Hero or zero, I'll see today. Aluminum case .45 Win. Mag.
In the Revolver no less. I'm certain it will shoot, once. If it does work I have another use for the unique components. I had trouble even finding the moon clips for the RH. Goodness are they expensive! Some $10 EACH with shipping. I am ordering some from "Speed Beez" where I can get (10) for $34 delivered. The "TK" brand is probably the best but they are soooooo expensive for a little stamped piece of metal.
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I will be looking into the old S&W moon clips to see if they can easily be modified to work in the Ruger. They will NOT work "as is". I think they may have a shot. The value might be worth it. It sure looks like .45 Win. Mag ammo will function in this particular platform. If the alloy cases work I know the brass will too.
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Since Jim had a debacle cutting the aluminum cases down I have suspended any ideas I had there. Thanks Jim!
They split easy.
I sized the front of the case down in a .41 die so it would chamber in the 1911 barrel. When I flared the neck a little the case split for about 3/16". They "work harden" really easily.
I remember the CCI factory snake loads
in both .40 and .45, which are a FL case with reduced neck to chamber, all showed small splits on the fired ejected cases. The 9mm Luger was most impressive as it had an aluminum case but a blue clear capsule shaped like a bullet, like the .22 LR and WMR shot loads. They chambered and shot fine. I was potting rats off the bushhog. Of course when I saw a big copperhead all I had was a mag full of JHP. Cost me $3 to kill that snake.
I'll take it as a win. With a couple notable points.
I only fired two rounds but they told me some things, if the remainder validate the assumptions. Using H110 I got about 110 fps variation (230 gr. XTP - 1280, 1170 fps) on the two shots and noted some unburned powder in one case. This is possibly the result of standard primers for the slow powder. Snake loads (what the cases were factory primed for) surely use some type of fast powder. I bet engineers used a cooler primer than magnum loads. I'll switch to faster easier to ignite powder and drop about 100 fps.
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The second thing I noted was some bullet pull in recoil. For two good whacks of recoil the third in line bullet began to pull a little. The cylinder is so long this would likely not be a problem, and that round was next to go. (*That pull might account for the other velocity being 110 fps less as previously noted.) The aluminum is obviously slicker so not really a surprise. I'll seat deeper and maybe crimp just a little, these had no crimp, just a tight case pull.
Lastly I previously mentioned how expensive Ruger Spec. moon clips were. Why didn't they make Rugers to use S&W moon clips? Other than being proprietary a-holes I have no answer. About one minute in a lathe and one could open the "clip window" in the Ruger to work with both Ruger and S&W .45 moon clips. Also I think some quick grinder work on S&W clips would allow them to work in either. I may try that just to prove it.
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