Alternative To Brass: Shell Shock Cases

[ArrowJ]

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/05/05/shell-shock-cases/

Flash in the pan, or innovative game changer?

[Brasso]

I don't see it going anywhere. Like the Wanda shotshells of the 1970's.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

It should work in ordinary use of 9mm. rounds, but I don't see it as revolutionary. I would guess that "patent pending" and perhaps eventually "patent" refer as they often do, to a very trifling improvement on prior devices of this kind. Indeed patent law doesn't even require it to be an improvement - just a definable new idea which hasn't been used before. I have seen US patents for a courting glove for couples to hold hands, and a technique for converting a kid (offspring of goats, fortunately) into a freak-show unicorn, which strikes me as a disimprovement on a goat.

Conventionally constructed aluminium alloy cases have been used in war emergency conditions, and are commonplace for low-pressure applications such as flare-pistols. There are aluminium alloys at least as tough as brass, but those bring forming difficulties which more than make up for any saving. I am surprised less sophisticated alloys haven't become common in shotguns. Riveted composite cases were quite common in the nineteenth century, although none of them caught on in a big way. I think it was in the 1980s that Steelhead rifle cases were on the market, with stainless steel heads threaded onto a replaceable male-threaded brass body. That was a very promising idea, with steel extending to where case separations were most likely, but it didn't last long. Possibly the reason was just the expense, but it would lack some of the telltales which warn the handloader of excessive pressure, such as expansion of the solid head and loosening of the primers.

As usual in such... er... cases, claims made for the system are somewhat tenuous. There is a fifty percent saving on the weight of empty brass cases, and most of us can carry home without straining outselves, as many as we brought with bullets in. Nickel does indeed experience less friction than brass, but cases do normally come out of the chamber unless something else is wrong. If I had a semiautomatic firearm that sometimes malfunctioned, I would look for something besides nickel. But if that did seem useful, I would try nickel plated cases. Funny that those never really caught on...

This sounds very much like the old, old story of shooters being sold production economies in the guise of improvements:

"The ammunition business is booming... But is there any way we can get out of using deep drawing machinery?"

[JSnover]

Reminds me of the "Steel Head" cases I saw advertised in the 70s. Did web search for them last summer and found absolutely nothing, as if they never existed.

[imashooter2]

If it truly is significantly less expensive, ammunition manufacturers will pick it up. For a whole lot of people ammunition is a commodity and cheapest is best.

[NavyVet1959]

Just seems like another case of "a solution looking for a problem" to me. Although I prefer brass, I've resized steel before also.

[OS OK]

I can't think of a better way to disable a weapon than for that front cylinder to separate off the head and stay expanded in your chamber or cylinder.
You'd have the same problem as head separation in a sizing die.

This is the establishments plans to foil our ability to make and to shoot ammo. At first these rounds are made to be shot and reloaded and the general public does not think anything of it…later on they change the manufacturing process a bit and the front of that case separates when fired in the weapons. That will leave you with a case ring in battery…No more rounds in that weapon for the moment.
These will be for the civilian market only. They know we are not going to give them our guns…they just make plans to disable our weapons.
I don't trust them any further than I can toss any one of them.


Highly Skepticle…OS OK

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Reminds me of the "Steel Head" cases I saw advertised in the 70s. Did web search for them last summer and found absolutely nothing, as if they never existed.

You would find them by typing it as one word. They were very expensive for the time, and I think it was a mistake to promote them as a means of safely achieving higher pressures. Bullet and barrel materials and powders are the practical limitation on velocity, and the Steelhead cases didn't do a thing for those. My .300H&H got the performance the .30-06 Steelhead was said to ("said", you will note), and the straighter bodied full length magnums would probably do better and cheaper.

Another factor was probably confidence in their continued availability. The person the O'Connor company thought would say "Whoopee! I can get the performance I want from a standard action" probably said "Are those cases going to be available forever?" Anybody who counted on them when designing an expensive rifle would probably have felt pretty sold a few years later.

