Nickle plate or Brass, and a Hundred questions (Advice Please)

[sparkz]

Stupid Question for a Noob,, ( we hope to learn correct safe ways to cast, load 38/357, 44 mag/ spl, .45 Acp, and later 30-30, 7,62x39 so any things a guy might learn?)
Whats better in long run (or even short run) a brass or a Nickle plated to reload and why do you think so
whats advantage / disadvantage of each?
just looks, or maybe softer brass, nickle for smoother sizeing finish?
thinking as I buy factory loads I might buy whats best to reload and get ahead of curve

whats best brands of factory loads for brass / nickle plate re-loads
and primer pockets? .45 small or large pockets do I load same thing or change it up for primer size, any why did some body even come up with this PIA? Agh
do we have a "Brass 101 stickie" for a noob to learn from all the collective knowlage from the seasioned pro loaders?

I have some brass now to be sure but where and why should i be ??
I know there dumb questions but we are noobs and if we don't ask we will stay noobs and never learn what where and why.
also are there things I should had asked that in my "noob-Ness" left out?

Last of lots of things that keep me thinkin about, Best books about cast & that J-Word type reloads I might learn most from and go back to for years to come?

Thank you all for any input good and bad, I know I asked lots here but if I don't ask I'l and many other Lurkers may never know, and I really want to learn safest correct methods, as My Son and I venture in to the wonderful world of Home Grown boolits....
Patrick, AKA; Sparkz & Son

[462]

Patrick,
I won't address your brass questions, however as far as books are concerned, they will answer the vast majority of the questions that you will have.

Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook, third edition, is arguably the best source for anything casting related, and it has the most comprehensive load information, to boot. The fourth edition is excellent, as well, just a different approach. Get both of them, read them more than once, make a list of your questions, and ask them.

For jacketed bullets, any manual from a bullet manufacturer or Lyman's Reloading Handbook. Again, get more than one and read them more than once.

Avoid You Tube how-to videos till you've read authoritative manuals and asked your questions of known knowledgeable people (Cast Boolit members) and you know what you are doing. Till then, you won't know which You Tube fame seeker is dangerous and which is doing things safely and correctly.

Finally, you will get varying answers to your questions. The answers will reflect what worked for that particular individual and his gun(s). You and your gun(s) are different, and what worked for someone else may not work for you. That's reality. Boolit casting and reloading requires no small amount of experimentation, and it will be both frustrating and rewarding.

Buy your books, read them, ask your questions, accumulate your equipment and supplies, and have at it.

[DLCTEX]

As to brass or nickle the nickle can flake off and damage dies. It hasn't been much of a problem for me and they are easier to clean and don't tarnish. If you use Lemishine (citric acid ) for case cleaning and mix nickle and brass, or do brass then nickle, then you can get a brass plating on top of the nickle. If I find a nickle case that shows signs of the plating cracking, I toss them. Some think nickle cases will neck split earlier, may be.
The small primer 45 ACP brass was an attempt to reduce the amount of lead put out from primer compound for inside ranges in particular. Since I have a progressive press set up for 45 ACP LP, I hate the small primer cases that gum up the works. If you segregate them and prepare for them, no problem. When they come to my reloading room they get traded, sold or given away.
There is a sticky in the cast boolits section on citric acid brass cleaning if that interests you.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

If you are gong to buy brass, then this site has worked well for me.
https://www.starlinebrass.com/order-online/index.cfm
The above advice from these guys will not steer you wrong. You really want to know that you understand what you have done to load your rounds when you first pull that trigger.

[Wayne Smith]

Couple of answers. If you are into Cowboy shooting the nickle finish is a premium because it can be put on a cartridge belt and the 'brass' won't tarnish from the acids left in the leather.

Otherwise it's a pain because it tends to last about half or less long than brass because of it's brittleness. You typically get neck splits in the nickle well before in the brass. However, when you have a couple of hours do a search on 'annealing brass'.

Definitely pick up several loading manuals, if you haven't already. The Sierria is a ring binder and they are very good at sending you updates if you register. The Lyman is a standard and should be. Get these and both you and your son read them over and over and quiz one another. You don't have to memorize loads, in fact you shouldn't. This tempts you to rely on memory rather than checking recorded facts.

Small primer 45ACP brass is a very recent phenomena. The round has been around since before 1911. The change came in the search for a priming compound without lead and that would be 'environmentally safe'.

In one of the stickies there is a link to "From Ingot to Target" a free downloadable book. It will answer most of your questions and probably raise a bunch more!

[GL49]

I agree with Wayne Smith, except in a holster, I only like "brass". My personal preference, if I'm going to buy new handgun brass, it'll be Starline. "AMERC" headstamp brass, both rifle and handgun,they all seem to have loose primer pockets, if I find those at the range they go in the scrap bucket, I don't even look twice at those.

