[dogtown tom]

silvermane_1 OP any aluminum case ammo is non-reloadable, however steel case ammo is reloadable.

What the case is made of doesn't make it "nonreloadable". Steel, brass, aluminum, Nytrillium…..it don't matter.

As noted above, it's whether the case is designed for Boxer or Berdan primers.
If Berdan style, reloading would require a different depriming tool and access to Berdan primers.

Some CCI Blazer aluminum cased pistol ammo is BOXER primed.

Interesting post from a former CCI employee:https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/2...luminum-cases/

Guy Neill
Posted August 7, 2015
When I worked for CCi-Speer I had to explain this fairly frequently. It's never been a matter that the aluminum case could not be reloaded, it is that they should not be reloaded.

When CCI first developed the aluminum cases they reloaded them 15 - 20 times to prove their durability, so, technically, they can be reloaded.

I'm fairly certain I have covered the issues in my column in the past - maybe it's time to revisit the issue since both CCI and Herter's now offer aluminum cased ammunition.

The move to Boxer primers for the Blazer cases is, I feel certain, an economic move by ATK (it was before spinning off the sporting equipment groups to Vista), very likely due to wanting to eliminate the need to make the Berdan primers. I do wonder if they have seen an increase in complaints as a result.

I don't know the exact date changes were made, but the first I know of them was at least ten years ago when a friend asked my about it - not long after I left CCI-Speer. I don't know that it was a clean break at a specific time. I suspect it was phased in for each cartridge as tooling was replaced and stocks of Berdan primers were used up.

Even though I now have no affiliation with CCI-Speer, I would still advise against reloading the aluminum cases.


Posted August 7, 2015
The primary reason not to reuse the aluminum cases has to do with corrosion. From the factory they have several coatings applied to the aluminum. Some are for lubricity, while others are to guard against corrosion.

When you resize the cases, the sizing action scrapes away the coatings, exposing the base aluminum. Aluminum does not corrode the way brass doe. While verdigris is a surface condition for brass, aluminum corrosion forms pits into the case wall. Depending on how bad, depends on how deep. You the human eye the corrosion pit merely seems to be a black dot. A small black dot.

Should the case rupture because of the corrosion, you have a jet of high pressure, hot gases that will erode the chamber, or breech of the gun. Since we don't know how bad (deep) the corrosion is by looking at it, we don't know when the case will rupture.

Part of my job at CCI-Speer included dealing with any customer problems. I had quite a collection of damaged guns ion my office - for a variety of causes. One of the first things I looked at if we could get (Blazer) ammunition back that had been involved in a problem was if the cases were corroded or not. Split aluminum cases that have a jagged, lightning bolt sort of pattern indicates the crack was due to corrosion - the crack is connecting the dots - the corrosion pits. A straight crack was normally due to a scratch or other mechanical damage to the casing.

Also, since reloading dies are designed for brass cases, the resizing action may not be "correct" for the aluminum (or steel, for that matter). There is a degree of springback after sizing that the reloading dies are designed for - for brass. The springback for aluminum of steel may be different (I haven't researched that). Some have mentioned problems with neck tension, and that's a definite possibility. Too tight may be be a real problem, but too loose can allow bullet setback. And we know that is bad since it increased pressure upon firing..

There's also the matter of internal volume. The factory develops the loadbased on the cartridge and the powder/bullet. The reloading date we have is all developed using brass cases. The internal volume of aluminum cases may be significantly different, so our loading results may vary greatly from what we expect.

Those are the main reasons. I personally feel ATK's economy move was a mistake, but they didn't ask me. I'm also not going to reload aluminum or steel cases.