My main interest is in obsolete cartridges, and for me the biggest advantage would have been in longer than standard brass bodies, or rimmed heads which could have been matched up with bodies made for rimless cartridges. I don't know if the company ever made either of these, but I doubt it. It might even have been possible for bodies to be made in free-turning brass, which is normally unsuitable for conventional rifle pressures, to be attached to the O'Connor case heads. Case heads to which the amateur machinist could attach any lathe-turned body he liked, would have been priceless.


http://cartridgecollectors.org/cmo/cmo10jun.htm

[mold maker]

A solution to a non-existent problem. It will create more problems for us.
Why change for the worse something that has worked beautifully for over 100 years.

[country gent]

I have a box of WW2 45 acp ammo here thats is US manufactured and steel cases. Soft steel has been used for cartridge cases with a shellac coating to prvide some lubrication for the cases. Copper was originally used in the early days f cased ammunition. Aluminum has been used in several lines of budget type ammo again with a coating. One thing reloaders dont always consider that manufacturers do is tooling life. Steel and aluminum alloies greatly reduce or lower tooling useable life to to several factors, Hardness, abrasiveness, induced stresses and generated heat. Also steel cases may require more steps to form corectly as aluminumm might also. Cartridge brass is soft not nearly as abrasive and forms easily increasing toolings life span. Higher forming pressures or force also increases wear on the presses and other equipment. When tooling rebuilds add up to 10s of thoussands of dollars and weeks of downtime manufacturers track it also. The steel cases work and are useable, Ive never tried reloading them though. Copper was the original material and cases would bend and get deformed do to its sofness but it started the cased ammunition. Aluminum was started with low pressure and or weight concerns. In reality I believe there are plastics polymers out there know that could also be used for cartridge cases. Like the shotgun ammo of the 70s or 80s that was all plastic with a steel washer in the rim to aid extraction. These cases were simply boiled for a set time to resize them.

[ArrowJ]

The only thing that I find nest is that you could use a magnet to pick them up. I suspect they will be gone before they arrive, but stranger things have happened.

[leadman]

Back in the late 80s or early 90s I used to see lots of empty cases in the desert with an aluminum base and a blue plastic body. IIRC they were 9 X 19.
I don't see brass being replaced any time soon.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Looks like a case head separation looking for a place to happen.

Oh and not to mention these require special dies and have reduced case volume.... Ya, go pound sand... I'll stick with the more than a century old tech, the one piece brass case.

[footpetaljones]

I don't seeing this becoming very widespread. While it may work, simple inertia means it would have to work a lot better than brass, which is doubtful.

It reminds me of the steel artillery shells made in WW2, though. They took a forged case head and riveted a piece of rolled sheet metal around it.

[Frank46]

Kinda reminds me of the polymer pistol cases they had some years ago. Used to see the empty cases all over the pistol range. Very rarely see them any more. I agree a solution in search of a problem. Frank

[Garyshome]

With the price of brass right now [the lowest i think I have ever seen it] too easy to stock up on maybe 6000 cases [or more] for each caliber, that would be 500/month for 12 months. [I have reloaded some Russian steel cases in 45 acp 10 times]. I will run out of primers, powder, & boolitz before I run out of brass.

[OptimusPanda]

So let's assume the cases hold up just as well as brass ones. As far as I am concerned, I won't notice the fractions of an ounce difference per magazine in weight. Shouldn't notice the difference in lubricity, and certainly would notice the effect on my wallet. Aside from some highly specialized market I don't see this going anywhere. Though I bet the thing works just fine.

[EDG]

it is difficult to make something simple out of 2 pieces that need assembly and make them cheaper than the same item made from one piece and needs no assembly.

[GONRA]

Great Comments above bring back all sorts of memories from decades back….

