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Thread: Copper or Aluminum

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Copper or Aluminum

    Which do you prefer? Sage has copper at .017" and aluminum at .015" for 30 caliber. (not gator checks) Does thickness play a roll in your preference?

  2. #2
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    What few gas checks I use, I just buy a box of Hornady's.
    Until you get up into or past the mid-teens in speed, you can do OK without them.

    If I used more, I'd probably make them. For me, I don't use enough to justify getting set up for that.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Copper better. Thicker better.

    But your loads might not need better. Then cheaper is better.

    But $5/k is barely cheaper. I would only choose aluminum if my bullet shanks are too fat for normal checks to crimp consistently. Or if the price were way more different than $5/k.

  4. #4
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    For years and years I have always used the Copper gas checks from Hornady. I bought up a ton of the various checks I needed before all the shortages began to happen. Hopefully I can get by for at least a few more years. If not, I may need to look into a check maker.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    Is there any concern about aluminum in the bore? Aluminum is quite the abrasive. I know there is not much of a bearing surface but it's still there.

  6. #6
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    I have used several thousands of both over the years and really can not tell any difference in performance.
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  7. #7
    Boolit Master Rapier's Avatar
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    Supposedly the al check has no elasticity and will not grip the base. I just went to double powder coating over 2k fps and changed to all plain base bullets and stopped using GCs entirely.
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  8. #8
    Boolit Bub

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    Never found aluminum to be abrasive. I make my own gas checks from aluminum and they do not seem to be at all abrasive!

  9. #9
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    Many abrasives have aluminum in them. Ever see the term "aluminum oxide"? But with a gas check, there is hardly any bearing surface that could cause wear.

    As far as the elasticity of aluminum, that may be true. But, copper can be the same way if it is not annealed properly. Several have written they anneal gas checks to make them dead soft, the same reason you anneal case necks so they won't crack or if you are manipulating the case for a wildcat.

  10. #10
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    405grain's Avatar
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    I've used both copper and aluminum and I see no difference. On the aluminum gas checks I usually powder coat after crimping the checks on. I don't think about the aluminum checks being abrasive, it's just easier to install the checks before the powder coat. After coating there would be no issue even if the aluminum were abrasive. I haven't seen any problems with either type of gas check.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master elmacgyver0's Avatar
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    I am not going to live long enough to wear out my bore with aluminum gas checks.

  12. #12
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    I can and do make my own aluminum [.014/.015 aluminum flashing and .004/.008 pop/beer can/bottle] and brass [.012 or .014] GCs in .22, .30/.31, 8mm, .35 and .45 calibers. I've found they are very adequate for most of my cast bullet shooting. They perform well, perhaps as well, as commercial GCs below 2000 fps. Above 2000 fps they do not perform well. The aluminum .014 GCs I make are most often used for handgun bullets usually upwards of 1200 fps and rifle plinking/casual shooting bullets upwards of 1900 fps. The 45 cal .004/.008 pop/beer can/bottle GCs are for use on PB cast bullets although the .008 GCs seem to work well on GC 45-70 bullets.

    I use lubed bullets on which the bullet/GCs will ride a layer of lube in the barrel, thus no worries about any abrasion if there is any.

    My preference for best accuracy with rifle bullets is Hornady or, now Lyman, crimp on GCs. I also stockpiled quite a few and have enough for most of my future use. Of my own make my .30 cal brass GCs perform very well up through 2500 fps and give the same accuracy as the Hornady/Lyman crimp ons. The Hornady crimp ons have proven excellent up through 3,000 fps.

    Of the other caliber cartridges I shoot cast bullets in I don't really shoot enough cast to make the cost of a GC make worth it. A box of 1K GCs will last a long time with those cartridges. I wouldn't hesitate to use .014/.015 aluminum GCs for those as they all are shot at less than 2000 fps.
    Larry Gibson

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  13. #13
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    I make my own aluminum gas checks. I tested them along side Hornady checks and the accuracy was the same and often the aluminum beat them. I use different thicknesses of aluminum for different caliber, with the thickness increasing as the caliber gets larger. Unlike Larry my aluminum checks will perform right along Hornadys to even high velocity. I've also recovered many bullets and the checks are still on them. I don't think the aluminum is going to wear the bore any and I believe many come to that conclusion that aluminum oxide is used for an abrasive. When we use aluminum it's shiney and new, plus as Larry mentioned we have lube on our bullets.

