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I was just thinking to myself, why isn't aluminum cased carry ammo more popular? Weight is often a big issue for people who carry a gun, and aluminum cased ammo is considerably lighter than brass, but come to think of it I can't remember ever seeing SD ammo with aluminum casing? I would think it would be a lot more popular in concealed carry circles than it is.
Is it out there and I'm just not seeing it? Is there something I'm missing as far as reliability or ballistics goes?
It isn't like a person who has a CCP will be carrying a couple hundred rounds of ammo.
If the person isn't strong enough to carry the loaded weapon and 2 reloads, they probably are too weak to be out on their own anyway, IMO.
Because AL and steel cases have the perception of "cheap", and when buying defense ammo people don't go cheap. If people don't buy it, manufacturers won't make it. Given the choice between AL-cased defense ammo at $1.20/round from manufacturer "A" and brass-cases defense ammo at $1.25/round from manufacturer "B" using the same bullet, powder, and primer, most people will go with "B".
Some people also claim that AL cases have reliability problems, but if there is a correlation there it's because the ammo in general is cheap, not because of the case material.
Because AL and steel cases have the perception of "cheap", and when buying defense ammo people don't go cheap. If people don't buy it, manufacturers won't make it. Given the choice between AL-cased defense ammo at $1.20/round from manufacturer "A" and brass-cases defense ammo at $1.25/round from manufacturer "B" using the same bullet, powder, and primer, most people will go with "B".
Some people also claim that AL cases have reliability problems, but if there is a correlation there it's because the ammo in general is cheap, not because of the case material.
This is incorrect. Steel and aluminum cases do not obturate as well as brass cases. They do not seal as well in the chamber and aluminum cases do not deal with high pressures as well. They are inferior in every performance matrices except price, and negligible (for this purpose as discussed) weight.
It isn't like a person who has a CCP will be carrying a couple hundred rounds of ammo.
If the person isn't strong enough to carry the loaded weapon and 2 reloads, they probably are too weak to be out on their own anyway, IMO.
What non Russian company makes an aluminum cased hollow point round? What's the price of that vs a non Russian brass cased hollow point round?
For me, those are the three key points (country of manufacture, HP, price) for me even to look at it, take it into study. It has to be non Russian because my Patron, a UDT Cold War Vet, won't buy Russian ammo and I follow his example.
No matter what the real-life benefits vs problems are, most shooters would pick brass over aluminum when it's time to buy.
I still think brass is better though I've shot aluminum case rounds by the thousands with no problems too... "better" is a subjective belief though...
Anyway, the bottom line is that stores stock what people buy. If it doesn't sell well, it isn't restocked. That's ultimately why brass is king in the USA.
This is incorrect. Steel and aluminum cases do not obturate as well as brass cases. They do not seal as well in the chamber and aluminum cases do not deal with high pressures as well. They are inferior in every performance matrices except price, and negligible (for this purpose as discussed) weight.
I disagree, partially. It's true that steel doesn't seal as well, but it does seal. You shouldn't get blow-back, but you may have to clean your chamber every 500 rounds or so. This is the reason steel-cased ammo is considered "dirty". The steel used to be coated in laquer (which could melt and stick), but now it's coated in a polymer.
Aluminum cases seal fine, but are extremely susceptible to fatigue. Forming, crimping, and firing should be OK... but if you try to re-form, crimp, and fire more than once you could be in trouble. Millions of rounds of safely-fired CCI Blazer practice ammo testifies to this.
I have never seen a study showing where, if you use the case once and throw it away, brass is worth the extra money over steel or aluminum for practice ammo. But if you police your brass for reloading or re-sale, then get brass.
I will concede, however, that for self-defense ammo (the question from the OP), the advantages of brass are worth the extra cost. Even a 0.1% increase in reliability is worth it when your life is on the line.
They need all the aluminum for two very important things. One is for a single use drink container. On a side note if you are emptying these types of containers it is not always advantageous to be shooting guns, although that has not stopped people from doing both. The other thing that they need the aluminum for is all those new Ford F150's that they are building.
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