red rick
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Probably a couple bucks cheaper . I’m not going to carry enough of it where the weight would make a difference to me .
Is CCI Blazer aluminum case fading away?
- Thread starter .455_Hunter
- Start date
45/30-06OKIE
Member
Yeah I had a box of their 45 auto 230gr stuff and it shot very well. Like basically match grade accuracy lmao. But when you can get brass for basically the same price...
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
Every indoor range I have shot at in the past few years will not allow aluminum cased ammo. The same goes for steel cased ammo. The reason? They don’t want to sort it out of the brass they either recycle or send out for reloading.
Perhaps this is why CCI has cut back on making it? It’s not selling like it was?
Perhaps this is why CCI has cut back on making it? It’s not selling like it was?
halfmoonclip
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Hummmm, that is a puzzler. Still pressure in the chamber when the blowback (as most PCCs are) action allows extraction to begin? There has to be a reason the military never went to aluminum cased ammo; there certainly would be a weight savings in a troopie's usual combat loadout.
Found a long-ago box of .38spl, from a long closed gun shop. $10.49 @ 50, and, back then, it seemed a fortune. We misered out those shots; there's still 3/4 of the box. Yeah, back then, a buck and a half would have been real money.
Moon
jmorris
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No, its worse than that.
Blazer 9mm
www.youtube.com
Kind of like plastic cases, to save money, been tried for years and failed many times.
That said, its only been ~134 years since the first electric car was invented and look at how well they are doing now...just have to have the tech to make it happen and we might be there, someday...
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Pat Riot
Contributing Member
I have not seen that ad for those .38’s. What year is that from, do you know?No, its worse than that.
Blazer 9mm
Kind of like plastic cases, to save money, been tried for years and failed many times.
View attachment 1200772View attachment 1200773
That said, its only been ~134 years since the first electric car was invented and look at how well they are doing now...just have to have the tech to make it happen.
The rifle rounds you posted the picture of closely resemble some .308 ammo that I have been keeping an eye on at Bass Pro near me. I saw the display when they had just put it up in August or September of 2022. The display rack had about 40-20 round boxes at $65 a box. I was there 2 weeks ago and there are 4 boxes missing from the display. I assume they were purchased. If the price ever drops to $20-$25 I might buy a box and try it. Might!
EDIT: I found it on a blog from 2011 after searching for a while. There is no website for them now.
USAC Reloadable Plastic Cased Ammunition
While cleaning up in my basement the other day I came across this box of odd .38 Special ammunition. It contained six cartridges, two of ...
casualshooter.blogspot.com
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jmorris
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Early '80's. Used special healed bullets, like a rimfire .22, crashed upon takeoff, probably a collectors item today.
The plastic .223 was given to me, it was garbage in a semiauto.
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I shot a lot of the Blazer Aluminum 9mm when I could get it for under $4 a box. At the time, as I recall, it had a better reputation than the Blazer Brass. When the price started coming up, it wasn't nearly as attractive.
CajunBass
Member
I've bought some in the past I know, but haven't thought about it in ages. Didn''t Federal bring out their own line of aluminum case ammo not too long ago?.
I specifically remember buying a box of 125 grain P+ 38's some time ago. I've still got a few of them. Most of what I bought would have been for a revolver, but I'm sure I must have used some 45 acp at one time or the other. I wasn't going to load for the 45, but hated to leave the brass.
<lol> I just remembered...Years ago, my ex gave me a Bianchi John Wayne Commerative holster/gunbelt/trouser belt set for Christmas one year. I didn't have a revolver for, and had no place to shoot one even if I did, but it was an excuse to buy a gun. I found a really nice Mitchell Arms SAA clone that fit the holster perfectly. Now I just needed to fill the cartridge loops on the gunbelt. So I bought a box of Blazer aluminum case 45 Colt. The brass case stuff was EXPENSIVE. That gun/belt/holster became a static display hanging on the side of my glass front gun cabinet for years. Never had a problem with the gun rusting (it was a blue/color case frame), but I did keep it wiped down and oiled and such. I also never fired a round through it. I guess I must have sold it off when she and I split up.
I specifically remember buying a box of 125 grain P+ 38's some time ago. I've still got a few of them. Most of what I bought would have been for a revolver, but I'm sure I must have used some 45 acp at one time or the other. I wasn't going to load for the 45, but hated to leave the brass.
<lol> I just remembered...Years ago, my ex gave me a Bianchi John Wayne Commerative holster/gunbelt/trouser belt set for Christmas one year. I didn't have a revolver for, and had no place to shoot one even if I did, but it was an excuse to buy a gun. I found a really nice Mitchell Arms SAA clone that fit the holster perfectly. Now I just needed to fill the cartridge loops on the gunbelt. So I bought a box of Blazer aluminum case 45 Colt. The brass case stuff was EXPENSIVE. That gun/belt/holster became a static display hanging on the side of my glass front gun cabinet for years. Never had a problem with the gun rusting (it was a blue/color case frame), but I did keep it wiped down and oiled and such. I also never fired a round through it. I guess I must have sold it off when she and I split up.
halfmoonclip
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Thanks for the info; what I'm seeing in the Camp Carbine is a very tight chamber fit.No, its worse than that.
Blazer 9mm
Kind of like plastic cases, to save money, been tried for years and failed many times.
View attachment 1200772View attachment 1200773
That said, its only been ~134 years since the first electric car was invented and look at how well they are doing now...just have to have the tech to make it happen and we might be there, someday...