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy muskeg13's Avatar
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    This will probably raise the hackles on some, but don't leave out zinc. I make my own checks in .22, .264, .30, .32/8mm, .348, .358, .40 and .45 using Freechex and PatMarlin tools. I began using copper sheets PatMarlin sold years ago and aluminum scrap and flashing, but tried zinc roof flashing left over from an anti-moss project with good results. I don't think the check source material matters much for handgun applications or lower velocity rifle loads, but I reserve the copper checks for use in rifle loads approaching or exceeding 2000 fps.

    I've never had a problem with loose copper checks, either home-made or store bought, but need to be careful with thickness and shank dimensions with aluminum. My aluminum checks don't form as pretty as the copper ones that look a nice as Hornady or Lyman checks. I lucked out with the zinc flashing being the right thickness, and being rather soft, they fit the shanks well.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    Copper, aluminum, and zinc all share a common trait. They're all excellent conductors of heat.

    By weight: copper > aluminum > zinc.

    By thickness of the check (factoring in the density of each metal): copper > zinc > aluminum.

  16. #16
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    I use mostly copper checks.. but use both copper and aluminum on 45-70 and see 0 difference in them.. the aluminum grip just fine too. As for aluminum being abrasive.. what about the old silver tip ammo.. never heard any warnings about it?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by muskeg13 View Post
    This will probably raise the hackles on some, but don't leave out zinc. I make my own checks in .22, .264, .30, .32/8mm, .348, .358, .40 and .45 using Freechex and PatMarlin tools. I began using copper sheets PatMarlin sold years ago and aluminum scrap and flashing, but tried zinc roof flashing left over from an anti-moss project with good results. I don't think the check source material matters much for handgun applications or lower velocity rifle loads, but I reserve the copper checks for use in rifle loads approaching or exceeding 2000 fps.

    I've never had a problem with loose copper checks, either home-made or store bought, but need to be careful with thickness and shank dimensions with aluminum. My aluminum checks don't form as pretty as the copper ones that look a nice as Hornady or Lyman checks. I lucked out with the zinc flashing being the right thickness, and being rather soft, they fit the shanks well.
    Let me say this first: Zinc is a lustrous bluish-white metal. It is found in group IIb of the periodic table. It is brittle and crystalline at ordinary temperatures, but it becomes ductile and malleable when heated between 110°C and 150°C.

    Are you sure that zinc flashing is pure zinc? I'm not condoning you using it, just that it doesn't act like pure zinc when you can form it into gas checks. Am I missing something?

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Soundguy View Post
    As for aluminum being abrasive.. what about the old silver tip ammo.. never heard any warnings about it?
    From Winchester website: The tip of the bullet is not made of real silver, or even real metal for that matter. Rather it is a polymer silver-colored tip. The reason for the use of polymer is to resist deformation

  19. #19
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    I didn't say ballistic silver tip..the new stuff they sold..but the old semi original..ie.. Aluminum jacketed stuff..which later became nickel plated copper. Ps..the aluminum was circa 1974.

    The new polymer tipped one's are just nosler's. And nothing like the original.
    Previous to 74 the silver jacket was an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. At one point some were tin plated too.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master


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    I would have zero concern about aluminum as far as bore wear, it's not going to hurt a thing.

    My opinion on gas checks is the biggest cost is time. You easily double or triple the time it takes to size bullets with gas checks vs plain base. That's if things are perfectly sized. If you have bigger shanks, or your powder coating is a little too thick, then that takes time to figure out too. With that kind of time invested, does $23 vs $28 per 1000 really matter? Is anyone shooting multiple thousand gas checked bullets a month?

    Copper is a superior material for a gas check plain and simple. Aluminum must work fine for some people, but if you are pushing the limits, you are just shorting yourself if you aren't using copper. I only use copper myself, and I also anneal my gas checks. It makes a big difference on a variety of bullets when you aren't fighting springback.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check