nickel vs brass
- Thread starter kfn
- Start date
subject to corrections by other cgn members, and it's been a while that i read up on the subject
nickel is suppose to be more "brittle" and not as soft as brass to reload over and over, that was the only downside, but i have never seen any peeling or loss of finish over time
but perhaps over the past 10 or 20 years, nickel should be improved by now in terms for reloading but i have never heard that nickel outlast brass, just prettier, always prefered the look of nickel, esp with the copper bullets
i think for 357 and 38, nickel for the extra few dollars would be my way to go, but buy both, you may want to distinguish regular 38 loads (brass) and 38+p (nickel)
wholesale sports in saskatoon selling lots of 38 brass for 2 dollars a box of 50, in nickel, but i think a good price would be under and up to $1.50 for 50, perhaps cheaper in bulk, saw ads lately on cgn for sale than that for lots of 1000
for semi auto calibers, i prefer nickel, for my old eyes, easier to find in the grass to pick out and pick up, lol
nickel is suppose to be more "brittle" and not as soft as brass to reload over and over, that was the only downside, but i have never seen any peeling or loss of finish over time
but perhaps over the past 10 or 20 years, nickel should be improved by now in terms for reloading but i have never heard that nickel outlast brass, just prettier, always prefered the look of nickel, esp with the copper bullets
i think for 357 and 38, nickel for the extra few dollars would be my way to go, but buy both, you may want to distinguish regular 38 loads (brass) and 38+p (nickel)
wholesale sports in saskatoon selling lots of 38 brass for 2 dollars a box of 50, in nickel, but i think a good price would be under and up to $1.50 for 50, perhaps cheaper in bulk, saw ads lately on cgn for sale than that for lots of 1000
for semi auto calibers, i prefer nickel, for my old eyes, easier to find in the grass to pick out and pick up, lol
For the most part, for 38spl at least, the brass is so cheap and plentiful, who cares how long it lasts? People leave it laying on the ground at our range.
While 357 is maybe not so cheap, it is still very common and will last many, many loadings whether nickel or brass.
There will be a few here who claim nickel can flake off and ruin dies. Never heard of a case personally, and if it did happen, I suspect it happens rarely enough not to worry about a $35 set of dies. There will also be the odd claim of a flake of nickel getting lodged in a chamber, again, I don't think it happens often enough to worry about.
Shoot what you want, life's to short to worry about brass.
While 357 is maybe not so cheap, it is still very common and will last many, many loadings whether nickel or brass.
There will be a few here who claim nickel can flake off and ruin dies. Never heard of a case personally, and if it did happen, I suspect it happens rarely enough not to worry about a $35 set of dies. There will also be the odd claim of a flake of nickel getting lodged in a chamber, again, I don't think it happens often enough to worry about.
Shoot what you want, life's to short to worry about brass.
Use whatever you like the look of and can get at a reasonable price. Personally I prefer the nickel, but solely for looks and keeping it separate from my other brass. The cases eventually develop cracks and peeling, but you should be inspecting your brass anyways and can weed out the odd one that cracks on you. Of course you throw out the cracked cases, but since its usually a small crack near the mouth of the case, it doesn't pose any hazard as its fully enclosed in the cylinder.
In my experience nickel cleans up faster than brass. That's why I use it. I like the look of brass cases when clean and shiny.
I have not noticed any negative issues using nickel. I have seen split case mouths of both brass and nickel plated brass. This is usually on well used stuff.
As long as you don't go overboard on expanding the mouth of your brass it will last a long time.
I don't think there should be a difference in cost between once fired brass and nickel plated brass for 38 Special. 38 Special should be almost as cheap as 9 mm Luger brass.
I have not noticed any negative issues using nickel. I have seen split case mouths of both brass and nickel plated brass. This is usually on well used stuff.
As long as you don't go overboard on expanding the mouth of your brass it will last a long time.
I don't think there should be a difference in cost between once fired brass and nickel plated brass for 38 Special. 38 Special should be almost as cheap as 9 mm Luger brass.
Hi
It's all brass down inside. There are several different ways to plate nickel onto brass. Some are more durable than others. These days most nickel plated brass has pretty thin plating on it. That makes it harder to crack, but quicker to wear off.
Unless you normally tumble your brass in gravel the brass will wear out from other effects long before the nickel / brass difference will have any impact.
Bob
It's all brass down inside. There are several different ways to plate nickel onto brass. Some are more durable than others. These days most nickel plated brass has pretty thin plating on it. That makes it harder to crack, but quicker to wear off.
Unless you normally tumble your brass in gravel the brass will wear out from other effects long before the nickel / brass difference will have any impact.
Bob
Hi
It's all brass down inside. There are several different ways to plate nickel onto brass. Some are more durable than others. These days most nickel plated brass has pretty thin plating on it. That makes it harder to crack, but quicker to wear off.
Unless you normally tumble your brass in gravel the brass will wear out from other effects long before the nickel / brass difference will have any impact.
Bob
It's all brass down inside. There are several different ways to plate nickel onto brass. Some are more durable than others. These days most nickel plated brass has pretty thin plating on it. That makes it harder to crack, but quicker to wear off.
Unless you normally tumble your brass in gravel the brass will wear out from other effects long before the nickel / brass difference will have any impact.
Bob
Hi
Life is reduced due to work hardening and the stretch / compress cycle. Neither one is impacted by plating.
Bob
