steel?

[Seif5034]

you can't reload steel right?

[Prairie Wolf]

That depends on what you mean.

Steel cased metallic cartridges? I am not positive, but probably not.

Steel shot shotgun shells? Yes.

[thndrchiken]

No!!!

[Pavomesa]

Yes, you can load it but it's hell on your dies. Best to throw it away.

[Mr.Fishhead]

Pavomesa are you talking about steel cased metallic cartridges or steel shot for shotgun loads?

People has tried, and you can size em, but they don't have the springyness of brass. Neck tension would suck, and your steel dies wouldn't last long.

[halcon]

What BC said about neck tension was the problem . There was a company tried it back in the 90's

[rthook1]

just buy your steel shot shells 3in in can. 9.95 per 25 even 10 gauge is 1.00 a shot loading istorture you have to count your pellets to get good crimps with #2,s and larger fed gold medal is best hull ballistics products metal wads the magic item i,ve got 4 mec loaders doing nothing for 5 yrs

[eldeguello]

ORIGINAL: Seif5034

you can't reload steel right?

Wrong!

You CAN reload steel cases. I scrap any that have any rusting, and haven't yet fooled with any that have Berdan primers. But I do reload WWII US GI steel .45 ACP and Wolf brand .45 ACP cases that haveBoxer primers. In .45 (or other handgun cases), you can use a carbide die, so the die-wear problem isn't there either. With other calibers, die wear could be a problem, but so far I haven't found any steel cases that are harder than the steel my dies are made from! (Soft steel won't wear out hard steel, unless the soft stuff has abrasives imbedded in it. That's why you keep your steel cleaning rods as clean as possible!!)

Just toss out any that have rust, and clean them well so all sand, dirt & grit is off them before lubing & sizing.

I always laugh when I read an ad for "steel cased, Berdan primed, non-reloadable" ammo. The question is, just how much of a hassle are you willing to put up with to reload them?? With ammo that has Boxer primers, it is no more difficult to reload them than brass cases. If it has Berdan primers, it is no worse than ANY cases with Berdan primers-these always add a little extra effort. Today, the problem is more one of finding new Berdan primers so you can recap them!