Blazer vs. Blazer Brass

I recently bought a 500 round lot of Blazer Aluminum because the price was $89.00.
I have yet to use it in my Kahr PM9 but after buying I have heard that some pistols are finicky about ejecting it.
Hope my Kahr eats it.
The Blazer Brass I have used in both 9mm and .380 has proven to be really good.

If you pick up your brass you can sell it to people who do reload, if it's worth it to you. Figure 2c for 9mm, 2.5-3c for .40, 5c for .45 from what I've seen.

I've never had any problems with blazer brass. I have had some feeding issues with blazer aluminum in .25 and .380 in some pistols. And I think maybe in .45 once or twice.

If the CASE price is just $10 more than the aluminum cased stuff, I'd probably go with the brass, and save your brass in case you ever reload in the future. I started reloading about 4 years ago, and I've been kicking myself for not saving 20+ years worth of brass from when I wasn't reloading!

Anyway, if you know that you'll never reload, just shoot the aluminum stuff. It will work fine, won't harm your gun, and performs about the same. Incidentally, my dept uses aluminum cased ammo for practice, and nickle plated brass for duty use.

I have shot quite a lot of Blazer aluminum cased ammo. I have several pistols which will cycle it without issue, but a couple that will not. No big deal, I will use it when I can with pistols that cycle it fine and for the couple that will not, I will spend the extra money for brass.

I only use the aluminum cased ammo for practice, not SD.

Have a nice day.

Jimbeaux

I have shot quite a lot of Blazer aluminum cased ammo. I have several pistols which will cycle it without issue, but a couple that will not. No big deal, I will use it when I can with pistols that cycle it fine and for the couple that will not, I will spend the extra money for brass.

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Agreed. And a Glock is unlikely to have any issues with Blazer aluminum. Mine shoots it all day. I've had a number of failures of it to eject with a CZ pistol, however.

I decided on brass cases after reading something about the aluminum cases leaving tiny bits of themselves inside receivers.

That may be a problem specific to certain makes/models of weapon, though.

I refuse to shoot Blazer aluminum in my revolver, because it seems really filthy compared to the brass -- leaves a lot more residue on the gun. Don't know why that should be, if everything else is the same.

I had a short recoil operated spanish gun in 9mm largo with a pitted chamber that would not function with Blazer Al rounds, but did ok with brass 9mm Largo military loadings and .38 super PMC brass cases. I am quite sure that it was the pitted chamber that was causing the problem with the AL casings.

Brass performs better at 40 below than the Al cased stuff does. Doesn't bind up in the magazine anywhere near as much.

I have shoot there aluminum 9mm in a KT pf9 & p-11 in Kahr cm9 &cw9 and a glock 17 also in a witness in both 9mm and 40 now with some run thru a sigma 40. Never had any problems other than it is dirtier than some others.

I stopped using it because it is so dirty. I can usually find off brand brass or steel ammo cheaper anyway. I have been burning through WPA (Wolf) steel cased and berdan primed ammo lately. 9mm is $8 for 50 rounds in a local shop. It functions perfectly and it is quite clean. My palm-o-graph says its pretty hot too.

I have shot a lot of Blazer aluminum in several pistols with no problems.

Cryogaijin, I'll take your word for it, and hope never to experience anything near that myself for more than about a day. I would like to hear your other observations on extreme cold and shooting as it relates to gun care, prep, etc.
Both Blazer types have worked well for me.

My CZ didn't like it, couldn't get through the box and had to give the rest away. Glocks will pretty much function with anything so probably won't be an issue.

Any difference between the 2 other than the obvious difference in case composition?

I don't reload. Would it pay to spend $10/case extra for the brass cased ammo?

I use a Glock 19 so I am not really worried about the ammo not cycling properly.

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$10 a case, as in $1 per 100 rounds? I would pay the extra.

$10 a case as in $1 per 50 rounds...I'd take the aluminum.

