Aluminum Caseings

[stash]

Good beautifuy Sunday morning - Friday I finally went to Academy and got my Glock 30 out of layaway. Boy I think I am really gonna like it. Anyway, while I was there I bought some ammo for the G30 and some Remington 88 grain JHP 380 for a Bersa Thunder that I bought a couple of months ago. Thought it was about time to shoot it. Academy did not really have much of a selection for these two calibers. The question I have is why are aluminum caseings not as clean as brass? At least thats what the guy at the counter told me. I don't think he was trying to sway which one I purchased (got brass for both 45 ACP and 380) - did seem the aluminum was cheaper. Anyway just wondering.

Stash

[longtooth]

9mm is the only thing I am not loading at this time. I shoot the aluminium W/ no issues.

[dws1117]

I've shot the CCI Blazer aluminum cases in all of my guns with no issues. As to being dirtier, the only thing I can think of is that they use different powders.

If your not a reloader, buy it and shoot it so the those of us that do reload can curse you while we are filtering it out of our range pick ups.

[lrb111]

After the monthly Practical Pistol shoots the aluminum cases are are piled like snow drifts at our range. I just haven't seen problems with them.

[Cosmo 9]

I've had trouble with the casings being rougher and draging in the mag. my single stack 9mm doesn't like them but my XD eats them just fine.

[AV8R]

The cases do feed a little harder than polished brass, and are at the low end on power, but they group consistently for me and give no problems.

[Skiprr]

I don't know about "dirtier," I believe that has to be the powder, like dws said.

The biggest negative I can think of about aluminum is that it isn't as elastic as brass, meaning that after expansion at firing it doesn't return as readily to it's original size. I think this is one important reason reloaders leave the aluminum cases lying on the ground. But it also means that the higher the pressure of the load, the greater the possibility that an aluminum casing will expand enough--and not contract--to become difficult to extract from the barrel.

I'm speaking from memory here, and not any real expertise. So don't pay any attention to me. But I think that's where the issue really comes into play: magnum or +P loads that really push the casing. Then the extractor tries to do its thing and can't rip the cartridge outta there because the aluminum isn't as elastic. That would also mean that some weapons may be happier with aluminum than others because they have greater tolerances in the chamber. There's some scientific term for measuring this elasticity of a metal...and I might have known what that term was 20 years ago. Brass retains its shape better and is actually easier to manufacture (partly because of that maleability), but aluminum is a less expensive raw material.

[seamusTX]

There's some scientific term for measuring this elasticity of a metal...and I might have known what that term was 20 years ago.

Young's modulus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young's_modulus). Brass is about 1.7 times that of aluminum.

This discussion is interesting. I've been using CCI Blazer's without knowing that I should have a problem.

- Jim

P.S.: I don't know why the URL thing isn't working.

[Skiprr]

Young's modulus

Thanks, Jim. I knew that once upon a time. Ahem.

[dws1117]

I think this is one important reason reloaders leave the aluminum cases lying on the ground.

They are also berdan primed instead of boxer primed, which is more common with reloaders. I'm sure there is some way to reload berdan primed brass, but I've not heard of it being done.

[Thane]

I haven't seen any aluminum brass that's berdan-primed... AFAIK, CCI Blazer and the like all use boxer primers.

Wolf, however, uses berdan primers in everything except their Gold line.

Reloading berdan-primed brass is not much different from "normal" reloading. You simply need the proper primer punch and the proper size primer. ...Unfortunately, berdan primers come in multiple sizes, not just "large/small rifle/pistol", and getting the two-pin primer punch lined up with the flash holes in the brass can be a pain as well...

Berdan-primed brass is just a pain. I've never reloaded it, probably never will.

[jbirds1210]

I prefer the aluminum case Blazer for practice ammunition. I have never had a malfunction from one and it is cleaner than the competition in that price range.
Jason

[Tom]

I haven't seen any aluminum brass that's berdan-primed... AFAIK, CCI Blazer and the like all use boxer primers.

Thane,

The Blazer Aluminum that I was shooting several years ago was all Berdan primed, in 9mm and 40S&W.
Have they changed?
I thought then, and still believe, that this was done to keep folks from trying to reload it.

Kind Regards,

Tom

[Greybeard]

From using and observing the CCI aluminum cased ammo for at least the past 10 years, it appears to run fine in most guns, but can cause probs in some. I tell folks with the question that ya just goota shoot some of it and see if your gun likes it.

It is indeed a "dirty burner". And yea, you can constipate a Glock. Having run around 34,000 rounds (most of it Blaser ammo) through a Model 17, the trigger went mushy after roughly 7 years and the striker would not drop. Required "deep cleaning" by armorer to get out gunk that normal cleanings did not. Methinks the Blaser ammo was a prime contributor.

But, it's cheap and runs fine in current Glocks and Kahrs, so still using it with many students.