Reloading Blazer brass....yes/no?

[theflyguy]

Went shooting with my friend this last weekend. Picked up all the brass for most likely my FIRST reloading experience. When I got home I discovered he had been shooting Blazer ammo.

I will seperate everything and inspect all casings...but can or should I reload Blazer brass or just throw it away?

Thanks guys,

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[AMProducts]

"Blazer Brass" is brass cased and fully reloadable. The aluminum "blazer" ammunition does not share the brass or the reloadable characteristics.

The only thing to be aware of, if this was .45ACP the cases typically have small primer pockets, not large pistol pockets.

 

[vertical ascent]

I second AMProducts,

Brass = good to go
Aluminum or others = recycle or trash

 

[IheartGUNS]

GTG

 

[theflyguy]

Thanks guys. I knew you'd know how best to proceed.

Thanks again

 

[RVTECH]

FWIW I have been reloading the aluminum in various calibers for years - but one time only and then on the 'light' side. I keep them around for use as field loads when I don't want to mess with picking up brass. I have never had any problems. They re-size and load just fine.

 

[ripcity]

I always wondered about the aluminum looking stuff. Thanks for the tip.

 

[RVTECH]

Just remember to look inside to determine if you have the twin flash holes or not before you run them through your depriming process. If so you will need to use the 'hydraulic' method to deprime them.

 

[ma96782]

RVTECH,

Ever find some Berdan Primers at your local store?

For that reason alone........IMHO, berdan brass is strictly for the "scrap man." Yes, it can be found but, why bother when boxer brass and primers are found so easily. Not to mention the easy depriming operation w/ boxer brass.

If you're a "die hard" and insist on reloading berdan cases.......more power to ya!

Aloha, Mark

 

[ripcity]

I've never tried to reload berdan primed brass. I don't think it would be too much fun.

 

[P7M13]

+1 for Blazer brass. Have reloaded many.
Not one to try reloading aluminum casings. I need and like my hands too much.

 

[Hook686]

I do in .357 magnum.

 

[RVTECH]

Ever find some Berdan Primers at your local store?

I didn't know there were specific Berdan primers as standard SP primers work just fine in the Berdan cases and an old Lee bullet swage punch & die set in .357 makes a perfect hydraulic depriming tool. Nothing really 'die hard' about it, just a way to use up some cases when found and like I said I keep these around as 'field loads' I can shoot and don't have to pick up. Most of my shooting is off range and sometimes recovering brass is a pain in areas of more vegetation.

 

[deadshot2]

Most of my shooting is off range and sometimes recovering brass is a pain in areas of more vegetation.

That's what I save a few thousand pieces of "end of life" brass for. Stuff I've loaded so many times I've forgot. Some pieces have been loaded so many times the headstamps are starting to fade but what the heck, if the necks haven't split and the primer pockets still snug enough, I load, shoot, and leave.

This makes more room for fresh "range pick up" brass that's only been fired once.

 

[CLT65]

Anything can be reloaded if you are creative and determined enough. It can be done safely, but you really have to know what you're doing because it is different.

I've reloaded aluminum cases before. It works pretty good with light loads in low pressure rounds like .45 acp, but not so good in higher pressure rounds like 9mm (lots of splits). All the Blazer aluminum I've loaded was boxer primed. I even reloaded boxer primed steel case Russian .223, just to see how it would work.

Nowadays I just stick to brass. It's cheap and plentiful and works best. I used to even reload a lot of questionable brass (tarnished, bad dents, worn out, etc.) but now it just goes in the scrap bucket.

 

[ma96782]

I didn't know there were specific Berdan primers as standard SP primers work just fine in the Berdan cases and an old Lee bullet swage punch & die set in .357 makes a perfect hydraulic depriming tool. Nothing really 'die hard' about it, just a way to use up some cases when found and like I said I keep these around as 'field loads' I can shoot and don't have to pick up. Most of my shooting is off range and sometimes recovering brass is a pain in areas of more vegetation.

What? Berdan cases are different from boxer cases.

Miscellaneous Questions 5

Berdan cases have an anvil built into the case, while a boxer case does not. So how does a boxer primer fit into a berdan case? Are you removing the anvil in the boxer primer first, then seating the primer (minus anvil) into the berdan case? I'd figure, that if the anvil was left in, you might have an "accident" while seating the primer.

Or........

Are you converting the berdan cases to boxer, in order to fit a boxer primer into the berdan case?

Like: http://users.ameritech.net/mchandler/primer.html

Then again.......maybe you ran into a supply of Berdan Primers?

Berdan Primer Suppliers and Dimensions

I'm interested in how you're doing it? Yes, I have some berdan cases and I've thought about reloading it. But only because, I don't like to see good brass cases go to waste.

Aloha, Mark

 

[ma96782]

Sorry, that link to the conversion is no longer valid. But, try this...

http://m14forum.com/ammunition/80143-converting-berdan-primed-brass-use-boxer-primers.html

and another one........

http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirear...75/t/Berdan-to-Boxer-Conversion-Method.html

Aloha, Mark

 

[PMB]

Hi Mark, Thanks for those links. I have reloaded berdan primed cases, steel cases in both berdan and boxer, substituted primers that were close...
Basically, I have done all sorts of foolishness.

The one thing I made sure of was only reloading them to light-medium loads, and always using a large frame pistol or "bullet proof" action.

Those links are great. I was just winging it when I did it.

Regards, Mike