Aluminum case ammo

[Gregwilson357]

Since I bought my gun I've only put 150 rounds through it. I've been using aluminum cased .357s because they were on sale for real cheap.

This is my first revolver ( and for sure won't be my last now )
So this might be a dumb question

But when I shoot I have trouble getting the empty cartriges out of the cylinder. Is this because it's aluminum so it expands more? If it is, what won't do it as bad?

 

[lebomm]

Brass-cased ammo.

 

[Gregwilson357]

So it is because it's aluminum?

 

[whoisavner]

right. aluminum generally works fine but some of the casings will not come out always as smoothly as brass just falls out. you may have to just pull a couple of them the last few mm's out, like most of the time when I shoot those, even when the gun is really hot, 4 fall out and 2 don't quite fall, you just pull them lightly and they come right out.

all in all, aluminum casings are not the hassle some people make them out to be. at least in my stainless model 66.

 

[Full Safe]

Since I bought my gun I've only put 150 rounds through it. I've been using aluminum cased .357s because they were on sale for real cheap.

This is my first revolver ( and for sure won't be my last now )
So this might be a dumb question

But when I shoot I have trouble getting the empty cartriges out of the cylinder. Is this because it's aluminum so it expands more? If it is, what won't do it as bad?

Aluminum cases will stick more so with hotter rounds like .357 38 special less likely. I have noticed it with .357.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Brass will expand that then contract some. It doesn’t go right back to the exact same size but Aluminum doesn’t seem to spring back at all. So your chamber walls will need to be polished for aluminum not to stick so badly. Steel cases are hit or miss. Some don’t seem to expand at all and fall right out and some tend to be worse than aluminum at sticking. Steel cases in an AR-15 seem to allow more blow back into the receiver than brass. I’m not sure if it doesn’t expand at all or if the timing of the blow back is different in brass since we are talking a totally different chamber pressure than a revolver. But I won’t buy aluminum case ammo since I can’t reload it. Even if you don’t reload you should save brass since you either might start one day or you can turn around and sell it right here and pocket some extra cash. So either way it should be worth it to buy brass case boxer primed ammo.