School Me on Nickel Cases vs Brass
- Thread starter Demonical
- Start date
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- Saskatchewan
Yes. I load them. Handy to keep certain loads visually separate and easy to identify. I also like them for loads that may be stored extra long, since they don't tarnish. They were originally invented so that police loads in leather cartridge belts would not corrode and turn green. Some don't like them. Nickel plate is a bit harder than pure brass. Tiny bits of nickel can flake off, stick in the die, and start to scratch cases. If that happens, I polish the inside of the dies with 0000 steel wool and the "problem" goes away. The only other issue is they are a little bit harder on case trimmer cutters. If you have a carbide cutter, no problem. otherwise your case trimmer may need the cutter sharpened a bit more often.
I typically use once fired Nickel cases in my hunting rifles. I find them for cheap or for free as many turn up their noses at them.
Slicker feeding, easier to find if dropped and easier to see in low light than regular yeller.
Most major manufactures produce nickel cases for their "premium" ammunition, I use Winchester for my bottleneck hunting loads but have used Federal with no problems.
Slicker feeding, easier to find if dropped and easier to see in low light than regular yeller.
Most major manufactures produce nickel cases for their "premium" ammunition, I use Winchester for my bottleneck hunting loads but have used Federal with no problems.
I will only use .38spl nickel plated cases twice in rifles. They get brittle quick. And when they separate, the piece sometimes lodges itself in the chamber. I’ve had this happen twice. The first time the piece freed itself. The second time, I needed to slug the piece and tap it out when it cooled. A real pain if the rifle is an 1873.
For revolvers, I shoot ‘em until they fail. Usually 5 to 6 times. Come to think of it, I don’t use them in any of my rifles anymore. Just the wheel guns.
I only have experience with the little .38spl. But beware.
For revolvers, I shoot ‘em until they fail. Usually 5 to 6 times. Come to think of it, I don’t use them in any of my rifles anymore. Just the wheel guns.
I only have experience with the little .38spl. But beware.
I have nickel plated pistol cases that have been reloaded so many times that the plating is worn off the top part of the cases and only remains on the bottom quarter. The few rifle cases I have reloaded didn't last near as long. The plating seemed to flake off instead of being worn away and they only lasted for one or two reloads.
Auggie D.
Auggie D.
Yes and yes.
You didn't specify pistol case or rifle? For pistol cases, nickel plated is not that big a deal. For rifle cases nickel cases are a PIA. They are considerably harder than brass cases and require more force to size.
Nickel- bad Brass- good.
So as nickel flakes off it is harder then your DIES, there fore your die wears out and scratch, and scratch's the rest of the brass cases.
I always sell them to those that want them and purchase brass.
So as nickel flakes off it is harder then your DIES, there fore your die wears out and scratch, and scratch's the rest of the brass cases.
I always sell them to those that want them and purchase brass.
38 special pistol cases loaded so many times and hardly any nickel plating left on them. They have been in use for over 30 years. I have 45-70 cases that started to show mouth cracks. I decided to anneal them every third reload and now they are over 20 reloads with black powder. I like using nickel plated brass for my Garand as it is easier to find in the grass in front of the firing line. I can get just as many reloads out of them as regular brass if mouths are annealed. I haven’t had the problem some have reported of flakes coming off the brass. It shows mouth cracks before other types of brass but annealing takes care of it.
BattleRife
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Apparently, not all nickel plated cases are created equal. Some manufacturers buy equipment and supplies generic to electroless nickel plating, and use it for brass cases. Others have invested a good bit of time and money customizing the process to specialize in plating cases. There can be significant differences in bonding quality and plating thickness. Just because one brand / era of nickel plated brass was poor, doesn't mean they all are.
