There's no good reason to do this....but

[scattershot]

I reloaded some aluminum cases,,just to see if it could be done.I got up to four reloads on a .45 ACP case before I lost it. This may prove to be useful information someday. Just sayin’

 

[cmj8591]

In terms of metallurgy the once fired aluminum case is changed after firing in terms of flexibility, malleability, etc. and becomes more rigid and BRITTLE. Bad things come of that when the ignition of gunpowder explodes inside your firearm that you are holding in your hand near your face. I would say "Just DON'T!" but folks these days do not like be told what to do.

There is no doubt in my mind that the aluminum case will work harden and fail sooner than the brass case. Probably even sooner than a steel case. What I think will happen is the case will fail at its weakest point which is the upper case walls, causing the case to split the long way. Looking at that aluminum case I sectioned, the walls are very thick as they get closer to the head. A split case will not destroy a modern gun absent some ungodly overcharge or some defect in the gun. I think the only way to test this is to load a case until it fails. So, I think it's time to head back to the reloading bench!

"Just DON'T" is what they said to John Browning when he said he could use the pressure in the barrel to run his machine gun!

 

[chief38]

I suppose if this was a result of pure boredom than I understand the experiment. That said, with the abundance of Range Brass in most popular calibers (actually made of Brass) I see no real or practical reason to do this. Aluminum will just not tolerate the constant stretching and resizing as Brass will. Yes, I suppose you could get away with it once or maybe twice but again.... what's the point when Ranges are loaded with real Brass in almost all popular calibers.

ANY Range that won't allow a shooter to retrieve his own Brass is one that I would never shoot at! To me that practice is just plain wrong!