{"id":6993,"date":"2025-10-29T14:31:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoforsale.com\/ammo-club\/?p=6993"},"modified":"2025-10-07T14:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T14:32:11","slug":"aluminum-vs-brass-cased-ammo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoforsale.com\/ammo-club\/aluminum-vs-brass-cased-ammo\/","title":{"rendered":"Aluminum vs Brass Cased Ammo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you should prefer aluminum cases over brass cases or vice versa boils down to your personal preferences.<\/p>\n

If you want to pay less for your ammo, don\u2019t mind somewhat dirtier performance, and don\u2019t care about gathering empty shells to reload later on, then aluminum cases have a lot to offer. But if you want cleaner performance and reloadable empty cases \u2013 and don\u2019t mind paying more for those features \u2013 then traditional brass cases are the way to go.<\/p>\n

What Are Aluminum Cases?<\/h3>\n

\"Aluminum<\/p>\n

Metallic cartridge cases are traditionally made out of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. Copper, as you may know, is a semi-precious metal. It also has many uses such as wiring and motors, so a country is always better off for having plenty of copper.<\/p>\n

Russia and Germany certainly appreciated the value of copper during World War II. That is why they switched over to loading steel cases during that time, and Russia famously continues to do so to this day. Such cases have several disadvantages, but steel\u2019s significantly lower production cost is the only justification two countries at war needed to substitute it for brass.<\/p>\n

For a long time brass and steel would remain the only two viable metals for manufacturing cases. Then along came CCI, an Idahoan manufacturer, which introduced the first aluminum-cased ammunition in 1981. Copper had become more expensive during the previous decade, while advances in technology had made aluminum more affordable. At the time such small aluminum components were rare, but after refining their heat-treatment process CCI developed an acceptably reliable aluminum case.<\/p>\n

Today CCI, their subsidiary Blazer, and their sister company Federal Premium all load aluminum cases. We have customers who love Blazer 9mm aluminum cased ammo<\/a>. The 45 ACP load<\/a> and 38 special rounds<\/a> are quite popular too.<\/p>\n

But if aluminum is so much cheaper than brass, why isn\u2019t all ammunition now aluminum-cased? Let\u2019s identify all of aluminum\u2019s advantages before touching on all the ways brass beats it.<\/p>\n

The Pros of Aluminum Cases<\/h3>\n

\"Shooting<\/p>\n