It’s a fact of firearms life: shooting is expensive. Even if you minimize as much as possible, you still need ammunition. And it rarely comes cheap. The cost of ammunition – which has risen significantly just in my own shooting career – stops many gun owners from getting much trigger time in and leads no small number to turn steel-cased rounds. After all, buying steel-cased rather than brass is definitely less pricey, and you just want some time at the range, right?

This may seem like an obvious question. It must not be, though, because a large number of gun owners run their guns on steel-cased rounds. People asking about the best quality rounds – oh, but no brass cases, please – are in each and every gun group on social media and also fill online forums. Others share pictures of their gun-store ammo hauls, and in those images not a single brass case can be found.

It’s easy to say there are various factors to consider. A common argument for the use of steel-cased rounds is the issue of different guns with varying needs – and varying levels of durability and/or life expectance. If I could count the number of times I’ve heard a particular gun doesn’t need fancy ammo because it’s either just a plinking gun or “tougher than that”…but I digress.

So, how many of you guys use the aforementioned rounds? How many flat-out refuse to put a single round through your guns that isn’t brass-cased?