Is aluminum an A-ok material to make shotgun receivers out of?
- Thread starter mr00jimbo
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Uh, I don't think the OP was looking for a specific aluminum alloy to make a shotgun receiver out of... rather, i believe the OP is asking if current production shotguns that ARE made out of aluminum have durability issues relating to their receiver material.
And yes, there are a whole bunch of different alloys available with differing characteristics. I'm sure the firearms mfg's picked appropriate alloys for the application. If they didn't, we would have most likely heard of it by now.
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Yup, exactly. I own aluminum-framed guns, including a Sig Sauer P226 and a Browning Buckmark. IIRC, they're both 7075-T6 aluminum alloy. Even though I would describe myself as a low volume shooter, especially recently, I take a curiosity to how well different materials hold up in the long haul. Sig's P226 for example (I know we're talking pistols, bear with me), originally was tested for the XM9 pistol trials. Frame failures at the 7,000 mark weren't uncommon. Now, I hear of new ones going up past 100,000 rounds. It makes me curious as to whether the aluminum manufacturing or alloying properties were changed somewhere down the line to explain this tremendous boost of usable service life.
Then I look at rifles - the AR15 is aluminum, even though all the parts that lock up to fire the cartridge are steel. Nevertheless, milspec calls for 7075 alloy, even though some use 6061 to save on costs. Then I wonder, is 7075 preferred for reasons pertaining to the durability of the part or other reasons?
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There was a long thread in the black rifles forum about the differences between 7075 and 6061. Basically the Mil Spec called for forgings in the AR15 platform to greatly save on machining time and costs. The original ones were made form 6061-T6, and the forging process supposedly damaged the granular structure of the Aluminum, causing corrosion in the contact areas with the steel parts (pivot pins, trigger/hammer axle pins).
The spec was then changed to 7075-T6 because the 7 series aluminum's respond much better to the forging process and when comparing forged 6061-T6 to forged 7075-T6 the 7 series was MUCH more corrosion resistant. I suppose if Sig originally made their frames out of 6061 forgings, it could cause stress fracturing therefore moving to 7075. BUT I had kinda thought that they were billet machined not forged, in which case it would make almost no difference at all. The 6061-T6 is actually MORE corrosion resistant in billet form than 7075-T6 billet is. 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 are BOTH structural grade aluminums and very strong.
You could make the receiver out of plastic if you wanted to...hint hint..
The chamber pressure is all held within the chamber of the barrel which is steal. As long as the receiver can withstand the reaction forces from the firing impact, it should be ok.
The chamber pressure is all held within the chamber of the barrel which is steal. As long as the receiver can withstand the reaction forces from the firing impact, it should be ok.
Is there any advantage then (besides say, felt recoil) of using a steel receiver over aluminum if aluminum is plenty strong and is not stressed much on a shotgun anyways?
I've got an 870 Police but never heard of a Mossberg 500 cracking a receiver. I have heard of people stripping threads though.
I've got an 870 Police but never heard of a Mossberg 500 cracking a receiver. I have heard of people stripping threads though.
I've read somewhere that the Mossberg pump receivers have a useful service life of "only" 75K rounds vs 225K+ for the Remington 870, then again it seems as if the Benelli semis with their aluminum receivers are good for at least as many as the 870.
I have heard of aluminum receiver shotguns being put of commission by getting dented from a impact to a hard edge however.
Aluminum needs to be pretty thick to resist that kind of impact and its probably not for nothing that Benelli went with a thicker receiver when they designed a shotgun for service use in the 1014/M4.
I have heard of aluminum receiver shotguns being put of commission by getting dented from a impact to a hard edge however.
Aluminum needs to be pretty thick to resist that kind of impact and its probably not for nothing that Benelli went with a thicker receiver when they designed a shotgun for service use in the 1014/M4.
It was me that had the buttstock bolt thread strip on my long ago Mossberg 500. I changed butts a time or 3, had the stock butt and a pistol gripped Choate or similar. I am knowledgeable enough not to cross thread.
I had to get it heli-coiled. Really p'd me off. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth re aluminum receivers.
Incidentally, I was recently talking to a gent at a big dealer in Western Canada, mentioned this to him. He said yeah, he remembered a few Mossberg 500's doing the same thing around the same time. Maybe it was a weakness they had at the time, since corrected.
I know just how tough modern aluminum alloy can be, the stuff they make modern guns out of is very tough stuff indeed.
But as for me, I tend to stick to steel receivers. They don't cost more and they do exist. That experience made me just plain trust steel more.
I had to get it heli-coiled. Really p'd me off. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth re aluminum receivers.
Incidentally, I was recently talking to a gent at a big dealer in Western Canada, mentioned this to him. He said yeah, he remembered a few Mossberg 500's doing the same thing around the same time. Maybe it was a weakness they had at the time, since corrected.
I know just how tough modern aluminum alloy can be, the stuff they make modern guns out of is very tough stuff indeed.
But as for me, I tend to stick to steel receivers. They don't cost more and they do exist. That experience made me just plain trust steel more.