Like Garyshome GONRA likes the Russian .45 ACP lacquer coated steel cases –
but for 1928 Thompson SMG shootin'.
Safest to do "case prep" FIRST before running thru a Dillon.
(Ran into a shallow primer pocket. !@#$%^&)
Pick up free MT's up on Local Public Range, leave fired "brass" on 100+ acres up in NE PA.

Don't wannabe a "wet blanket" for new ideas,
but really can’t see any hope for this New Shock Shell Development.

Conventionally drawn steel cases (carbide dies!) are cheep to mass produce,
strong and Verk Just Fine!
With a proper quality steel alloy, assuming drawing / annealing etc. was done correctly,
lacquer coating solves any goofy problems that may arise….

Wots the point - Shock Shell? ???

[NavyVet1959]

If they could make them just out of steel and be able to sell them *primed* for the same price we pay for just primers, then it might be worthwhile. Once the primers are in the cartridge, they can be shipped ORD-M and not HAZMAT, so that might cut down on the shipping costs even when you factor in the extra weight of the steel cartridge. One of the ways a person could get around the limitations that the airlines have on the amount of ammo that you can have in your checked baggage is to prime your brass before your flight and carry your powder in some separately loaded 12-gauge shells that are entirely full of powder with no wad or shot and then have the lead bullets in a separate area that does not count towards the maximum ammo weight allowance.

For example, United Airlines allows you to carry only 11 lbs of ammunition. Just the bullets for 334 rounds of ammo would reach 11 lbs for 230 gr .45 ACP ammo. Assuming 4.66 gr per LP primer, 89 gr per .45 ACP case, and 4 gr of powder, you can get about 788 rounds into 11 lbs. Just need to factor in the extra weight of the shotgun shells being used just as a container for the powder and determine how many of them would be needed for that much ammo. I don't have a weight and volume for 12-gauge shells, so I can't figure that out right now. Would need enough 12-gauge shells to hold about 0.45 lbs of powder.

[Artful]

Ah, memories -
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/01/foghorn/ammo-review-pcp-polymer-308-winchester-ammunition/
PCP Polymer .308 Winchester Ammunition (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/01/foghorn/ammo-review-pcp-polymer-308-winchester-ammunition/)
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/03/25/pcp-polymer-cased-ammo-warning/
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_45401.jpg

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/P1000825-900x600.jpg

Anyone remember Those USAC plastic-cased .38 Specials....
http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt76/brennemanj83/38-1.jpg
http://www.oldammo.com/USAC7.JPG

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/tag/bullet/
NEW PolyCase Ammunition and Injection-Molded Bullets (http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/01/new-polycase-ammunition-and-injection-molded-bullets/)http://accurateshooter.net/Blog/polycase1502.jpg

[Artful]

Reminds me of the "Steel Head" cases I saw advertised in the 70s. Did web search for them last summer and found absolutely nothing, as if they never existed.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/ray928/OConnor.jpg
The O’Connor Steelhead, a.k.a. Ramhead
http://cartridgecollectors.org/cmo/cmo10jun.htm
http://cartridgecollectors.org/cmo/cmo10junc.jpg
http://cartridgecollectors.org/cmo/cmo10juna.jpg
http://cartridgecollectors.org/cmo/cmo10jund.jpg
O’Connor factory reps displaying their new cases at a 1984 Savannah, GA gun show were very surprised to learn that the idea of a reloadable cartridge case with a screw-on steel head was not new, but went back about a century. This information put somewhat of a damper on their plans to patent their “totally new concept,” which of course was not new at all.

[3006guns]

I notice the patent says something about preventing "ballooning from an oversize breach".

You'd think a serious ammunition manufacturer would know how to spell "breech". Little things like that tend to bother me........

Those USAC plastic cases? Got a full box of them and three boxes of the heeled bullets, along with the little loading tool. I'd try them out but that plastic's got to be thirty years old. Or more.[smilie=1:

[justashooter]

some early maynard cases were 2 part brass assemblies.

[scattershot]

Just seems like another case of "a solution looking for a problem" to me. Although I prefer brass, I've resized steel before also.

+1^^^