Why do so many shooter dislike reloading nickel plated cases

[tackstrp]

Why do so many shooter dislike reloading nickel plated cases. I often see commenst that seem to express a dislike .

thanks just curious .

[1Shirt]

Don't know about others, but in my experiance it is due to neck splits/cracks, sometimes after the first reloading. This is true for me even with only neck sizing.
Pistol cases not quite as bad for revolver cases as for rifle.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[fatelk]

My understanding is that the plating process tends to make the brass a bit brittle. It looks nice and won't tarnish, but usually won't last for as many reloads before cracking.

[Cherokee]

I don't dislike nickel plated brass, I have a lot of it, even in 5.56 (223), and have no problems with it - with the lone exception being RP nickel plated 32-20 brass. A lot of my nickel cases have almost worn the plating off from reloading and still it goes on.

[btroj]

Cost. That's the main thing to me.
I find nickel plated handgun cases to be harder to find on the ground. They seem to hide better.

I don't so much dislike them, I just don't buy them. Don't see a need.

[MT Gianni]

A lot of the worn coating ends up on the sizing die reducing the diameter in one spot and making it easier for a case to split. An unevenly sized case does not hold pressure evenly and the expansion in that spot will cause failure. Yes we make sure that our dies are clean but why put something into them that will come off and is cosmetic only?

[Inkman]

I load em in .45 ACP and shoot em. They just get mixed in with the rest of the brass, loaded and shot. Most of it is/was just range brass scrounged from the ground. No biggie for me.

Al

[JohnH]

The short of it is that nickeled brass will develop stress cracks before plain brass does, therefore it has a shorter reloading life.

The long answer... the nickeling process heats and hardens the brass rendering it less ductile. It can't be annealed after the nickeling process, this will destroy the nickel finish, the purpose of which is to prevent corrosion in the chambers wherein the brass fails completely on firing or fails to extract. If the most disappointing sound in the world is a "click" when you expect a bang, the most disconcerting feeling in the world must be having a firearm that is inoperable in the middle of a gunfight because it cannot be reloaded. Nickeling was a solution to brass corrosion as a result of being carried in high humidity environments. Brass left in leather loops in such conditions exhibits corrosion very quickly, the tannites in the leather accelerate the problem.

[plainsman456]

I shoot them in pistols all the time but when reloading for a Browning lever chambered for the 270 Winchester they seemed to be to slick to hold on to the barrel wall.I loaded some brass cases at the same time and had no problems at all with them.
As well as having more neck splits than brass cases.

[Sonnypie]

Do you know why Sheppard's have black sheep mixed in the herd?
For count.
1 black sheep per 99 regular sheep = 100 sheep.

So I use the nickel plated ones the same way. If I see 5 nickel plated ones in a pile of my brass, there are _ _ _ pieces of brass in that pile?
*
*
*
*
*
(answer: 495)
(Because 5 of them are nickel plated) :veryconfu

:lol:

When I had a nice Ruger Redhawk in 44 Rem. Magnum, I had a nice black leather rig for it. And 30 chiny nitchel plated cases in the cartridge loops.
A handsome rig it was! [smilie=w:

[Southern Son]

I have only limited experience with nickel cases in 38 Special. I got rid of all the nickel ones after a little bit of the nickel plate came off a case and got stuck in the sizing die. It ehn left a pretty good gouge in the side of the other cases that were going throught the die (but not in an easy place to spot). I ended up with about 40 cases with a gouge in the side. The gouge was deep enough that some of the cases split along the gouge after only one or two more firings.

[ku4hx]

Via the salvage department at my post-retirement employer, about ten years ago I bought about 20,000 Federal once-fired 40 S&W nickle plated cases. True once fired because they were the result of our security force's training and qualifications.

I've loaded a significant number of them multiple times (3-5 I guess) and had zero problems. I have had the plating flake off in years past so I know it happens. Cracking? Don't know since I tend to be quite conservative on the numbers of loads per case.

But the thing is, I bought them for $4 per box of ~2,000 so I wasn't worried. When I DO buy once fired cases, I buy non nickle plated. Why tempt fate? But if all I could get was the nickled stuff I'd buy 'em, load 'em and shoot 'em for as long as either they or I could still make it happen.

[beex215]

i dont mind nickel at all. i actually like them better due to its ease of cleaning and its looks. they all load the same to me.

[casterofboolits]

Many moons ago...1974/1975 I purchased 1,000 once fired 44 Mag cases, half of whih were nickel.

