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I agree completely. I've reloaded a fair quantity of steel cases over the years. I started out with a bunch of USGI steel .45 acp cases. If you're careful they won't damage your dies, since they're soft steel. The WWII and '50s USGI .45 steel cases were all boxer primed, and some of the Wolf steel cases are also. The low pressure .45acp cases load fairly well, and you'll get a couple loadings out of them. I even loaded a few of the boxer primed Russian steel-case .223 cases just to see how it worked. I would never bother again unless brass was completely unavailable.It can be done, it is simply not worth it.
Been there, done that- worse than steel.I have yet to try reloading aluminum. My balls don't clank that loudly.
Yeah, aluminum work hardens easily and it might not be safe, let alone a good idea.I have yet to try reloading aluminum. My balls don't clank that loudly.
I heard you had to drop them first though before they became useful.On another note- I found these while cleaning out some old junk at work. They're big and they clang, and I've heard that it's manly somehow to have a pair, so I brought them home...
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Lol! Thanks for sharing!I've done it. Made a batch of 20 or so just to do it. Running them through walnut/corn cob media with polish really gave them a shine and a smooth finish, totally different from what you'd normally get from the factory box. I used a liberal amount of sizing lube despite having a carbide die set as insurance and filled them with a fairly light charge of HS6. Cartridge in question is .40 S&W, Wolf cases. They all fed, fired and ejected like you'd expect brass to. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to do it, but wouldn't hesitate either.
I have yet to try reloading aluminum. My balls don't clank that loudly.
You've been down that road too?Don't be tempted to use adapter rings on primer pockets to get Boxer primers to work in Berdan. Way not worth it. Some of those adapter rings are aluminum, won't take the pressure. Brass isn't the hard to get component, so far, it's just not worth fooling around with.
Oh yeah, and not afraid to admit it if it will help others. The guy who sells those adapter kits, and also kits for re-priming .22 cases, his materials and his web site don't give a physical address. For good reason. I'm thinking those adapter rings might work better if they get sealed into place with some of that primer sealer. But he doesn't tell you this. I'm still not up for aluminum rings at typical bottle neck rifle chamber pressures.You've been down that road too?
Aluminum worse than steel? How so?Been there, done that- worse than steel.
It seemed to me that the aluminum was much more likely to crack and split. I reloaded a lot of steel cases, mostly USGI .45 acp back in the day, and actually it worked pretty well, and I loaded many of them numerous times. Some Russian .45acp is boxer primed and I had good success loading a couple boxes of those. I think I still have a gallon or so of them that I picked up at the range. If I ever run out of brass, I'd have no problem using them.Aluminum worse than steel? How so?
Once clean they resize slicker 'n snot and a low end charge makes great, one time, 'let em fly' plinking ammo.
Been doing this longer than some have probably been shooting.
I don't shoot them often due to the only occasionally finds of cases so I save them up for special occasions like chasing jack rabbits on the desert, impromptu shooting when i don't want to mess with brass, etc.