They are both perfectly fine if you don't want to reload the cases. I've put plenty of each through my Glock 26 and Glock 19

Cryogaijin, I'll take your word for it, and hope never to experience anything near that myself for more than about a day. I would like to hear your other observations on extreme cold and shooting as it relates to gun care, prep, etc.
Both Blazer types have worked well for me.

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I only got back into firearms my last year up in fairbanks. Anchorage doesn't get near as cold, so I can't really give all that much data. Others here have much more extreme cold weather experience than I do.

My Observations: My remmy 700 bolt action (in aught six) is just so problem free I feel everyone should own one. (Note: Aught Six R700 seems to be the most common hunting rifle up here, followed by same in .308)

My first handgun, a Highpoint c9, worked flawlessly on all brass cased round nose ammo. The colder it got the less reliable it got with flat nose/truncated cone/JHP and aluminum/steel cased rounds. Failure to feed, failure to eject, stovepipes, the whole gamut of feed/ejecting issues.

My first NICE handgun, my xd45c has never had ANY problem at ANY temperature with ANY brass cased ammo. Runs steel and aluminum cased ammo fine down to about -20c, then the ammo binds to the magazines, and you have to hit 'em to unbind 'em after each round. Never had the issue with brass. OTOH I was able to eliminate this feeding issue by coating the inside of the magazines with generic, plain simple ski-wax. (never tried any of the fancy firearms lubes. I had Ski wax on hand, and I knew it worked in those temps, so. . .)

I do have to stress a couple things about firing in very cold conditions: 1, good shooting gloves are a MUST. I used the "Fox River Four Layer Glomitt" and honestly couldn't shoot without them in the winter up there. 2, Polymer grip handguns are vastly superior to metal in arctic conditions. I was deeply worried that they would crack/shatter/deform due to differential contraction, but turns out they tested and worked that into the design. Glocks and XDs are quite arctic capable. Your holster probably is not, however. That is a bit more of a problem. 3, mag loaders are almost a requirement, if you want to avoid frostbite. If it is cold enough to get instant frostbite when you touch metal, use a magloader.

I have two .25s One shoots the aluminum one doesn't. My .380 will NOT shoot the aluminum. My 9mm shoots both well. My .40 shoots both well. I haven't tried it in the .32s.

I would pay the extra and sell the brass or give it to a friend that does reload.

The brass offers some advantages. An extra $10 per case is really nothing. If you so desire, you can pick up your brass to reload or often make the purchase of reloaded ammo less (some will discount for brass turned in). You can also shoot at most any indoor range - many don't allow the aluminum cased stufff (they have to seperate the brass from the aluminum before selling it). The aluminum is aircraft grade and is worth something, I am told.

I once had a Glock that somewhere along the line had about hald the extractor claw break off. I only discovered this when it refuse to extract about every third aluminum cased round. It still extracted brass with no problem.

Most of the places where I have found both products, the aluminum is about $1 less per box and this come out to about $20 per case difference. Other than the failures to extract with a chipped extractor, I have never had a problem with the Blazer aluminum, and I have probably shot a couple of thousand rounds through my M23 Glock.

Never had an issue with it out of my P90 .45, Glock 26 9mm or my revolvers. It does seem to be a little dirtier than some of the other brands but I clean my guns after everytime I shoot anyway so no big deal.

If you don't reload, in general no.

But if you frequent gun shows you could probably sell your empties for $4-5/1000 to reloaders if you are willing to put up with the hassle.

I reload and 9mm brass is always free at our club, but I shot pretty much nothing but Aluminum Blazer back when Academy sold it for $3.86/box!!!

Blazer Brass VS Alumn.

I have purchased guns and the manfg. stated do not use alumn. ammo. Marlin-Henry. both of these co. I have used it in revolvers before but no more.

I like the Blazer aluminum, but I haven't shot any in a few years. My local remanufacturer http://www.jandjguns.com/ gives a trade-in on brass. I just bought 500 rounds of 124gr JHP for $76 with brass trade in, would have been $90. So, almost 3 cents a case saving for me for having the brass.

I was saving it to start reloading, but with that deal, I was happy to buy his excellent re-man stuff. There's probably a remanufacturer somewhere not too far from you if you look around.
RT