Brass RF jackets and AR tubes??

[Foxcatcher]

Was talking to a buddy and educating him on the RF .224 jackets that could be my new hobby. He claims that the brass jacket residue is hard on the gas tubes or the port to the gas tube.

Has anyone had any issues with this??

Don

[I'll Make Mine]

Did he explain how he knows this?

[Foxcatcher]

Said one of the guys on his police dept tried it and after several hundred rounds it plugged up the gas port. He disassymbled the rifle for diagnosis.


Don

[Reload3006]

I heard if from a friend who Heard it from a friend who heard it from another........ B.S. Straight lead bullets have been known to strip and plug gas ports. Hence Ruger recommends that you not shoot cast or straight PB bullets in their rifles. Lots of folks on this site will argue that point too. If brass which is slightly harder than gilding metal is going to harm the gas ports or gas tubes just imagine what regular gilding metal jacketed bullets are doing to it. Any metal that is softer than the bore of your rifle is not going to harm it. The only caveat that I would raise is this one make doubly certain that your brass is perfectly clean for both your rifles bore and your dies. It will not harm your rifle in any way at all.

[I'll Make Mine]

Well, the brass in RF cases is a different composition (more zinc) from the gilding metal used in commercial jacketed bullets; it's also thinner. It sounds as if the brass is shaving on the port, which is something that may vary from one rifle to the next or may indicate a need to make the bullets smaller (.001 reduction might cut down or eliminate brass in the port and still shoot okay) or use a slightly harder core. Lapping the bore (hand lapping, with the barrel out of the gun by preference; I wouldn't suggest fire lapping a gas operated rifle) is likely to help some, as it'll tend to break down the sharp edge in the gas port.

Beyond that, his experience may just suggest a maximum interval between full take-down cleanings and extra attention to the gas port at each cleaning.

[BT Sniper]

Commercial jackets (guilding metal) = 95%copper 5% zink

Brass jackets = 70% copper 30% zink

I don't see how there can be that much differnce in shooting either when it comes to gas tubes?

BT

[hardcase54]

I have ran at least 5,000 rounds rf jacketed bullets through one of my ar's with no problems.

[Foxcatcher]

Dont shoot the messanger!!!! Honest question. Didnt want to rile up the crowd. I believe that what make my own is saying is a possibility, however it should do the same with copper. Right??

I am excited to try some to see how they work in my AR. Might have to swing over to bullet swap.

Don

[hardcase54]

Would never shoot the messenger.

[Artful]

When I first got my swaging set up I shot thousands of 'em and never an issue with any of my guns. Is it possible someone has a gun that stripped jacket material into the gas port - yes, but it's not the norm.

[johnnybar]

Was talking to a buddy and educating him on the RF .224 jackets that could be my new hobby. He claims that the brass jacket residue is hard on the gas tubes or the port to the gas tube. Has anyone had any issues with this?? Don

Brass jackets, with 30% zinc, are harder relative to gilding metal jackets, with 5% zinc content. It will take thousands upon thousands of rounds to see any difference but, eventually there will be some signs of wear appear. Does it make a difference?...No. The savings will far offset the cost of a new barrel. Let's say you save 10 cents per bullet and fire 10,000 rds before rebarreling. That's $1000 dollars vs an AR rebarrel. Anneal the RF cases and the difference lessens considerably.

[BT Sniper]

Majority of us shooting these jackets made from brass do anneal the brass first. I recomend it as standard procedure.

BT

[fredj338]

SInce I am primarily going the swaging route for my ARs, I'll follow this closely but I am betting BS. The only way brass stripping could be an issue IMO, is if the brass was over annealed & made very soft. Maybe Brian can help with this, JMO.

[MIBULLETS]

I have heard of a bur created when the hole for the gas port was drilled out. As someone else mentioned here, the best way to solve it is to lap it out or at least smooth it out.

If brass jackets are doing it so are the copper ones.

[DukeInFlorida]

One of my ar's ONLY ever sees .22LR jacketed swaged bullets, at 720 RPM. Never any issues. Here's me, at the beginning of the video, black shirt, white hat, swaged .22 lr bullets at 720 rpm, all day long like that. Many thousands of rounds down the pipe.


http://youtu.be/LLSjDHuZz68

You expert buddy just doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.

[Foxcatcher]

Now I guess the only question is.......how long of a wait if I order now???

Don

[Artful]

Foxcatcher send BT Sniper a PM and he'll be glad to tell ya. I have an older corbin set up and while it is cheaper than buying it's like casting, it takes time. But it's something that you can depend upon being able to do yourself.

[Jjed]

dito
I have been shooting 22lr boolits for years in both mini 14 and ar's no problem's

[shooterg]

Have shot many thousands of my homemade ones in AR, no issues. Before that, useta get the same from an outfit called MHG, went through 10,000 of his, man I think they were like $50/K then ! Wondered what happened to that outfit, ads in Shotgun News for years, then nada.

[ofreen]

I'll chime in and add that my old Colt SP1 has had nothing else but 22 RF jacketed bullets through it since 1984. A conservative round count would be over 10,000 rds.

[Houndog]

I'd worry more about the cases/jackets not being cleaned properly and the grit and hard residue left on them harming the barrel more than I would the makeup of the cases. Swaging bullets IS one place there's no such thing as too clean!