Brass or Nickel coated? Oh No! I just ordered the "wrong" type!

[ghh3rd]

I have only used plain brass so far, and was scouring the net tonight looking for some 45-70 Starline. Thought that I found what I wanted and ordered 100, but I just noticed that the picture of what I ordered is Nickel plated.

I've heard that the advantage of plated is that it's more corrosion resistant, but also has disadvantages such as cracking and flaking, and wearing out faster in general.

Could I hear from some of you who prefer Nickel plated about why you like it better? You may convince me not to try to cancel the order tomorrow :)

Thanks

[Doby45]

Use the nickel for your weaker loads.. Get you some brass ordered for your full power loads.

[runfiverun]

once you get a couple of loads from the nickel it's pretty long lasting.
it is more prone to splitting though.

[JJC]

I have about 12 reloads from remington nickle. About 28K psi no wear so far, pockets tight looks fine.

[odoh]

Nickle plating process tends to creates a hydrogen embrittlement situation in exchange for corrosion resistance.

[ghh3rd]

Good news! Finally reached the vendor, and they said that although the pic is of Nickel, they never carry it, and only ship Brass.

So now I have 100 pieces of brass ($43) coming from them and 20 pieces ($20) of brass coming with my MidwayUSA order of 45-70 dies, molds, etc.

Thanks for all of the info about Nickel coated brass, but I don't really need the extra corrosion proofing enough to warrant getting it.

[lwknight]

AWH! man, and the nickel coated stuff looks sooo swank.

[Echo]

I always loaded my belt (.357) rounds with nickle - the brass would stain the leather, nickle no.

[44man]

I never had a problem with nickel. I used some so long the stuff is worn off from the tumbler.

[XWrench3]

i bought the nickle version of that brass a couple of years ago. i have been using it since, with no problems. it is a little tougher to resize, but other than that, nothing bad is happening yet. some of them have been reloaded a lot too. i think that there is one shell that the nickle plating is chipped a tiny bit where i trimmed it. it happened when i was trimming. i slowed down the feed pressure while trimming, and i haven''t had an issue since. i dont know if i am just lucky (which for me would be strange indeed) or they are just not as bad as everyone lets on. by the way, i ordered them because they were out of straight brass cases, and the nickle starlines were still cheaper than the winchester or remingtons at the time. one thing about them, is they will feed just a little bit better through the action. due to the hardness of the nickle i suppose. and they will not stain or corrode while in a leather shell holder or belt. not an issue to me, but to some folks it is. i will say this, the primer pockets do not loosen up even under hot loads. i do not know if that is typical for starline, or just the nickle version. one thing is CERTAIN, starline has earned themselves a customer. anything i can buy in starline, i will. to bad they don't make cases for everything i shoot. // "I used some so long the stuff is worn off from the tumbler." 44man, THAT is a LOT of tumbleing!

[Daddyfixit]

I have reloaded alot of .38,.357 and some .44 using nickle, never had a problem. I now buy brass because I'm cheep!

[craveman85]

where did you find the starline brass? i need some more.

[Cherokee]

Starline sell direct, try their web site.

http://www.starlinebrass.com/

[AZ-Stew]

I never had a problem with nickel. I used some so long the stuff is worn off from the tumbler.

I have some that's worn off from the DIES. Tha said, in general, nickeled cases don't last as long, usually suffering from splits after 4-5 loadings. My biggest experience with nickeled cases is in .357 Magnum.

Regards,

Stew

[44man]

Yeah, it seemed to be popular for .357 brass to be plated and I guess it was for belt loops or leather pouches.
I had a Lone Eagle in 7mm-08 and had trouble with extraction. Someone told me that I needed to use nickel cases but I sold it before trying it.
I have used a lot of it for my 45-70 BPCR but I don't size them.

[cajun shooter]

craveman85, If you want the Starline nickel brass then you will have to buy from Midway or one of the others who sell starline brass. Starline does not sell their nickel brass direct, only the brass cases.

[bstarling]

This is not intended to be a hijack, but along the lines of the brittleness of nickel cases. I have a lot of 30/06 new nickel that I'd like to resize to 35 Whelen. I wonder if it would work or bust the necks open. Also, can these cases be annealed?

Bill

[frankenfab]

I only buy nickle brass for loading Speer shot capsules.:smile: