Can 9mm aluminum cases be reloaded?

[808hondacrguy]

I was cleaning up the area after shooting this morning and pickup over 2000 9mm aluminum cases from the grounds. My question is, can these be reloaded? I usually give the brass I collect to my neighbor, who reloads every common caliber you can think of, but he and I were not sure if they were reuseable. I ended up throwing them in the trash with all the steel cases I collected, but now I am curious, and am throwing this out to the knowledgable in this area.

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[edzz]

No... Not reloadable.

OK to qualify that statement, could they be reloaded? Probably could be after teotwawki however not something we should consider now.

 

[MrMillspecer]

No. Do not reload.

Aluminum is something a recycling plant will pay for.

 

[jordanka16]

Nope dont reload them, even if they are boxer primed which not all are, they will often split or have case head separations, not worth it.

 

[SHPD_Retired]

If you want to know if the case is designed to be reloaded the answer is NO. If you want to know if they are reloadable the answer is yes. There are many people I know who reload aluminum cases. They usually only reload the cases once or twice though.

 

[tac]

Alumin(i)um cartridge cases are specifically designed NOT to be reloadable. They were developed to be a more economical alternative to using brass by the military and police forces.

Please do not waste time and energy trying to do it.

tac

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

I've seen them split on the first firing, so definitely wouldn't trust reloading them unless it were TEOTWAWKI.

Also note that they usually have "NR" (Not Reloadable) on the headstamp.

 

[alv7722]

I inherited a quantity of aluminum cased .45 ammo from WWII. I have reloaded it several times, with no undue results.

 

[edzz]

BTW, all of these responses wold also apply to steel cases IMHO.

Its a shame that they couldn't come up with a case that had just enough steel in it that you could pick it up with a magnet while remaining good for reloading, would make picking up "brass" a lot easier.

Ya I know the regular responses, "just use a brass catcher, use a tarp, use a cat or a raven that has been trained to pick up the brass and drop it in a bucket".

I think my idea of developing magnetic brass would be a lot easier than training a cat and most trained ravens are too chatty. Or I guess I could just stick to my revolvers.

 

[SUPER X]

I inherited a quantity of aluminum cased .45 ammo from WWII. I have reloaded it several times, with no undue results.

I have some old USA ww2 steel cased with bimetel bullet . Like wolf .must have been made near the end of the war.

 

[808hondacrguy]

OK, thanks for all the replies. Will continue to "recycle" them.

 

[Stomper]

If something is magnetic... it will also rust.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yes, you can reload steel and aluminum cases and people, respectively, do all the time. Probably not real advisable though since it's of little real benefit.

 

[Certaindeaf]

It's something is magnetic... it will also rust.

Like your personality. hubba hubba

 

[bbbass]

I'd like to put a witty comment in at this point, but I'm a little rusty...

 

[DirectDrive]

You can also refill fire extinguishers with plastic valves.
Either one is a fool's errand.

But hey, it would put you in the running for the 2018 Darwin Award.

 

[ageingstudent]

I'd like to put a witty comment in at this point, but I'm a little rusty...

Wow

 

[KKG]

I inherited a quantity of aluminum cased .45 ammo from WWII. I have reloaded it several times, with no undue results.

Are You sure they were aluminum? It was my understanding that during WW-2 ALL of the aluminum was used for aircraft. Steel yes but aluminum no. The Steel cases do look like aluminum and are reloadable.

 

[RVTECH]

Been reloading aluminum .38, .357, 9mm & .45 cases for years with no problem - providing its one time only and a low power 'target' type load. 'No benefit' was mentioned but the benefit for me is when I am out field/varmint shooting where I am on the move I don't have to stop and scrounge my fired cases.

 

[Bones2586]

Personally, will stick with brass and nickel cases to reload. There are a couple local folks who do reload the aluminum cases, haven't mentioned any problems with case separation or splitting.

Don't even like to shoot the steel cased stuff in my pistols, will in the AK style rifles all day long with no worries.