Aluminum Gas Checks????

[yellowtips]

Ok, Here is my questions. What is your experience with using Alum gas checks and did you have to change your load data from the copper gas checks?
My buddy who has been loading for years, came back from the states with these gas checks (I never heard of them up to this time) and plans to try them out in .30-06 and 6.5x55.
I did not find alot of info so far on these lil suckers and any help or info you can share would be great
Thanks
YT

 

[donor]

I got 1K of 8mm alu gas checks form ebay just to try out as the price was right.

Well,I will not buy them from this maker:

1-they are short- when compared to Hornady GC ,shoulder is only about 60-70% of what it
should be.They simply don't stay on the projectile.I had to dig out some from sizing die

2.Rim on those GC is not even-it waves around a bit with a big dimp on one side.

3 Seller has not responded to email -that was 3 weeks ago.


Bottom line-I hope you have better luck.I'm not giving up on alu GC,I just have to find right one

PS-Ill see if I can post picture of it...

 

[yellowtips]

Thank you for the information. Good to know. I don't plan on using them and he has not tried them yet. He picked them up while in Montana last month and the salesman told him that they were great and that they worked the same as copper. They just do not look right to me ie: short. I do not remember any odd shapes to them but it is possible.
Thanks
YT

 

[Grinch]

Aluminum is the most abrasive thing you can push through a rifle bore. Aluminum Oxide is a heavy abrasive used in industry. For this reason I don't use aluminum cleaning rods. Shooting Blaser (aluminum cased) necessitated replacing a number of bolts and barrels from semi-autos. Overall, not a good thing.

 

[BattleRife]

Aluminum is the most abrasive thing you can push through a rifle bore. .

I have never used aluminum gas checks, but the abrasive natiure of aluminum oxide (not aluminum, per se) is the first thing that came to my mind when I learned that such things do exist. Some examples:
-Powdered aluminum oxide is routinely used as an industrial polish for metals and ceramics
-I used to work for a company that did some wire drawing. One alloy we used to make had a few% aluminum in it, which would form aluminum oxide on the wire surface. We had to stop making fine wires of that alloy because a batch of it would destroy our wire drawing dies within a couple of days.

I wouldn't use an aluminum gas check in any firearm I valued without a whole bunch of credible test evidence to say it was okay.

 

[trevj]

Aluminum cleaning rods suck because they hold abrasive materials, not because they are coated in aluminum oxides.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find any aluminum oxide in quantities enough to do any damage. The paper used for paper patching is worse for your barrel.

People get all hung up on Aluminum= Same as sandpaper, and stop thinking from that point on.

Cheers
Trev

 

[medicstimpy]

Aluminum gas checks are usually made with the tool from eBay. It's easier to get aluminum roofing flash than copper.

I use them a lot more than copper Hornady ones with no ill effects. Most of the bullet casters agree that there will never be enough ALOX on a gas check to harm a barrel. There are a few of the purists who debate the issue to death but the regular shooters tend to agree they are ok to use and fun to make and cheap.