Brass is easier on your breech face/chamber. You can tell a gun that has shot steel based hulls by looking at the wear pattern.

 

Scott might know. @nitro27man

Ballistically, I can't imagine how it would matter.

Why brass? Maybe tradition? Maybe corrosion resistance? Plated steel is probably cheaper than the brass...

 

Brass shells will perform better because they are a premium brands and have harder shot. The brass has nothing to do with it.

 

ZERO performance benefit. As previously stated brass will be easier on your gun, but the steel used is pretty soft as well, few people will shoot enough to tell the difference either way.

Gun Club hulls had less extreme spread when chronographing vs STS hulls using the same load.

STS, AA, HOA, and Gold Medal Paper as the LAST shells, worldwide, using a brass base, and they'll likely go away at some point as well.

 

There can't be any difference in ballistic performance- only ejection issues and possibly depending on material used for primers- that could be a factor on life of firing pins. JMO

 

well I wouldn't have thought so but thought it was worth talking about. For the ammo companies, maybe its a just a marketing angle?

I think being easier on the breech is a good point.

Since the pins don't hit the base, I don't see how there could be any difference with the pins.

 

I always figured it was easier on the breech/chamber

 

Gun Clubs are my favorite. They load well and last a long time. No extraction issues in any of my guns. Be it a K, P, or B gun. No issues in autoloaders either. Tons of them on the ground at the club. Also easy to pickup with my Mojo Stick not like the brass head hulls. As far as performance I see no difference. I also don't feel bad if I shoot a autoloader and don't pickup the hulls.

 

I would speculate that if you took into account all target ammunition manufactured, sold, and shot worldwide, and for every target discipline, only a very small percentage of it is brass based hulls today.

When it comes to reloading, I prefer brass bases and tapered wall hulls. The brass bases are easier on the resizer, and the tapered hull is longer lasting and more economical on powder.

 

Like others have said 0 performance benefit. However, steel based hulls will not eject from my Ljutic unless I give the chamber a through oiling and brushing. No issues at all with the brass. I feel the brass is a little easier on the life of chambers as well but could be in my head.

 

I thought it was in my head also, to the point I took my Model 12 Winchester pump trap model to a gunsmith in Ohio I explained that i was having problems ejecting my spent rounds no knowing at the time about the steel base hulls, he charged me $42.59 for a Extractor , $5.29 for a extractor spring and another $5.29 for a Extractor spring plunger and labor $60.00 and tax $7.63 A total of $120.68 not complaining about his work but if i had known about the steel hulls it would have me think twice.

 

ANY cheaper target load (steel base) will break a 16 yard target. long yardage MIGHT make a difference and i am not real sure about that...

 

I have on occasion had steel based stick in the chamber of my Brownings. Brass based, never. My Mec 9000E is much more comfortable resizing brass than steel.

 

Brass resizes a bit easier.

 

I have used ammo without any metal base material at all. Reloaded them also. Performance wise the base material makes little difference. The all-plastic hulls don't work well in semi-autos though. They all broke targets though.

 

Just put a new collet in my 9000G. This loader has about 200,000 shells loaded on it and is the first collet I've ever had to replace. The vast majority have been Gun Clubs. After putting in the new collet I sized cases (Gun Clubs) until they would go through the Mec gauge. It took very little pressure on the handle to size a case. Much more to crimp for sure.
As far as wear on the breech face, I see more of a mark from my KX-6s extractor and spring being compressed than I do from the head of the case on the breech face. Dale

 

OK, thanks guys. I do reload and have both STS and GC. I have a good handle on the reloading differences. Just couldn't think of a reason why the ammo companies would use brass on one product vs steel on another.

 

The steel cases are substantially softer than barrel steel, so it won't mar or wear your barrel.

I don't even have a problem reloading steel, so I don't really care.

And no, there's absolutely no performance difference, but there is a cheaper price for the manufacturer if they use steel.

 

A lot of the "Brass" bases are not even really brass, but steel that is plated with something "brass" colored.

 

Brass is the better product as it is easer to resize and In rifle cartridges upon firing it expands and retracts slightly for extraction and I would assume the same would be true in a shotgun.
I reload Remington STS and Gun Clubs in my MEC reloaded and I would say STS shells go through easier, I reload a lot of Gun Clubs because they are free.

 

My model 12 Winchester pump has a hard time ejecting the steel base shells, i will not load the steel base hulls any more, it took me a short while to figure why i was having problems ejecting the fired shells I am glad that i have enough brass hulls to last me a lifetime.

 

I have another response below about my extractor in my Model 12 Winchester.

 

In my opinion, the only reason for the switch was the price of the base material; with steel used being cheaper than brass. Brass based hulls never cause a problem with extraction/ejection or any other issue but steel base ones can and sometimes do.

 

While I agree with the numerous above statements that no one would ever be able to tell a performance distinction between the two, all other things equal.....the big difference comes for those shooting 20 ga in a subgauge tube set.

The steel hulls are often known to stick and cause ejection issues. While this even happens in some 12 ga gun, not nearly as much as it does in 20 ga tube sets.

 

Both obturate well, but brass cools and retracts quicker, and as everyone else has noted, is not going to cause near as much wear on the breechface and rear of the chamber. As I'm sure you've seen on the Trap field, cheap promo steel based hull can get stuck in guns, and not just Ljutics. Having t o "mortar" a stuck hull out of a pump or semi auto is a big PITA when you're trying to reload for your next shot. Not any more fun from a break open, either, though less likely to cause injury. (I ripped open the pad on the tip of my RH ring finger mortaring a stuck Federal promo shell [2.99 a box] out of my 870 in the middle of a round, shot the rest of the round holding the hand up whenever I wasn't shooting. Dropped a few birds..... )
Steel based rifle ammo was first made because of wartime shortages of brass for naval uses, artillery shells, etc., and was considered adequate for military use, though the US only loaded .45 ACP in steel.

 

I have not had extractor/ejector problems with any shell. I have not shot much of anything except my Citori 725 and more recently my DT11. For a long time I was only shooting Fiocchi hulls and they are stell base. Just recently switching back to Rem and Win bebcause my Dillon just doesn't do well with Straight hulls.

 

I have found that steel heads loaded at or over 1200 fps tend to stick in chamber, under 1200 fps not as bad. seems steel doesn't contract very well after firing, at least not as good or quickly as brass. Your mileage may vary!!

 

Steel is much easier to pick up with a magnet!
I’m waiting anxiously for the first claim that brass has lower recoil.

 

It does if you use 1 oz # 8s!