From what I saw in their testing, you're pretty much talking about the end of a barrel's life expectancy before seeing any appreciable difference, though. And that's shooting 10,000 of JUST steel core in a pretty extreme way.
To others, the increased cost of brass cased ammunition isn’t worth it – after all, the Wolf and Brown Bear ammo had very few malfunctions, all things considered. Plus, let’s be honest – in all likelihood, most people will never shoot 10,000 rounds through their AR-15. As a company we would be excited if they did, but the use these rifles saw was far beyond what is likely to be encountered in the real world. So, for many consumers, this test will be justification that buying steel cased ammunition is a sensible decision. In many cases, it is.
Although ammunition prices are volatile, the prices of brass and steel remain similar to one another – that is, brass is generally more expensive. We created a chart comparing the cost over time of each type, including ammunition and spare parts replacement costs.
The difference in price between brass and steel cased (more specifically, copper jacketed and bimetal jacketed) ammunition means that you’ll have plenty of savings with which to buy new barrels – even if you shoot so fast that you replace them every 4,000 rounds. For this chart, brass ammunition was calculated at $130 per thousand higher than steel and replacement barrels at $250 apiece.
Seems like the jacket would have more to do with erosion than the case, no?
Maybe, but I think you're confusing jackets and cores. Steel core usually indicates a "penetration" round (the jacket can be either copper or bi-metal, the inside of the jacket is still largely lead, but with a steel or tungsten rod inside for increased hard surface penetration) My point was regarding the bi-metal jacket. Just like the case has very little to do with barrel erosion, I also doubt the core has anything to do with barrel erosion. The jacket is the only thing that touches the barrel (and spent gasses).
If it does have a steel core, that core is surrounded by lead. So it's a moot point. The jacket is what matters to your barrel, not the core. A shooting range cares about the core mostly (possibly the jacket too), because it'll do the most damage to their backstops.
If it does have a steel core, that core is surrounded by lead. So it's a moot point. The jacket is what matters to your barrel, not the core. A shooting range cares about the core mostly (possibly the jacket too), because it'll do the most damage to their backstops.
This outta help:
Precisely my point. The cross-section doesn't really change whether the jacket is copper or steel, so the image applies to either case. I was just trying to set Richard straight since core material was specifically brought up, and has little bearing on the context of the discussion.
But seriously, if I put a magnet to my TulAmmo stuff, it sticks.