I've had trouble with Remington headstamp brass that seems have have a thinner case wall in a couple of my handgun calibers, 32ACP and 44 magnum. I purchased a smaller carbide sizing die from Lee to squeeze them down a bit smaller before I got smart and started casting my own boolits. The brass I have isn't a problem with a regular sizing die if you're loading cast .001 or .002 over nominal bore size. Any 44 mag remington brass only gets loaded to 44 spl power levels for practice.

In my 9mm, using a Lee carbide sizer/primer punch and Winchester brass, once in a while the fired primer won't drop out of the case and if I'm not careful I'll reseat a fired primer into the case when reloading on my Dillon press. You can "feel" the difference when you seat a primer. I don't know if the Winchester case has a thicker base, requiring a bit longer punch, or if the specific die I have has a shorter than factory spec primer punch. Gotta be careful on my Winchester 9mm, I'll get one of those every 300 to 400 cases. I just pitch those into the recycle can.

Here's how I handle my handgun brass, I've found that sorting by headstamp really helps if you crimp and/or trim some calibers
If picked up at the range, and if I'm certain it's only once fired, (I pick up 100 pcs and find two empty boxes), it goes in the "once fired" box in my garage, sorted by headstamp. I have four different sorts for once fired, Winchester, Remington, PMC, (those three are mostly what I find), and "all the rest once fired". Brass that is mixed or I'm not sure if it's once fired when found at the range goes into the "reload and shoot it in the woods 'cause I'm gonna lose it" box. Now I can keep track of how many times each piece of brass has been fired. I know a lot of people that don't bother sorting, but I prefer it. It's easy to keep track if you have a large number of each. I'll load a few thousand Remington, as I'm using those I'll be loading Winchester, the Remington will be going into the "twice fired" box. Give it a few years and your garage shelves will be as full as mine.

Rifle brass: I load ten different calibers, my brass is Remington, except for my 375 Winchester and 45-70, for which I purchased new Winchester and Starline. I've traded away or sold the other headstamps, only because Remington is what I had the most of. All are kept sorted by the number of firings and when and what length they were trimmed. You'll find keeping track of trim length really helpful in the 30-30, or any case that requires a crimp.

Small pistol primers in the 45acp? I've got a coffee can full, not enough to fool with, when I get enough they'll be my "shoot in the woods and lose 'em," reloads.

Books: I've got a Lyman cast bullet handbook, Sierra, Lee, Nosler, Hornady, and an old Pacific. All are good, in order, I'd buy the Lyman 1st along with one of the others, I like Sierra. As finances permit, buy the others.

[MtGun44]

Read the good reloading manuals like Hodgdon, Sierra, Hornady, etc. Lyman book
is very good start on casting, Glen Fryxell's book is SUPERB on cast boolits and free.

Avoid YouTube only because there is NO quality control. ANY idiot can post and he
may tell you just how to hurt yourself.

Read the stickies here, LOTS of good info there. Search engine here is - sad to say - not
that whippy. Certainly, more experience with a particular search engine helps.

IMO, I only buy nickel plated brass rarely for some special identification need - like to keep
loads for one rifle segregated. Other than that, I have some .38 Spl, .357 Mag and .44 Mag
range pickup nickeled brass which seems fully interchangable with plain to me. Never saw
flaking or cracking to any significant degree, but not disputing that it may occur.

Welcome - READ a lot and once it all starts to gel, please look for stickies on a topic and
then come and ask for assistance. We love to help, but the really basic stuff that gets
asked 10 times a month starts to get wearisome after a while.

Take care of yourself and be safe!

Bill

[Wayne Smith]

I have some 357 Nickle brass that is way more than once fired. I'm getting some flaking around the mouth of the case on some of them. Doesn't seem to matter so far.

[cbrick]

sparkz, first there is only one dumb question and that's the one you don't ask.

From Ingot to Target has been mentioned in a couple of posts but here is the link to it to help ya out. I recommend downloading it and printing it out, it's a valuable casting resource.

From Ingot To Target by Glen Fryxell (http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf)

Rick

[pipehand]

Sparkz,

Some calibers, principally .357 Mag and .38 Spl. will be most available in nickle cases. This is a holdover from their use in law enforcement, where they were carried in leather cartridge belt loops. Brass cases would form verde gris, or green corrosion when in contact with the leather. Reloadability was not the primary issue.

If you have a choice between nickel and natural brass, buy the natural brass. The pickeling process used in plating the nickel to the brass makes the brass brittle and more prone to cracking. Plain brass will last longer.

[Echo]

I have some nickle .45 ACP brass that has been reloaded and shot so many times the canalure is ironed out - and no splits or flakes. I used nickle brass for my carry .357M because it didn't corrode onto the leather due to the acid left in from the tanning process. I haven't noticed any difference between nickle & brass re splits.