel to form the cup/fmj, just like they do with copper. Same way they form the case. Really.
If you shoot enough, yep, will wear out an extractor. Brass will too given time. Extractors are wear items, just like the barrel On that subject, the steel in the projectile will wear the barrel faster as well. Probably more of an issue in rifles, but it does. The money you save will more than pay for the new barrel… your choice.
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@Kenneth94 I have shot i am guessing 1000 rounds of Tula ammo out of my 9mm and never had any problems firing, feeding or extracting. Just my experience.
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I did as you suggested and tried a good magnet, nothing on the bullet but of course the case was attracted.
Maybe TULA doesn’t use a steel cup.
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They used to be, however could have changed for the “American” market. Perhaps their pistol bullets have always been like that. I have shot quite a bit of Wolf, and some Tula, in pistols with no issue. Dirt berm and paper targets so was not really checking for steel.
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I learned something new today so a good day. Thanks.
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Most of my experience is with rifle ammo, FWIW. I mostly reload pistol ammo, but will use steel case now and then for practice.
For giggles, I pulled up this description of that ammo:
Wolf Military Classic ammunition features a Mil-Spec design delivering reliable functioning along with a polymer coating to ensure smooth feeding and extraction. The Bi-Metal bullet is created by pressing together alternating sheets of copper and steel to be used as the jacket. This technique results in high quality, yet inexpensive ammunition perfect for the high volume shooter. This ammunition is new production, berdan primed, in non-reloadable steel cases.
https://www.ammunitiondepot.com/2252-wolf-military-classic-9mm-luger-115-grain-fmj.html
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My solution… I am going to keep my mouth shut at the range, I am not talking to anyone at the range after all. I still have over 5,000 rounds of brass 9mm… I am going to put 4 or 5 of the steel case in each 17 round and 8 or 9 of the steel case in each 33 round magazine.
If they do find out (which I highly doubt) I will claim I must have mixed them into my brass by mistake… Oopsy! 
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Two reasons: 1. They do not want to deal with any of it, and 2. They cannot collect steel cases and sell them like they can with brass, since steel cases are non-reloadable. There’s also a suggested increased fire risk with steel cased ammo, due to it’s tendency to spark more. Tested by the National Forestry.
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My brother you saw the story about my last visit to the range. They saw me coming.
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