[1100 REMINGTON MAN]

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.

 

[Trail]

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

Agree here. Some guns...most notably Ljutics but I'm sure some others...have issues ejecting steel.

 

[fivetwelve]

This question has both shooting and reloading aspects but I am asking here about the shooting aspects. Bothe Remington and Winchester have high and low produtcs levels for tarhet ammo. Remingon has STS vs Gunclub. Winchester has AA vs whatever they call their cheaper stuff. In both product lines, they use brass for the base vs steel and they use steel for the lower-end stuff.

So is there a shooting performance advantage to brass? Why do they use brass on their premium ammo?

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.

 

[Oyeme]

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.

 

[John Henry]

This question has both shooting and reloading aspects but I am asking here about the shooting aspects. Bothe Remington and Winchester have high and low produtcs levels for tarhet ammo. Remingon has STS vs Gunclub. Winchester has AA vs whatever they call their cheaper stuff. In both product lines, they use brass for the base vs steel and they use steel for the lower-end stuff.

So is there a shooting performance advantage to brass? Why do they use brass on their premium ammo?

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.

 

[fivetwelve]

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.

 

[fivetwelve]

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.

 

[entropy]

This question has both shooting and reloading aspects but I am asking here about the shooting aspects. Bothe Remington and Winchester have high and low produtcs levels for tarhet ammo. Remingon has STS vs Gunclub. Winchester has AA vs whatever they call their cheaper stuff. In both product lines, they use brass for the base vs steel and they use steel for the lower-end stuff.

So is there a shooting performance advantage to brass? Why do they use brass on their premium ammo?

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.

 

[Rhodesengr]

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.

 

[trap906]

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!!

 

[showmeshooter]

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

 

[Leadhoarder]

Steel hulls are easier to pick up off the ground with one of those magnets on a stick.

 

[Tkolarovic]

I get higher scores with brass

 

[YukonJohn]

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!

 

[Steven Rademacher]

Regarding wear on breechfaces, the biggest problem is guys who eke out every last reload from a hull. Why? Because loose primer pockets leak a lot of gas which causes the donut of erosion around the firing pin hole.

The steel of the receiver, which varies from somewhat hardened (e.g. Perazzi) to quite hard (e.g. Blaser and Krieghoff), doesn’t even notice the comparatively trivial hardness difference between mild steel and brass hulls—especially when said hulls exert compression force rather than sliding friction on the breechface.

Can we please go back to arguing about #8 vs #8.5 for the first shot in doubles?

 

[Rhodesengr]

Steel hulls are easier to pick up off the ground with one of those magnets on a stick.

Thats for sure. I was collecting Win AA Gray hulls this weekend at the range and most of the other hulls in the bin were steel so it's a pain to get the brass ones.

 

[AMB6056]

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.

Same with my KS5 Special. I love Gun Clubs, but it does not…

 

[ClaytonBigsby]

You would be surprised how long steel has been used for the “brass” on a shotgun shell. I have a few examples of Remington Mohawk shells that with the primers punched… stick to my parts-picker-upper magnet I keep on my bench. Mohawk shells are pretty old in the grand scheme of things.

That said the only guns that I’ve ever had a problem with running steel headed hulls in are my 870’s, a Wingmaster and SuperMag. Except it eats Gun Clubs just fine. Weird. I did an experiment that concluded as long as the non-Gun Club, steel headed shell has taller 12-16mm “brass” height to it then it will not stick. Only thing I can deduce is the taller heads don’t expand as much.

funny thing about the whole brass vs. steel heads on shotgun shells I’ve noticed… I can not point to a single manufacturer that uses brass on their top tier shells made in Europe/UK that still use brass. They all use steel. Hull Sovereign, Fiocchi Golden Competition, Clever Pro Extra Evo, RC4…. None. Makes me wonder what would happen if the big 3 all changed to steel heads on their top tier lines. I’m sure the price’s wouldn’t go down but the criticism would go up.

 

[Dirksy]

Agree here. Some guns...most notably Ljutics but I'm sure some others...have issues ejecting steel.

My 90T has expensive taste and has issues ejecting steel base. Bought a bunch of Fiocchi at my state shoot this year thinking, "what a great deal." First event, I was having issues on just about every shot. Right now, I am only using AA, HOA, and STS/Nitro in it and have not had any issues.

 

[Trapshooter]

Steel base hulls remind me of sitting on the porch watching a Ford pinto rust. I have seen steel based shells with rust on them. Who wants to put those in their guns.