In the past if anyone had asked me if it were possible to reload aluminum-case autoloading pistol rounds I would have said no. Is it possible? Yes and no is my answer now. It’s not a good idea though, in my opinion.
In the milder seasons of the year we do a lot of pistol shooting. Recently, at a spot that at least three generations of shooters use I noticed a pile of spent aluminum .45 ACP cases. I knew the ammunition existed but had never seen any for sale in this area. Examining one, I noticed that it had a small pistol primer. I had recently gotten a good deal on small pistol primers and had stocked up. My press was currently set up for reloading .45 ACP. If there was any aluminum cased ammo you could reload it would be the low-pressure 21,000 psi .45 ACP and not the more common 35,000 psi aluminum cased standard pressure 9mm and .40 S&W was my reasoning. Just because everyone says it’s not possible, did that mean anyone had actually tried doing it? Grabbing a handful, I took them home.Continue reading“Experimentally Reloading Aluminum Case .45 ACP, by Aging Plinker”
