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Hey Carp,
There are folks who reload Berdan primed cases, and there are folks who reload steel cases.
While reloading Berdan primed cases can be done, it is not an easy process, and, in days past, Berdan primers were hard to find and a good bit more expensive. Most folks who reload in the USA stick with Boxer primed cases because it is much easier than Berdan stuff, but there are some real die hards who do manage the Berdans.
Both steel and aluminum cases can be reloaded, but most folks do not do them for several reasons. I suppose one might say the first reason is because they were not intended to be reloaded, but that does not tell much. As noted by others, steel cases more often than not use Berdan primers which are a pain in the neck to most reloaders in this country. There are some Boxer primed steel cases, and the reason most reloaders pass them by is because steel cases do not "work" the same way as the brass cases we normally use. When we size them in our dies which were designed to size brass cases, we find the steel cases do not come out of the die with the same dimensions as we get with brass cases. That does not mean they cannot be reloaded and shot, but they are different than brass, and different results should be expected if you intend to reload steel cases. Pressures may be a good bit different, so you need to adjust your loads accordingly. Steel cases will not hold up to as many reloadings as brass cases. Another concern with steel cases is whether they may be harder on your dies than brass cases. So, can it be done? Yes. Is it worth it? Not to most folks.
Some folks have also reloaded aluminum cases which were never intended to be reloaded. Again, they will not last as many reloadings as brass cases, and you are taking some risk considering pressure. Again, it can be done, but most folks do not consider it worth the effort and risk.
That may not be what you wanted to hear, but I hope you might find it useful in your endeavors.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
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