Reloading Blazer Aluminum 45ACP, it works.

[mcb]

A long rambling post about doing something your really probably shouldn't. The following is for you entertainment only. Duplicate at your own risk.

Have you guys noticed that a lot of the newer CCI Blazer Aluminum is now small Boxer primed rather than Berdan primed. Well I was picking up range brass up a few weeks ago after our club match and when I got home I had 30 or so pieces of the aluminum 45ACP cases. I know its suppose to be non-reloadable, hence the N - R in the head stamp but I have never let such labels stop me.

So I threw them in the tumbler with the rest of my 45ACP brass and they cleaned up nice. After loading up the last of the normal large primer 45ACP brass I converted my press over to small primers to load some WIN NT brass I had and figured I would try and run that Blazer Aluminum too.

The aluminum cases ran through my Dillon 650 just fine. It sized fined, primers seated easy (almost to easy) and bullets seated and crimed fine. The crimp was what I was worried about but it seem pretty tight. Now I was using lead bullets with a crimp ring so I am sure this helped. I pushed several round against my ammo cabinet as hard as I could with my thumb and could not get the bullet to set back into the cases.

So I loaded ~30rds with the following load:
Primer: Win Small Rifle*
Bullet: 200gr RNFP Lead Penn Bullets
Powder: 4.9grs Hodgdon Trail Boss
OAL: 1.188
Crimp 0.470

*Yes small Rifle Primers. I have been using them in my XD-40 for a year now without a problem, not to mention I got about 5000 of them for $15/1000 last year.

Now loaded in brass cases the above load produces just over a 150PF ~750fps as measured with my Chrony Alpha chronograph and fired through my XD-45ACP Tactical. This is the load I have been using for USPSA production all year. With the Blazer Aluminum cases some significant velocity was loss. I did not chrono the loads in the Blazer Aluminum but from the noticeably lighter recoil and one or two stove pipes I suspect it was down around a 130-135PF (~650-675fps). I have run loads as light as ~140PF in my XD-45ACP Tactical with a skinny guide rod and #18 spring without a problem.

Needless to say I was a bit disappointed with the lost in velocity. I suspect that the crimp grove in the lead bullet was preventing setback but due to the work hardening of the aluminum they were not producing a good crimp and the bullet was leaving the case earlier and thus reducing the peak chamber pressure and the resulting velocity.

Well not to be defeated that easily I thought about it and if my assumption was correct, that a weak crimp was reducing peek pressure and thus velocity, then the solution was to use a faster powder. Trail Boss is a slow powder (as far a pistol powders go) but is nice because the above Minor 150PF load completely fills the case, Trail Boss is very bulky.

Well I had some Hodgdon Titegroup that is a considerable faster burning powder So I thought I would try that. If the soft crimp was the problem then a faster powder would be less effected by the weak crimp.

I tried the following load:
Primer: Win Small Rifle
Bullet: 200gr RNFP Lead Penn Bullets
Powder: 4.5grs Hodgdon Titegroup
OAL: 1.188
Crimp 0.470

I ran about 20rds of this this past weekend. From my research this load should have produce about a 160-165PF. All the rounds ran great and I suspect my data was correct the recoil was a bit snappier than my regular load of Trail Boss above in brass cases. I was please with it and backed the load down to 4.4 grains of Titegroup and loaded about 200rds of it for our club match this coming weekend. Well see how it goes, I will report back here.

One thing I notice though is I don't think that I will get many reloads out of them. I had recovered 20 cases from my first two test batches. Of those 20 cases 2 of them split when I reloaded them a second time. And this was using very light loads as far as the 45ACP goes. I suspect that if you were loading full power 45 ACP loads (something I would personally not do in Blazer Aluminum cases) you would get even more split cases on a second reload.

Another obvious observation is just how much lighter aluminum cased ammunition is. A magazine loaded with 10rds of 200gr bullets in brass cases is noticeable heavier than 10rds of 200gr bullets in aluminum cases.

Anyway I thought you guys might find that little experiment amusing. I certainly won't be buying Blazer Aluminum to reload but if I can pick a bunch up after a match I would definitely pick it up and reloaded it once. As I said I plan on shooting our club match this coming weekend with it so I will update this thread with the results after the match.

Rambling
mcb

[jtkratzer]

Do you think full power loads could result in case ruptures during firing?

[mcb]

Originally Posted by jtkratzer

Do you think full power loads could result in case ruptures during firing?

I don't know for sure as I have not tested it but I would suspect a few might split but I do not think you would get a case head separation failure. The work hardening will be mostly near the mouth of the case were it gets stretch (during firing), resized, belled for seating and then crimped around a bullet. All that working is what I believe is causing the cases to split. A split case rarely causes problems if they split in the chamber. I have knowingly fired split 45ACP and 40S&W brass cases just to get rid of them and they always fire without a problem, although they don't always feed well.

rambling
mcb

[mcb]

Well I shot yesterday's USPSA match with my reloaded Blazer aluminum cases. Four stages ~90rds fired. The ammo and XD-45ACP ran flawless. No failures of any kind and accuracy was plenty good for USPSA shooting

I did notice last night while cleaning the gun that I had slightly more leading near the chamber and lead into the rifling than I get using my other load but I think that has more to do with the high flame temperature of the Titegroup compared to the Trail Boss then anything to do with the aluminum cases.

I manage to get back maybe half of my fire case after the match (had to leave before tear down to get to a family function). I did not notice any splits cases even the ones loaded two time but I will look again after I clean them up to load again.

All and all I am please with the performance. I have enough of the batch left to shoot most of next weekend match with it to. I will post any problem if I run in to them.

rambling
mcb

[Mercmar]

I know its suppose to be non-reloadable, hence the N - R in the head stamp but I have never let such labels stop me

The reason one can lead a horse to water, but not make it drink, is because a horse's brain is about the size of a BB!

[fredj338]

Originally Posted by jtkratzer

Do you think full power loads could result in case ruptures during firing?

Yes! One issue w/ reloading the aluminum case is it's not as ductile as brass. The cases work harden very quickly. FOr what once fired brass costs, I would NOT risk a case rupture (it will happen) to save a penny. You can buy 1K for $45 & it lasts almost indefinetly. If you are worried about losing them at a match, cull out your really old ones & use those. Yes you got away with it, but reloading a second time, you are just asking for a problem. There is a reason for the NR recommendation.

[AZXD]

When you get through blowing your gun and self up ... Post a few pictures ... You wear a knights gauntlet when testing these, right ??

[mcb]

Like I said in my first post this is for entertainment only. None-the-the-less I do not wear a knight's gauntlet. Based on Hodgdon's data on their website I am confident that my loads are producing about half of the maximum SAAMI specified pressure for the 45ACP, 21,000psi. Give the generally low pressure of the 45ACP (21,000psi compared to a cartridge like the 40S&W at 35,000psi) and the even lower pressure of my Minor reloads I am not worried about a case failure that will damage me or my XD. I fully expect the cases to split at the mouth before any type of case head failure happens. Especially with the XD's fully support chamber. As I stated before I would not try this with full power loads.

Rambling
mcb

PS If, on the very off chance, I do blow things up I will take pictures.

[shooter57]

My thought is reloading Blazer Aluminum is like speeding, you get away with it for awhile then you get burned in the end. Hope you don't damage your gun or yourself when it happens.

[Krackels]

Interesting... first reports of being able to reload steel now aluminum. This is indeed good news for the shooter that's looking to cut costs and stretch the buck.

Of course, I'm not sure I'd be willing to try reloading aluminum. I still have several thousand brass cases.