Aluminum checks

Tomme boy

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
What does everyone think of them? I have used them in 308win and 54R and I see a little better accuracy out of the copper. I want to try them in my 350 Legend.

I do not like shooting plain based bullets that are PC. I know people say you can get away with not using them with PC but if I am going to go through the trouble of loading them then I am going to put a check on them. The only mold I have right now is the Lee 358-200RF. It is a gas check design.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have never used them much but know Ben does. Paul does as well.

Ben? Paul?
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
They can be pretty good, particularly for less than full-power loads. The only ones I've used were made by Josh and the material is pretty weak and thin compared to Hornady copper but form well to the bullet shanks in a base-first sizer and shoot well especially when powder coatin after applying them.
 
uncle jimbo

uncle jimbo

Well-Known Member
I use them exclusively for my .30 cal and 35 cal. Make my own with a Pat Marlin check maker. Never had a problem.
 
Spindrift

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I use a lot of aluminum checks. The Sages .30 cal works well, but I have found the occational check to fall of while shaking on the powder (one in fifty, maybe). I don`t see this with other checks.
I have found accuracy to be just as good as Hornady copper checks. I have not, however, pursued super-spicy HV- loads with aluminum checks, so far. The sizing/crimping operation requires noticably less force.

Mostly, I use aluminum checks made with the Pat Marlin checkmaker. They might look a little weird, with some «bottle- cap wrinkles», but they bite into the shank like there`s no tomorrow. 0.012in aluminum for .30cal checks, and 0.006in for 6,5 checks works for me.
.30cal PB, and .44cal is in the pipeline, looking forward to trying those.
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I have used Sages aluminum checks in 44 caliber and 35 caliber. IMO, there isn't enough monetary savings to use aluminum. In certain cases, I would recommend them. For example: If you need small shank checks (not made in copper) or had a supply of PB bullets you wanted checked. Both reasons, why I tried them.

The small shank checks were used in 44 caliber Marlin 1894, for a MP mould that casts undersized shanks. It was that or glue on copper ones. They did the job intended, with satisfactory accuracy.

The 35 caliber PB checks were to check a large supply of 9 mm PB bullets, that I had on hand, for my CZ Scorpion carbine. However, those checks all came with a nick on the edge.:( They worked OK, in the carbine. After that supply of bullets were checked, I have replaced the PB moulds with custom gas checked designs................and will stick to copper checks.
 
Reloader762

Reloader762

Active Member
Tomme boy said:
The ones I was going to get are from Sage.
www.sagesoutdoors.com

.35 / .357 Caliber Aluminum Gas Checks

.357 /.35 /.38 caliber aluminum gas checks from Sage's Outdoors
www.sagesoutdoors.com www.sagesoutdoors.com
Click to expand...
I buy all my Gator copper check and aluminum checks form Sage and have had no issue with them. I've used the plain base aluminum checks as well on a few bullets I cast just to see how they would work with soft alloy and they installed an shot just fine.

Some of Sages 303 caliber heavy gage aluminum check I use on some of my 54r bullets.
TtYlOVP.jpg
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
if they come in .0014 and not .0012 yeah.
I have found the aluminum checks fit some of my molds better than some of the gator and hornady copper checks do, so [shrug] there is that.
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I often times will buy .015" , .30 cal. aluminum gas checks from SAGE.
They won't come off of any of my .30 cal. cast bullets.
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I have zero experience with aluminum gas checks, but read about their use with some frequency. Is there an advantage to their use over the gilding metal checks? My counter-measure to the poor fit of Gator, Lyman, or Hornady checks on shanks has been to spread the cups a bit with the NOE tools meant for the purpose. Is there some thing I am missing? Most of the new moulds landing here for the past 10 years are of the plain-based variety.

I fully agree that having the check seated "square" on the shank is essential to accuracy. I melt finished bullets that don't 'measure up'. Since I added the NOE spreaders, my loss rate to GC screw-ups has lowered significantly. That said--gas-checking adds a lot of time to the bullet-making process. Hence the proliferation of plain-base moulds in my cabinet.
 
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Barn

Barn

Active Member
I have gone through at least 10,000 aluminum gas checks. I am very happy with them. I prefer the 0.014" material.
 
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3

35 shooter

Well-Known Member
I’ve used my homemade al. Checks for years now in my 35 whelen with zero problems.

Sage’s makes a 35 cal. ( half hard) al. Check that sizes on even tighter than my homemade ones though.
I do heat treat my homemade checks, but the Sage’s half hard al. Checks need no ht or anealing.
 
Tomme boy

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
I got them in from Sage today. Sending them back. Only way to keep them on would be to super glue them.

I tried sizing a few bullets with the Lee dies and with my RCBS sizer. Tried base first and then nose first. They fall off before the bullet is even out of the die. Same thing on both presses. If they do stay on they are not straight.

Not sure if it is me or what. But I have shot over 4K aluminum in my 308 and 54R. Never had this problem before. They look like they are not formed deep enough. They are also extremely hard to size.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
man your just getting a beat down from all angles.

I'd pull some measurements off the shank and the checks and drop a note in the box.
 
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