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Will a shotgun with an aluminium action be a problem?

I am thinking of buying a lightweight 12-bore with an aluminium action, but one thing puts me off. I remember that, some years ago, one such gun suffered deformation of the action after a lot of use. Can this still be a hazard?

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Technical
MIKE GEORGE says:
Your memory goes back a very long time – maybe 30 years or more. I have vague memories of it too, but I can’t recall the make of the gun.

Aluminium actions are not made of pure aluminium, which is quite soft. Much stronger and harder aluminium alloys are used, and the technology of these alloys has moved ahead in leaps and bounds, thanks mainly to the demands of the aerospace industry.

Nowadays there would seem to be no danger of aluminium alloy actions deforming (or ‘creeping’, as engineers call it) even after a lot of use.

One advanced alloy, used by Fabarm for the action of their lightweight Axis AL, is called Ergal 55.

I note that it is also used by other industries in high-stress situations such as components for competition motorcycles.

Other manufacturers – Beretta and Browning for example – are rather more coy about the definition of the alloys they use in their lightweight guns, but rest assured they don’t use anything unsuitable.

Their reputations are far too precious for that!