Ever run steel cased in your CZ97B?

[MixedBreed]

Picked up a new CZ97B a couple of weeks ago, and ran it last weekend for the first time. I was only able to find some Wolf steel cased at the local Academy, and bought 200 rounds.

Pistol ran perfectly, with no issues through all 200 rounds. Might be new favorite to shoot, lol. One thing, however, is that I could only get 9 rounds in a mag. Is this normal? I have run steel cased in my Glock and RIA mags to full capacity with no issues (and two USGI 1911 mags as well), but the CZ mags only took 9. I use a maglula to load, and whether I tried by hand or the maglula, I could not squeeze in that 10th round.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

The mags will loosen up over time and become easier to load. As for steel cased ammo I've tried it in the past but I stay away from it as a general rule. Those cases can be hard on the extractor and other parts over time. Had a friend who had the breach face of a 1911 ruined after a littler over 5000 rounds of that stuff some years back. Looked like someone had been at it with a file.
If it was all I could find maybe but I roll my own so there's no need.

[tdogg]

I'd pull the magazines apart and clean them inside and out with alcohol/acetone to remove any preservative.  Then I'd wax the tube inside and out with your favorite car wax.  This makes them easier to load and clean.  It also makes them waterproof to some extent when dropping in wet environments.

I've never had issues loading them with ten rounds but sometimes seating the magazine with 10 rounds is very difficult (on a closed slide).  It gets easier with break in.

Cheers,
Toby

[Grendel]

100s of rounds through my 75b without issue. The mild steel cases are nowhere near as hard as the extractor and ejector. I have no qualms about it. I steer clear of the lacquer coated stuff  which is pretty rare these days, (and it's unlikely you'll find any in the US) and stick to the polymer coated rounds.

[Whereisit]

100s of rounds through my 75b without issue. The mild steel cases are nowhere near as hard as the extractor and ejector. I have no qualms about it. I steer clear of the lacquer coated stuff  which is pretty rare these days, (and it's unlikely you'll find any in the US) and stick to the polymer coated rounds.

Academy sells monarch steel which is lacquer coated. I got some last year when that was all I could find. I have about 600 rounds left and refuse to use it. It made everything way more dirty then it was worth.

[Grendel]

Never seen or heard of Monarch ammo. I use Wolf in my pistol. Their ammo is now polymer coated - it used to have lacquer - but that was discontinued about 15 - 20 years ago I think. It's possible a few boxes could still be knocking around, but the newer stuff actually states 'polymer coated' on the box.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

100s of rounds through my 75b without issue. The mild steel cases are nowhere near as hard as the extractor and ejector. I have no qualms about it. I steer clear of the lacquer coated stuff  which is pretty rare these days, (and it's unlikely you'll find any in the US) and stick to the polymer coated rounds.

Academy sells monarch steel which is lacquer coated. I got some last year when that was all I could find. I have about 600 rounds left and refuse to use it. It made everything way more dirty then it was worth.

I noticed the same thing with the Wolf I tried years ago it was cruddy shooting stuff. Something else most people don't know is some of the bullets are actually steel jacketed with a copper wash on it. Had some .223 wolf that the bullets would attract a magnet even when removed from the steel case. I sold it to a friend with full disclosure.

[bonj]

The CZ warranty Dept does not recommend Steel cased ammo

[mauserand9mm]

The CZ warranty Dept does not recommend Steel cased ammo

Do they say why they don't recommend it?

I've used a couple thousand steel cased rounds through an ex-mil Mauser rifle (8x57) without issue.

[Philipl]

This test shows the difference in steel vs brass:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

[bonj]

Yes, CZ advised the steel case ammo will cause premature damage as Si Vis already advised.....

CZ REPLY READS...
We cannot recommend the use of steel cased ammunition in our pistols, as the steel to steel contact will cause excessive wear to contacted parts such as the barrel, slide, and extractor.

This will require much faster replacement of these parts so while in the short term the cost is slightly cheaper for the ammunition, the later replacement of these parts or even pistol would outweigh any savings.

For this reason, we can only recommend quality factory brass cased ammunition for the best function and longevity.

Thank you,

Randal Stroud
Technical Support/Gunsmith Rifle Lead