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Old November 1, 2007, 05:00 PM   #1
PointOneSeven
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Blazer aluminum:

I know it's not supposed to be reloaded, but the kid in me has to ask why?? The .44 specials with the gold dots look like a good round, and readily available in town here. I might just press a few for the heck of it, but I'd rather know if I'm doing something unsafe or damaging to the dies before I destroy something.
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Old November 1, 2007, 05:52 PM   #2
Jim Watson
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Blazer aluminum cases are Berdan primed. You will likely bend or break a decapping pin. A strong one might punch through the casehead and decap, I have seen it done, but there is then no way to reprime. They were concerned that resizing would work harden the aluminum more than brass and made them where they could not be reloaded and split when shot. That is what the N R in the headstamp means, Not Reloadable.
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Old November 1, 2007, 07:15 PM   #3
Unclenick
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Jim covered it, but I would add the admonition that you get in the habit of looking into cases when you inspect them. You will discover some brass cases, particularly foreign military cases, are also Berdan primed and can bust a decapping pin.

Since you didn't notice it before, you should shine a flashlight down into a Blazer case you find at the range and observe the two small flashholes either side of center. There is no central flashhole for the single centered decapping pin in a standard die to go through, as a Boxer primed case has.

You can make a special two-pin decapper for Berdan primed cases, but they are delicate because the pins are so small, and once you get the primer out, you will discover the primer anvil is formed into the case and is not in the primer as is the case with Boxer primers. That is why you have to buy Berdan primers which don't have the brass anvil piece, and they have to be special ordered, for the most part. If you accidentally try to seat a standard primer in a Berdan case, it can go off. If you accidentally seat a Berdan primer in a Boxer case, it will likely misfire. Then, if you keep Berdan cases around, you will eventually get one mixed in with your Boxer cases and break a decapping pin. Too much bother and potential for error in my view.
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Old November 2, 2007, 03:58 PM   #4
PointOneSeven
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Thank you both for the insight, I completely forgot about berdan priming. And I really need to check my scrap brass bin, that could get me in trouble. Thank you again.
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Old November 4, 2007, 08:46 PM   #5
cavscout515
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What about the non-aluminum winchester silver cases, can they be reloaded? I am also new to reloading. What about the wolf 223 cases, they are funny colored but not berdan primed?
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