Question?

[carpriver]

I bought some 9 mm the other day, I had bought a new 9 mm gun and wanted to shoot it and didn't have any 9 mm loaded. the clerk asked if I wanted the Aluminum cases or the brass. So the question is are the aluminum cases reloadable? I am thinking they would get brittle after firing.

 

[BUFF]

CCI's aluminum cases were never intended to be reloaded. The first few years, they came with an odd-size primer that wasn't available commercially to enable reloading them.

That said, I have read here and on other sites that people claimed to have reloaded them successfully. Some folks have also reloaded steel cases, primarily WWII U.S.-made .45 ACP cases.

Actually, you can buy very decent once-fired brass cartridge cases at such good prices these days I cannot imagine how financially challenged one would have to be to ever try that.

 

[NC Bob]

Is it CCI Blazer ammo? They make Blazer (aluminum cases in centerfire hand gun calibers) and Blazer Brass ( brass cases).
I have fired plenty of both and it is OK for practice/plinking type use. I would suggest the brass cased stuff. It costs a little more but is completely reloadable. I wouldn't reload the aluminum cases for the reasons you gave and it is Berdan primed anyway. It might be a good choice if you can't retrieve
your empties for some reason.

 

[Engineer1911]

I have picked up 4,000+ pieces of 9 MM brass cases laying on the ground at different ranges. I bought my first 9 MM pistol because I had so much brass. Range pickup brass works great when resized with a correctly adjusted carbide sizer die.

Aluminum cases should not be reloaded, and definitely aren't worth the effort.

 

[mikld]

Well, they can be reloaded, if they are Boxer primed, but case life is pretty short. Aluminum isn't a good metal for the needs of cartridge cases; become brittle much sooner, and don't have the malleability of brass. With the availability of brass today, there is no reason to reload steel or aluminum (except outta curiosity!).

If you are a new reloader, stick with brass cartridge cased ammo..

 

[carpriver]

Thank you all for your response to my question. I have been reloading for 10+ years, the clerk was trying to sell me cheaper ammo. Like many here I tend to pick up range brass. I was just wondering about reload-ability. There is a lot of steel case laying on the ground at my range wonder what steel is going for per pound?

 

[noylj]

If you are going to reload, you buy BRASS.
If you are desperate and only have aluminum cases, you can reload them (once or twice, maybe). You can reload steel also (once or twice).
However, experimenting for fun I found that neither shoots to the same POI as brass and was not as accurate.

 

[Alk8944]

The original CCI Blazer (It was all Aluminum cased then!) had a Berdan primer which was 4.4mm, same as SP except no anvil. This was to discourage reloading. The cases were clearly head stamped N(ot) R(eloadable), and finally CCI literature stated unequivocally that these cases were not to be reloaded. The extreme emphasis could leave no one with the intellect of a donut anything but the idea that CCI considered that reloading of the Blazer cases was DANGEROUS! They also said the Aluminum cases were not to be used in rifles! They even gave the reason that this could result in head separations!

But then what does the manufacturer know about their own product???

I have seen absolutely nothing which would indicate that the situation described above has changed one bit. Even if I bought factory ammunition, which I rarely do(!), I would defer to the manufacturer and respect their warnings in a case (No pun intended) like this!!!!!!!

But go ahead and do what you want! Just don't blame CCI/Speer/Federal when one of these blows out and damages you and/or your gun.

 

[fredj338]

As noted, it is possible but not practical. Alum Cases just atent very ductile. Neck tension is all over the place. I would if i had too, but i don't. Brass case are cheap or free in most service calibers.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Can it be done, yes. Should it be done, I would not.

One if many problems with Aluminum cases, they do not size well and the neck tension just isn't right when sent through the dies.

Since 9mm brass us so cheap and plentiful it's just not worth it. IMO of course.