CCI Blazer aluminum case 9mm--looking for input

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Southern Shooter

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I have a Ruger P89 and so far have had no issues shooting any brand of ammo through it...low end stuff on up has shot fine. I was at a store not long ago browsing their 9mm inventory for new ammo to experiment with in my pistol. When I saw the price on the CCI Blazer aluminum case 9mm fmj I of course became interested...$3.86 for 50 rounds...who would not? Anyway, the two store clerks told me that there were a number of complaints about that ammo in terms of FTE and not to buy it. Of course, I did not listen and bought 2 boxes. My P89 ate those rounds and spit them out with not a single problem. The aluminum case is not an issue for me because I do not plan on reloading anyway.

My questions:
Are these rounds junk and I just lucked out? Anyone had problems with this ammunition? Primer problems? Stove piping? Cases cracking? Excessive residue after use? Would these rounds be a fair ammunition to buy in bulk to store for SHTF scenarios?
 
I've shot lots of Blazer aluminum-cased rounds through a 380, 9mm and 45 acp, and had not one malfunction. They have always shot fine. The only drawback is the cases are not reloadable - not an issue with me.

Lou
 
I have about 12,000 rounds of it through my Glock 17 with no problems. I do think it is best in modern firearms; I don't use it in my 1911 at the advice of my gunsmith. It does expand and contract differently than brass, so I can see it might cause a problem in some pistols.
 
It is ideal for practice. Some guns have extraction issues with the cases so I wouldn't recommend it for SHTF personally.
 
In fact the Blazer 115's I got some while back have the Speer bullet - Gold Dot bullet. It's viable carry ammo IMO.

I reckon the Al is soft enough not to harm extractors, as some feel steel might - and they cycle well for me.
 
I have made a few posts on this ammo recently and have gotten almost all positive feedback.

Fires great in my gun, CZ 75
 
9MM Blazer Aluminum Case Ammo

When I was in Houston visiting my daughter, I picked up 1,000 rounds of it. My son and I have shot it all up in about 8 or 9 of our CZs. Zero failures. I plan on buying 5,000 rounds when I go back to Houston in the Spring. I just hope that it is still $3.86 for 50 rounds.
 
I've probably shot between 2,000 and 5,000 rounds of it. No problems in any of the guns I've used it in.
 
Thousands of rounds through p89 and g34. Perfect performance. WAY cleaner than WWB, for less cash. In fact, I recently had the opportunity to buy a case of WWB at $4per50, and passed- even though CCI ends up costing (slightly) more than that after tax. I actually prefer it. (BTW don't know what it would cost him to ship, but if it's worth it to anyone I can hook you up with that case at the same price, if you like WWB)


Hey Lou, what do you pay for CCI Aluminum .45?
 
I just need to find someone who will ship 10 cases of Blazer from Academy land to me :)

(I think 10 cases would be 262 lbs about) If gas wasnt so expensive... ;) I bet I could fit 20 cases in my car
 
How far are you from the nearest Academy? CCI Blazer 9mm (along w/.22) is the reason I was able to afford 12 hours at the range this weekend.

In which state do you live?

"With locations in TEN STATES, there's sure to be an Academy Sports and Outdoors near you!"

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.
 
We need an Academy Sports in Reno, Vegas, and here in CA (pipe dream that last one)
 
I use it all the time for practice and it is reliable. I purchase it by the case,1000
rounds, from Natchez at a great price. Go to natchez.com. and check out the prices.
 
Not a knock on the ammunition

As mentioned supra aluminum has somewhat different properties than brass does. There have been cases with specific guns - not current production - where the aluminum dumped more heat into the frame than brass cases did and in extremely high volume range (school) use the trigger bar started dragging and eventually more or less stopped moving resulting in a hard to clear failure to fire. Self correcting of course and only with a rate of fire unlikely to be encountered in daily life. Still something to bear in mind. I don't know of a current production pistol where this is an issue and doubt there is one.
 
Craig M. Arnold said:
When I was in Houston visiting my daughter, I picked up 1,000 rounds of it. My son and I have shot it all up in about 8 or 9 of our CZs. Zero failures. I plan on buying 5,000 rounds when I go back to Houston in the Spring. I just hope that it is still $3.86 for 50 rounds.
Click to expand...

Good plan, but unless you are willing to do Houston tour to stop at every Academy store in town you are unlikely to find more than a 1000 rounds in stock at any one store. Good ammo and a great price, my wife and I shoot lots of it, but its rare when I can find more that 1000 rounds at a store, I'm happy if they have 10 or 12 boxes. Since I drive by two on my way home form work (bummer of a commute!) its not too hard to keep supplied as they restock pretty frequently but don't seem to stock very deep -- its a loss leader I assume, I wonder if their parent company also owns CCI as I've never seen it as cheap anywhere else.

--wally.
 
It does seem to work well in most modern auto-loaders. I used to shoot it from a Ruger p94 .40. I had a few malfs, mostly stovepipes. I would just use it as an opportunity to practice my malf drill. I quit using it after I found a cracked casing while cleaning up (I usually shoot in the woods so I always clean up afterwards). I doubt the cracked case was due to the design, it may have been bullet setback from rechambering the same round too many times. I have no way to know for certain and no desire to try to replicate it.:eek:

As far as the 9mm goes, I have never had any problems with it and don't know anyone who has. If I owned a 9 I would use it.

I did have problems ejecting spent casings from my old SP101 .38 revolver, had to give the ejector rod a really good slap to get them out completely.

I would recomend it for practice, NOT for daily carry. My $.02.
 
+1 on Blazer hard extraction in revolvers. Forgot to mention I have the same problem (needing a rap on the ejector rod with a screwdriver handle) to eject the cases in our 9mm Taurus 905 snubbie.
 
I had a few stovepipes yesterday with this ammo. CZ-85 Combat that usually has no problems with most other cheap loads. Went back to the box of PMC and it was feeding fine.
 
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