Steel-jacketed ammunition: Good or not?

[Darrell]

That's the stuff I was talking about.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Swiss GP 11 ammo is steel jacketed.

ETA: Yep, I was wrong. I looked it up over at the Swiss rifles forum, it's also cupronickel jacketed:

174gr - CuNi Jacketed
Spire Point Boat-Tailed

[rightisright]

$200 / 1000 rounds of .308?? That's HELLA cheap...

[Dinochrome]

Does it look like this?

Almost; the bullets are brass-colored and the label says "Hirtenburg".

$200 / 1000 rounds of .308?? That's HELLA cheap...

Yeah, I bought the ammo ten years ago right after buying the rifle. It was five battlepacks in a crate
for two hundred in cash. I should have bought more.

[Windy Wilson]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Swiss GP 11 ammo is steel jacketed.

ETA: Yep, I was wrong. I looked it up over at the Swiss rifles forum, it's also cupronickel jacketed:

174gr - CuNi Jacketed
Spire Point Boat-Tailed

Well, for what it's worth, it's a variety of mild steel with the CuNi plating, according to the Swissrifles forum, http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard ... ssageboard

[rightisright]

I bought the ammo ten years ago right after buying the rifle

Ah. I was gonna say you practically stole it if you got it recently.

[Windy Wilson]

Another thing. The Swiss use the cupronickel jacketed bullets in their GP-11 ammunition exclusively for their military training and in their national competitions. As any purchaser of a Schmidt Rubin or K-31 will tell you, those rifles have some of the best bores on the surplus market. The steel jacket doesn't seem to hurt them any, so as Flintlock Tom said above, it is apparently a softer steel than that of the barrel.
I wouldn't worry about it. Now steel cases in an AR, now. . .

[Dinochrome]

I bought the ammo ten years ago right after buying the rifle

Ah. I was gonna say you practically stole it if you got it recently.

Wouldn't we all love to see that price again? I've also got some South African .308 without magnetic bullets.

[brag]How about the STG-58? Got it at a local gun store for $647 on United Nations Buy-a-Gun Day back in 2000.
It's Austrian parts on an Imbel upper receiver. [/brag] Inflation sux.

[Dinochrome]

It is my understanding that the ferrous metals used in some bullet jackets is much softer than the steel used in the barrel.
I doubt you'll have a problem.

Yeah, mild steel. I don't know why I was worried; been shooting Israeli steel-jacketed FMJ 9X19 out of the S&W.

[Darrell]

Hirtenberger is considered to be good ammo. Very good, I do believe. I have a bunch of it. Only downside is that it's Berdan primed, I think.

[Windy Wilson]

Hirtenberger is considered to be good ammo. Very good, I do believe. I have a bunch of it. Only downside is that it's Berdan primed, I think.

Shooting GP-11, as I do (when the range doesn't ban it), I have a lot of Berdan-primed fired cases. I bought a Berdan decapper from Midway USA (It's a sort of gouge thing on a hinge), but there is a knack for using it, as I have a high attrition rate for buggered anvils with it. There are plans for a hydraulic decapper floating around on the internet, but I haven't tried that, as I hear it splashes a lot of water around.