Many years ago (many, many) I used Alcan al-5 for my shot gun loading, and it seems like AL-7 for some .357 loads. The question is what did become Alcan? Seems like I heard many stories, but does some one know the real story? Thay (Alcan) used to have quite a lot of shotgun wads and so on. Heck of a question to ask on the casting board isn't it? After reading to what Felix told about some of the other powder's, maybe he can tell us about the pro's and con's of Alcan. Just curious k2 in orygun
Posts: 33 | Location: the dalles, orygun | Registered: 23 August 2003
K2, about the only thing I knew about Alcan is that they were the first to experiment with powders coated with flash suppressing chemicals. Their number 5 was probably the first to succeed beyond expectations. I have never been a snubbie man, so I didn't pay much attention to the "invention". Their number 8 was a 44 man's choice at the time, but not many folks jumped on the bandwagon because of elmer and his 2400 loads being advertised so much. ... felix
Posts: 477 | Location: fort smith ar | Registered: 17 September 2002
A reeely brief search shows that the only firm of note by the name of Alcan is a large aluminum processing firm by that name (NYSE: AL). Their company website does not give the history of the company but if it's the same, it's conceivable that they sold off their interest in propellants some time ago- as Blount did with Federal. Since I dig poking around in this crap I'll post if I find anything interesting about the Alcan we usta know.....
You're gonna have to look back ~ 30 or 35 years to find ALCAN "reloading" still in business. I used to use their primers, and have used some of their wads. I sold all of the ALCAN wads I had left on e-bay some 6 or 8 months ago (maybe longer). I still have some Small and Large Rifle primers left, and they are still good primers. I never did get around to using their powders, but heard good things about them. I believe the powders were made over seas. Probably Norma. Pilgrim.
Posts: 12 | Location: Wash. State | Registered: 05 September 2003
pilgrim....Alcan wads are still available. I did the same search to no avail.
In the 60s, Alcan was powerful. They made most of the shotshell stuff. Their powders were really popular for pistol stuff.
In fact, I beleive they made a lot of Herter's stuff under contract.
I just shot a thousand Alcan Max-Fire small pistol primers this summer. Not a missfire in the batch. I don't know how old they were but the address had no zip code on it so figure from that.
If you guys turn up anything...post it...i'm interested./beagle
Fwiw from old memories,"our"Alcan" was taken over by the infamous Bangor-Punta crowd when they were getting ready to bleed the cash out of Smith & Wesson..For a brief period following former Alcan facilities were used to produce a line of S & W ammo, including Shotshells (some of which I still have,-not useful after "Steel-shot" mandate).The Canuck aluminum Co.had no relationship to the ammo related firm..
Posts: 142 | Location: USA | Registered: 21 August 2003
Beagle, glad to hear about the Alcan primers. I've got a K or more to use up. Seems like the cups are a little softer side as they tend to flatten easily on seating - or is it just me? Ought to work good for some .357 plinking loads in that light hammer S&W. sundog
Posts: 287 | Location: Koweta Mission, OK | Registered: 28 August 2001
I got a keg of AL-8 from Bartlett and it indicates "new" on it. Lot #72198. Maybe the "new" means not powder removed from loaded rounds? Don't know. I do like it in the 44 Magnum, 357 Magnum, and have used it some for reduced cast loads in the 30-30, 7-30, and 223 cartidges. It is a very bulky flake powder that doesn't meter very well, and it is extremely difficult to get it into a 223 case! But, it was inexpensive and shoot pretty good in the Magnums...BCB
Posts: 212 | Location: WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA | Registered: 11 March 2001
Well...we have a date the company was established...and a founder....I'll keep diggin'....From Trap & Field, January 2003 written by Dick Baldwin:
Clark is the man credited with starting shotgun shell reloading in America. He formed the Alcan Corp.of Alton, lll., in 1951 and began showing people how they could reload traploads at home for half the cost of factory loads. And he started to sell reloading components. The Remingtons and Winchesters of the world had fits and tried everything possible to prevent Clark's company from being successful. Personal injury cases started to multiply when reloaders ' guns began to come apart due to high pressure handloads. For a period of time the big ammunition companies intentionally made the mouth of paper hulls thinner so, once shot, they couldn't be reloaded. Eventually the Alcan Corp. offered a factory- loaded shotgun shell that sold for substantially less than the red and green ones offered by major manufacturers.
Unfortunately, the article has no other details....
For the magnum cartridges, I get information from the old handloading manuals, Speer #9 is a good source…Propellant Profiles by Waters also list some uses. For other cartridges, I use Blue Dot data, or even the lightest charge listed for 2400. So far this has been O.K. for me. I guess basically, I treat it as Blue Dot. Research much data before you use it if you are unfamiliar with its burning rates/qualities. Good-luck…BCB
Posts: 212 | Location: WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA | Registered: 11 March 2001
TC, The burning rate chart I've got shows AL8 faster than Blue Dot, but slower than 800-X. If you look on the back side of the can you'll see that the powder was made in Sweden by Aktiebolaget Bofors. My old 1967 Lyman handbook shows some AL8 loads for revolters beside shotgun loading....Geo
Posts: 57 | Location: South Dakota | Registered: 20 February 2002
Here is some additional information on Alcan Company and a little intel in its demise. FWIW DaveP PS look for Lex Talio authored discusssions about 2/3 of the way down.
DaveP:Thx for the link to Les Talio's description of the alcan-fiocchi-s & w "adventure"...had disremembored that some( all?) of alcans powder line were swedish imports...
Posts: 142 | Location: USA | Registered: 21 August 2003
sundog...these were nickle palted I beleive. Shot them in some 9mm ammo in the Blackhawk. The first lot, I blew a couple of primers but backed off a bit and shot the remainder with no problems. Nary a missfire./beagle