The problem I had was nickel deposits on my carbide sizing die which caused vertical scoring on the cases. Luckily, my father did the polishing for the tool company we worked for and he polished the inside of the die and soaked it in penetrating oil. Never had another problem. After that, I had him polish out all my carbide size dies.

Kind of soured me on nickel cases and I sold them to a guy who made key chains.

[white eagle]

I use it to form 280 A.I cases from standard 280 Rem.
the only issue I have is as has been stated neck splits
but I junk them and move on

[Lizard333]

I find they split at the neck, so I don't get as many reloads out of them. If I find them on the ground I use them. I use them a lot with my self defense loads because I don't shoot them. My normal brass I shoot more often. Works well.

[beagle]

Been shooting nickel plated .38s and .357 Mags for years. Grew up around the LE community and they almost exclusively used nickel stuff as they tended to not corrode when carried in leather carriers.

My only major complaint is that they do tend to fail earlier than brass cases. Cause? Maybe the heat used during the plating process or the harness of the plating. .357s are really bad about this.

They do tend to be harder on dies because of the flaking of the plating but I occasionally polish my dies out with a wooden dowel and a electric drill. Tends to remove the gunk and embedded grime.

Rifle calibers tend to be harder in this respect than pistol calibers.

Several years back a friend sent me a bunch of tin plated cases from proof rounds in .45/70, .30/30 and .38-55 and .44 Magnum. These things are first rate if you can find any and polish up nicely and don't exhibit the characteristics of nickel plated brass.

I've loaded and shot thousand of nickel cases in my career. Worth the effort in my opinion./beagle

[Rocky Raab]

Like several other posters, I've had a sizing die ruined by tiny flakes of nickel. Handgun cases get flared and crimped; rifle cases get trimmed. BOTH produce tiny flakes of nickel plating that then embed in the die (even carbide). EVERY case you size after that will get scratched, gouged or even cut by that flake of nickel. Worse, the die can't be fixed.

No more nickel for me.

[jwmprock]

The nickel flakes off and scratches dies, reason enough to junk 'em.

[justingrosche]

I use nickel cases for my 357 magnums so they are easy to to sort from 38 specials after a trip to the range. I get a few splits occasionally.

[Ed K]

The damage to dies already mentioned is extended to barrels. Bench rest shooters won't touch the stuff.

[390ish]

I used to shoot them in 38 super and never had any problems.

[Hardcast416taylor]

About 15 yrs. back I bought 1K new Rem. .45LC plated brass from Midway. Out of habit I tumble new brass. When I dumped the contents of the bulk box of cases into my big Dillion tumbler I immediately noticed all the piled up nickle flakes in the box bottom. It looked like the tinsel fairy had been dancing in the box. I next looked at the brass, chipped off areas of nickle everywhere! I contacted Midway to alert them I was sending this load of junk back and wanted reimbursement for the return shipping. About a month later I got 1K new brass cases that were Win. made. I`m still waiting for the shipping cost to be sent me!Robert

[LGH]

I let my friend run some through my sizer, they were clean, and when I ran my brass the next time I had scratches on my brass.

[mroliver77]

I had never heard that about scratching dies and barrels. I have 1k of .357 and some .38's also. The price was right so I have them. I like how easy they are to clean. I believe they slide much easier through a die. I do lube cases that will be run through even carbide dies with a very light misting of lanolin. I will look extra hard for flakes etc. I have found cases that the nickle was wore through but no flakes. I will look harder.
J

[Recluse]

I load my carry ammo in nickel cases. Definitely keeps it separated.

Also, I load up mouseloads in .38 special for my wife using the 105SWC boolit.

I keep the nickel stuff I find, clean it up and store it. If it ever comes a time that I need to start loading stuff up "for real," I'll use the nickel stock.

:coffee:

[Rangefinder]

I use nickle for jacketed and brass for cast. Since I don't load much jacketed the nickle doesn't see much wear. BUT, I can crack open a case and know exactly what's in it at a glance.

[uscra112]

I got about 1000 mixed headstamp nickel .357 cases at an estate auction about a year ago. No idea how many time they may have been loaded. Been using about 200 of them for load development for an S&W. 6-7 reloads so far. A dozen or so have splits, (I crimp hard), none have flaked, and on many of the Federal cases the plating is so thin that they look more yellow than silver.

I too like the way they clean up in minutes in the tumbler instead of hours.

Like Recluse, once I get the ideal SD load worked out, I'll load a big batch in nickel, knowing that they'll be ready to use years from now.

