Blazer Brass and Independence Aluminum in Compensated Barrel

I recently bought a case each of CCI Blazer Brass and Independence Aluminum (made by CCI) 115 gr FMJ 9 mm ammo and both boxes have the warning; "Do not use in firearms with ported barrels or ported recoil compensators." Since I thought these were really FMJ bullets I couldn't understand why the warning. I called CCI's tech service and was told the bullets are basically plated, not really jacketed, and the plating can be cut through by the rifling and have fragments deflected by the ports back toward the shooter.

So, is this really a problem and should I not use them in my Ruger PC Carbine with a Taccom two-port comp? Does anyone have any experience using this ammo in a compensated or ported gun? Anyone uses Ranier or Berry's similarly plated bullets successfully? It would be a shame if I couldn't use them since they are by far the lowest cost domestic factory ammo available. Comments?

IF I may be so bold as to ask : Why in the flying 'ell do you need a compensator/muzzle brake of ANY kind on a 9MM pistol ???

And so it goes...

WIL TERRY said:

IF I may be so bold as to ask : Why in the flying 'ell do you need a compensator/muzzle brake of ANY kind on a 9MM pistol ???

And so it goes...

Click to expand...

It's not on a pistol, it's on a 9 mm Carbine. They reduce muzzle rise during fast shooting like USPSA, Steel Challenge, etc. where speed is everything. Every serious, and some not so serious like me, competitor uses them.

I'm an experimenter and I can't find much on the taccom at all! I'd take CCIs advice seriously and wear a full face shield while testing them; also gloves. If after a few hundred rounds there are no problems likely there will not be any, and you can do without the shield and gloves. If it's just for practice then the gloves and shield shouldn't be any big; if they are then take the compensator off for practice.

Comp on a rifle is pretty far from your body, I wouldn't be too worried about it with something like 9mm. You could also measure the diameter bored through the compensator to see just how far out of line with the barrel a bullet fragment would have to be to impact. My interpretation: that warning is aimed at people using firearms where the porting/comp makes sharp edges at the bore diameter, where they could slice into soft plated bullets. That doesn't seem to be the case with your product.

WIL TERRY said:

IF I may be so bold as to ask : Why in the flying 'ell do you need a compensator/muzzle brake of ANY kind on a 9MM pistol ???

And so it goes...

Click to expand...

Mainly because the OP stated;

So, is this really a problem and should I not use them in my Ruger PC Carbine with a Taccom two-port comp?

Click to expand...

. Normally one should read the original post before criticizing the OP.

And so it went...

The warning makes sense for the manufacturer. The Ruger PC Carbine with a Taccom two-port comp would seem to be a special circumstance. Let us know what you find if you decide to try them.

Jimbo357mag said:

The warning makes sense for the manufacturer. The Ruger PC Carbine with a Taccom two-port comp would seem to be a special circumstance. Let us know what you find if you decide to try them.

Click to expand...

I took the conservative approach and removed the compensator. The gun shoots well without it but I may reinstall it when I get suitable ammo.

Now I find there is another "problem". While I was talking to the CCI tech guy he mentioned that aluminum case ammo should not be used in any blowback 9 mm which includes almost all Pistol Caliber Carbines. The Ruger PCC and all of the 9 mm AR-types are in this category. He said that head separation can be a problem since blowback actions start to extract the fired case while the chamber pressure is still a bit high and the case can separate. Aluminum is weaker than brass so it can be a problem. They are fine in locked breach designs which includes most pistols.

I've had problems with Al case ammo in bolt actions! I don't use it unless there is a really big price break and in 9mm there isn't. The only gun I've fired Al ammo in without problems is a single break carbine. I have had case separation with 9mm in a Glock 17 and clearing the problem usually requires disassembly, my SIG 928 is easy to clear as is my Mac10, but 9mm is so cheap it really isn't worth reloading unless you have a carbine and want top performance that you will not get from factory ammo.