Step-son has acquired several hundred rounds of surplus steel rounds for his AK-47. Could someone tell me if this ammo is more detrimental to the barrel than copper? In my mind, because copper bullets are inherently softer than steel, that they are much easier on the barrel than steel.
Thanks.
Well, Yahoo! wants me to choose a best answer. Tough decision as they are all informative. I guess I'll just close my eyes and click. Thanks for all the input.
Steel Rain
Favorite Answer
Absolutely, steel will wear the barrel faster than copper.
John de Witt
Yes, but.....
Keep in mind that except for the copper wash on 22 rimfire bullets, very few have copper jackets. The typical bullet is clad in gilding metal, a form of brass that's generally 90-95% copper, with zinc added to harden it. Cupro-nickel jackets do the same. The steel in steel-jacketed bullets is a mild steel, alloyed in a way as to make it less hard. So there's a difference, but less than you might think.
Second, it's an AK, likely with a chrome-lined barrel (very hard stuff), and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in accuracy between a new barrel and one that's shot out after ten thousand rounds have been put through it.
So you may have a point, but it isn't far from arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Anonymous
I have read about this ,and it depends on the softness of the steel that is used in the bullets. Copper ammunition will probably be much easier than steel jacketed on the barrel. Try to avoid the steel jacketed ammunition ,and tell your step son to thoroughly clean the gun because a lot of surplus ammo is very corrosive. Even if he fires one round of surplus out of the gun tell him to clean it like his life depended on it. I do not like corrosive ammo. Tell your son to get non corrosive ammunition so his gun will not rust out. Russian guns are notorious for working in rough conditions so I am sure your stepson will have a good experience with either type of ammunition as long as he really cleans every nook and cranny of the gun.
The Freak Show
I saw the same article as Billygoat. I have fired thousands and thousands of bi-metal steel-cased ammo through several different guns, and never seen any real signs of accelerated wear. One thing to check though: Just because it's steel cased doesn't mean it's a bi-metal bullet. Another thing to consider is that certain alloys of copper are just about as hard as certain alloys of steel which means the steel under the copper coating on a bi-metal bullet is likely going to be much softer than the high quality, chrome plated steel of your rifle barrel.
oquendo
Steel Jacketed Bullets