HK P30

[Malsua 1,422]

So far so good. I have fed it several hundred rounds with no problem *BUT* I am a brand new gun owner and frankly, I had no idea what I was buying. I will defer to my wiser brethren here in the forum upon my next purchase. Unfortunately, I bought 1500 rounds, which I will have to shoot first.

 

So, please tell me what is the difference between brass and steel? I really have no idea.

 

Frank

 

Brass is forgiving. Ask a machinist what he thinks of brass vs aluminum or steel. It's metal butter.

 

The bottom line is that tolerances can be held tighter more easily because you don't have to worry as much about tool chatter, speeds and feeds, etc. It's just more expensive to use as a raw material. It tends to be a little more slippery when rubbing against an other cartridges in the magazine, it probably takes away heat better than steel as well. There are lots of reason why it's a better material.

 

The bottom line however is some guns just wont cycle non-brass very well. Other guns, like the HK are much more tolerant, but it's a premium gun and you pay for it. If you're not having any issues with it, it's fine to use, you're not damaging your firearm(As far as I know that is, I've not seen articles about long term steel or alum ammo use).

[Caine 147]

I'm fairly new to shooting myself, but this is what I've picked up so far:

 

1. the obvious. steel cased is steel and brass cased is brass Some people feel the steel cased ammo is harder on the extractor and will eventually cause the extractor to fail sooner than if using brass cased ammo.

 

2. Quality Control - Wolf, and most of the other russian steel cased stuff isn't necessarily known for the best QC. Case in point:

 

 

That round came out of a brand new box of Tula/Wolf 115gr 9mm. It was the only round out of about 500 that looked like that. All the rest went bang, as expected. But still.. it's a little unsettling.

 

3. "Guns explode when you shoot Wolf" :confusion-shrug: Never seen this myself, but the internet is full of people saying their guns went kaboom from a bad Wolf round. But, I've also seen stories of guns having catastrophic failures with Federal. So, again :confusion-shrug:

 

4. This doesn't apply to handguns, but ARs - many people have issues running steel cased ammo in their ARs. This is partially due to the lacquer coating on older Wolf ammunition (I believe they've switched to a polymer coating now) that would gum up the chamber/bolt and cases would get stuck. More than likely, the people that have problems with Wolf in their ARs have tight chambers, as I've shot quite of bit of Wolf thru my ARs, and never had an issue.

 

So, as with everything YMMV.

 

ETA: Mark beat me to it, and kept it much more succinct But I provided pretty pictures

[lunker 274]

Aluminum and steel cased ammo can't be reloaded. Brass ammo can. The steel ammo is harder on the extractor and ejector because it is not as pliable as brass. I know that some people complain that accuracy suffers in steel cased ammo because the case does not expand in the chamber sufficiently to form a good gas seal. I always went with the notion that steel cased ammo is good for plinking. If I want something for accuracy/reliability, etc I would go with brass.

I personally don't think it is much of an issue in a modern, duty style handgun. Your HK (like Glocks, Sigs, S&W, etc) are not finicky target models. They were built to feed and eject all kinds of ammo, and to withstand the abuse. Besides, with the savings from shooting the cheaper steel ammo, you will have more than enough money to replace an ejector or extractor should you ever wear the original out.

If you don't reload, cheapie ammo allows you to afford more of it and practice more. Just remember, some ranges scavenge leftover brass and don't want to spend the time/effort sorting out steel/aluminum cased ammo, so they don't allow it (i.e. Shore Shot).

[Frank Jack Fiamingo 58]

Mark, Chris and Pete,

 

Thx guys. I am pretty much just learning. I did a *LOT* of research on the gun; which is why I bought the P30L. I really didn't know I was buying steel cased ammo. The ad said nothing about the case, it was just cheaper. I should have realized that you get what byou pay for. And it WAS Wolf. What brands do you guys recommend?

 

Frank

[lunker 274]

Mark, Chris and Pete,

 

Thx guys. I am pretty much just learning. I did a *LOT* of research on the gun; which is why I bought the P30L. I really didn't know I was buying steel cased ammo. The ad said nothing about the case, it was just cheaper. I should have realized that you get what byou pay for. And it WAS Wolf. What brands do you guys recommend?

 

Frank

 

Frank,

That question has different answers depending on your intended uses. I have speer Gold Dot 124grain +P for my home defense pistol. I use regular old Federal American Eagle red box 115 grains for the range (while occasionally shooting the Speer to keep familiar with it). When Cabelas has a sale, I buy the PMC 9mm ammo (Sometimes the sale price is close to my reloading price on 9mm, so I just buy it.).

If I didn't reload, and shot at a range that allowed steel/aluminum cased ammo, I would have no problem shooting it there. I used to use it in my AR (since sold), and still do in my AK clone.

[Frank Jack Fiamingo 58]

Thanks Chris,

So far I am just using it for target practice. The range officer did not complain about the steel, so I assume it is ok. I *AM* becoming "attached" to my gun, and want to treat "her" right. So, I will purchase some nice, tasty, ammo for her to consume. I appreciate the info.

 

Frank

[Caine 147]

I'm a cheap b@stard, so I generally shoot whatever I can find the cheapest. I still shoot Wolf, even after finding that mangled round in the box. My favorite is PMC, because it's generally the cheapest brass cased ammo I can find.. and when Cabella's runs the $5 shipping deals, I usually stock up on it. Federal AE is also very good if you can find it for PMC prices.

 

Don't sweat shooting Wolf tho. Shoot your 1500 rounds and then worry about what to buy next

[Frank Jack Fiamingo 58]

Thx Pete,

So much to learn, so little time to shoot. :-)

 

Frank

[Frank Jack Fiamingo 58]

Sorry to be a pain guys, but I have another question regarding ammo. Does anyone have experience with Sellier & Bellot ammo? Cabelas has an excellent price with $5 shipping.

 

Frank

[bry@n 195]

Frank,

S&B is okay. Anything brass is okay but I would run through the 1500 first. Don't sweat the small stuff.

 

Cabela's is good for prices but don't overlook gunbroker. Gunbroker is like the ebay of guns and ammo. I can generally pick up 9mm (good ammo) for $235 to my door.

[Frank Jack Fiamingo 58]

Hey, Thanks Bryan. I appreciate the info.

[bry@n 195]

Hey Frank....us HK guys have to stick together...