[uscra112]

I find nickel plated handgun cases to be harder to find on the ground. They seem to hide better.

Shoot a revolver and there's no problem. :bigsmyl2:

[Lizard333]

The damage to dies already mentioned is extended to barrels. Bench rest shooters won't touch the stuff.

Not an issue with revolvers.

[nanuk]

a fellow gave me about 2k of nickeled 357 cases

I used them where they may get lost and I wouldn't waste time trying to find them.

I still have many that I'll use in my IMI 357 in the bush, cause I know I'll never try to find them and if I DO look, they should be easy to spot

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I have reloaded 1,000's of nickle nickle 38& 357. The only flaking I had was w/ brass of the late 1960's early 1970,s era. Pre 1974.
Since then no problems.
I use nickle 44 only for hunting loads as I have only about 200.
The same goes for my /06 cases ,nickle for elk. The rifle 7 44 mag cases get reloaded so little I can not say if rifle cases are different than the 357 cases.:Fire::Fire:

[yovinny]

I've rarely used brass in any strait pistol case in years, its nickle all the way.
Their tougher, clean easier and faster, dont tarnish or stain,,,whats not to like ?

But then again, I ran a pistol range years ago, so had my 'pick of the litter' at zero cost for years on new once fired cases by the 5gal pail.

Bottle necked cases are a different story, pistol or rifle.
I dont think those stand up as well.

Just my $.02
Cheers, YV

[Echo]

Brass left in leather loops in such conditions exhibits corrosion very quickly, the tannites in the leather accelerate the problem.

And that's why I only used nickle brass for my .357 reloads - the unplated stuff made ugly green marks on my custom gun belt, and We Can't Abide Ugly!

[thegreatdane]

I'll gladly take the nickel cases off your hands!

[30yrcaster]

I've used nickle in 38 spl for years. Loaded some of them 40 times (annealed the necks). They clean up really nice in the tumbler. I read in the 70's they deposit nickle in the reloading dies and that is correct. I used carbide dies and when noticing scratching on the brass, took a brass brush and made a few passes inside the die. No more scratching and nickle is gone.

Also, back in the 70's all you could get loaded was nickle in 38 spl or at least by me. I seem to remember nickle was preferred in law enforcement since they wouldn't corrode in belt loops. I had brass shells that turned green when left in leather belt loops.

Just my 2 cents.

[Jacko.357]

I have 337 Federal Nickel Plated .357 Shells that have been reloaded 16 times each over a 3 year period. I have had 2 case head seperations and I split Case Neck. I am very happy with my Nickel plated cases. The 3 issue's I've had happened soon after I first began reloading and those 3 Cases came from the same batch of Federal Factory ammo on the 6th reload

regards Jacko

[Ed K]

Not an issue with revolvers.

How about less of an issue with revolvers? One could probably take a carbide scribe and put a huge scratch inside a revolver barrel and most shooters would not see any practical difference.

And I did not know we were talking only revolvers...

[30calflash]

Like anything else it could be different batches that have the flaking problem. Same goes for it rubbing off in a sizing die.

I used a lot of nickle 38/357 brass in the past and never had a problem with it flaking. Some split cases, some that were sized and tumbled so many time that the nickle was wearing off.

If the nickle is building up in the dies Hoppe's #9 does attack nickle like it does copper fouling. A wet brushing and overnight soak should take care of it.

[3006guns]

[QUOTE=Sonnypie;1447467]Do you know why Sheppard's have black sheep mixed in the herd?
For count.
1 black sheep per 99 regular sheep = 100 sheep.

So I use the nickel plated ones the same way. If I see 5 nickel plated ones in a pile of my brass, there are _ _ _ pieces of brass in that pile?
*
*
*
*
*
(answer: 495)
(Because 5 of them are nickel plated) :veryconfu

:lol:

That's interesting....and very clever. But it still doesn't beat having my eight year old grand daughter count case for me, by twos, fours, etc. I get an accurate count and she gets better grades in math.

I dislike the nickle because of past case mouth splits and cracking. It just seemed so brittle or "fussy" compared to regular brass, which looks more like real ammo to me anyway. Guess I'm funny that way.

[Shiloh]

Nickel cases clean up in about 20-25 minutes in the tumbler. I have nickel cases in almost every caliber I shoot. In the pistol brass, the nickel is wearing off and the brass showing through. Some of these brass cases are decades old. Peters, Remington Peters,
Western, and Winchester.

Shiloh