If you try and buy an 88 round the majority available are steel cased late war designs.
Quote:
The true pistol cartridge had a brass case and gilding metal or gilding-metal-plated bullet, but this varied according to scarcity of desirable metals,
As substitutes, cases of steel with a copper wash or steel blackened with a protecting lacquer were used. Bullets were made with copper and nickel-alloy jackets, pure nickel jackets, and with gilding-metal-plated steel jackets.
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/woundblstcs/chapter1.2.htm |
Quote:
Nowadays steel is normally used in larger cannon, particularly linear-action guns with a high rate of fire, because its extra strength is better at coping with the violent treatment the cartridge is given by the loading mechanism. It is also slightly lighter and cheaper. However, it requires more protection against corrosion and, being less resilient, forms a less perfect seal on firing. Steel cases have been used in military small arms, especially from Germany in WW2 and from Russia, but they have never been popular for commercial use.
From Tony Williams's excellent site.
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I felt sure I'd read of fouling issues from the anti-rust coating too, but I can only find Internet reference to modern shooters suffering while using wartime ammunition & as that involves 60 years of decay of the coating it's hardly evidence.
EDIT: Just rooted through George Markham's 'Guns of the Reich' and a couple of Hogg encyclopedias & while they make quite a bit of reference to coated steel case rounds I haven't yet seen any criticism.