.22 rimfire Ammo

[bobbydamit]

Why doesn't the mfg.s of low cost ammo, I.E. Blazer, start making Alum .22. Is there a problem of clearance or strength? Or is it really just too expensive to change tooling for a calibre that is already made as cheap as it can be to make a profit on it. Just curious.

[bobbydamit]

I have shot Blazer .22 ammo and it shoots fine. But it is made from a drawn brass slug, and one would think it could be cheaper to be made of alum, since it is a throw away calibre in the first place. And they do make other calibres in alum.

[Sigfan220]

I would think it comes down to performance and cost. Maybe there would be a higher potential for misfires with aluminum. Or I would suspect Aluminum may not form as easily as brass in the rim area. Plus how much money are you going to dump into R&D on a product that you literally can't keep in the warehouse. Maybe if there were a surplus manufacturers would look for new marketing gimiks. With the current shortage all they are going to do is fight to keep the existing tooling running. Those are my thoughts...

When I sorted brass a lot I came across some steel cased 22LR. I have no idea who makes it, I probably only found a few dozen. I would think mild steel would form better than aluminum. Maybe that is why somebody has tried it or maybe currently is making steel cased 22lr.

[Ironbear]

My guess... Without any inside information...

I've heard that aluminium is tough on tooling. Aluminium wants to form an oxide coating (it is what keeps it from rusting). Aluminium oxide is very hard and is a common abrasive. Probably wear and tear on the tooling would make it prohibitive. The NRE costs probably don't help either.

[Sigfan220]

My guess... Without any inside information...

I've heard that aluminium is tough on tooling. Aluminium wants to form an oxide coating (it is what keeps it from rusting). Aluminium oxide is very hard and is a common abrasive. Probably wear and tear on the tooling would make it prohibitive. The NRE costs probably don't help either.

Makes sense. I bet it has to be lubricated just right too.