Brass is the preferred material, IMHO, though, as the above shows, it's not for lack of trying other things.
What I see coming, when a green future demands amazing amounts of copper, is a shortage of brass for cartridges.
Do recall those 'heeled' bullets, as an alternative to conventional reloading.
jmorris, thanks for the great links!
Moon
Yes when green soylent gets shoved down our throats, lead will be outlawed so we’ll pay through the nose for those scarce copper bullets.
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
I often thought the same. 5 rounds in a J-frame might not be noticeable, but hold a 15-round 9mm magazine stuffed full of aluminum cases and another with brass and its a significant weight difference.
RevolvingGarbage
Member
I think even with a lower capacity gun the difference is pretty noticeable. In my Cobra with six shots and an aluminum frame I can definitely tell the difference between brass and aluminum cases. I believe six 90gr critical defense lite weighs more than six 158gr +P Lawman TMJFP in aluminum. I'll have to confirm that.
Be very careful using aluminum cased ammo for self-defense. I found that it can setback much more easily than brass-cased ammo, sometimes showing noticeable setback after being chambered only once. No problem at the range where it's going to get chambered and then fired, but in a self-defense situation, it's not uncommon for a round to be unloaded and then chambered again, sometimes a handful of times.
wanderinwalker
Member
I wish I could find CCI Blazer Aluminum in 9mm Luger more readily than currently. My Walther PPQ and it's protege PDP-Compact shoot very well with it and I don't give losing the cases in the snow, rocks and underbrush (depending on where I'm shooting and the time of year) a second thought. I've never had the terrible results a lot of people report with Blazer, and even the Federal aluminum case 9mm worked OK in the PPQ.
Buutttt... I also have 2 blowback carbines and the aluminum cases are a no-go with either of those actions. So the extra money for brass-cased ammo saves me from having to have separate stashes of 9mm for rifle and handgun uses.
Buutttt... I also have 2 blowback carbines and the aluminum cases are a no-go with either of those actions. So the extra money for brass-cased ammo saves me from having to have separate stashes of 9mm for rifle and handgun uses.
wanderinwalker
Member
I feel like the issue of setback is a problem across any self-defense or duty ammunition that may get chambered and unloaded repeatedly though? I had a box of Remington Golden Saber .45 ACP that would be visibly set-back after two or 3 cycles into my 1911. When I had a .38 Super 1911, I tried a box of SIG-brand hollow points that would sometimes set-back on the first attempt to chamber. Yet I have some Winchester Ranger 9mm that has been pretty resistant to setback, and I might have had it around long enough to go through a couple of different Glocks and the Walther PPQ. I'll try them for function, accuracy and velocity in the Walther PDP once I have it set-up with a red dot sight. It's probably time to finally shoot those boxes up and replace them anyway.
It is, but not all ammo is created equal. The aluminum cases don't seem to hold the bullet as securely as the brass resulting in more setback much faster than would be seen in brass ammo. You can typically chamber good quality brass self-defense ammo a handful of times before setback is noticeable and even then it's usually minimal when it starts. I've seen aluminum case ammo setback with ONE chambering so much that you could easily look at the round and tell it was shorter than all the other rounds in the box.
I would say that there's an issue with the ammo or the gun if that's happening.
I'm not anti-aluminum cased ammo. I've shot thousands of rounds of it at the range and never had any issues. But I stopped using it for self-defense/carry after noticing the setback issue.
Bearcat1982
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- Mar 3, 2023
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I bought some 38 special blazer steel cased ammo. Cases stuck in my GP100. For plinking its ok but I doubt Id buy anymore unless there's no other options on the shelves.
cougar1717
Member
I was skeptical about Blazer aluminum until last year when I took a training class where this ammo was provided. In a class of about 15 people, with various handgun brands (Smith, Glock, Springfield, HK), the ammo performed. About 5K cartridges used by the class in total. It was accurate enough for the various drills. For instance, in a 5x5 drill from 3-25yards, the ammo is accurate enough to put all five shots on the target at the 25 yard distance. In fact, the only person who had trouble was someone who was using a 40 to 9 conversion barrel, and that isn't the ammo, it's the gun's 40S&W extractor not consistently functioning with the 9mm groove. For plinking or training, at the right price, I wouldn't hesitate using it or think it of lesser performance than Blazer brass. However, if I was buying factory ammo with the intention of reloading the brass, I wouldn't buy either Blazer product in 9mm, as there are better alternatives with only a slight upcharge.
Terry G
Member
The OINLY malfunctions I've ever had in 20 years with a CZ P-01 was with 9 MM Blazer aluminum.
wesmonster
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Blowback carbines do NOT like aluminum cases, that's a fact. First time I've seen Blazer put that in writing.
For a lock breech pistol it probably won't matter but that aluminum rim will rip much faster than brass, that's been my experience.
Probably half my 9mm stash is Blazer brass, it's good ammo that's loaded more consistenly that everything else at that price.
At a buck difference I'll spring for brass thank you.
For a lock breech pistol it probably won't matter but that aluminum rim will rip much faster than brass, that's been my experience.
Probably half my 9mm stash is Blazer brass, it's good ammo that's loaded more consistenly that everything else at that price.
At a buck difference I'll spring for brass thank you.
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Blowback carbines don't like aluminum cases? Interesting. I never had an issues with my Beretta Storm CX4 that I attributed to the ammo.
