Nickel cases

[roysha]

How many of you use nickel cases for your handgun ammo reloading?

I ask because I recently was given a big batch of them in 40 S&W. I have had two steel size dies ruined by nickel, at least that is what RCBS told me, but they were bottle neck cases that I was sizing, one was a 357 SIG and the other was a 223 REM. RCBS replaced them but I received a note in with the new dies that that specifically stated NOT to use nickel cases.

I don't know if the bottleneck case and steel die was the magic combination that caused the problem, or whether I just got lucky.

I have plenty of 40 S&W brass so if I can't/shouldn't use them it is not that big of a deal. However, I really would like to use them if I'm not risking damaging a carbide die.

[tazman]

I use nickel cases regularly with CARBIDE sizer dies and have no issues at all. I have been using them for years with the same exact set of Lee dies in several calibers.

[Dirtjumper895]

For 357 Sig Nickel Cases, I used a 40SW Lee Carbide die to size the body. Then i used a Lee 357 Sig die to size the neck and bump the shoulder if needed. I did this without lube, and it worked awesome. I have had no issues with Lee dies and nickel cases.

[mdi]

yep, the old "nickle cases; good or bad?" topic. I've reloaded nickel plated and washed cases since 1969 as a lot of my brass was from police range pick ups. I've read all the "problems" with nickel plate brass since about 2009 when I started surfing reloading forums. I've only reloaded nickel plated handgun cases for 11 handguns in 8 different calibers using steel dies (and Lee Loaders) and carbide dies and have never experienced any of the "problems" (flaking, peeling, early death, ruined dies, ruined chambers) and I have a few for "special" needs (I have a box of Federal nickel plated 44 Magnum cases for my extra heavy 44 Mag. carbine loads. Mebbe 9-10 reloadings on them) and I have reloaded some cases so many times the nickel has worn off and the brass shows through...

[country gent]

I load nickel cases for handguns in carbide dies. The idea behind the flash plating is to slow retard corrosion and aid in easy extraction. Nickel plate is almost as hard as carbide and craks chips flakes can scratch or wear a steel die quickly. I pay close attention to case mouths and the platings condition.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

My experiences with nickel plated cases mirror those of mdi. I've been reloading since 1966 and use lots of nickel plated cases, especially in .38 Special, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, and .44-40 Win. (slightly bottle necked). I do load for bottle neck cartridges, but not the .357 Sig, and those for which I do reload such as .30 Mauser and 7.62x25 Tokarev don't seem to come in nickel, so I can't really comment on that situation. The benefits are as already have been stated, slightly elevated reliability in semi-autos as pertains to feeding and extraction; and as an anti-corrosion measure for revolver ammunition, especially if left stored in leather belt loops for long periods of time. You'll notice that most of the expensive only-20-rounds-per-box super defense loads have nickel cases.

[Carrier]

I have several hundred 38 special nickel brass that get put into rotation with my other 38 brass. They get wet tumbled as well together and no issues yet. I don’t know how many times they have been reloaded as I bought them from a commercial loader before I started loading.
I do know I have loaded them 9 times. Some are starting to show brass but no cracks so I will keep on reloading them.
The majority of them have plus p stamped on head.

[merlin101]

I've used nickel cases for years, so am I supposed to have problems with them

[jdfoxinc]

I use them for black powder loads.

[Dave C.]

Lube those Nicole cases even if you are using carbide dies.

Dave C.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've certainly loaded my share of nickel plated cases over the years and, beyond the shorter case life of nickel cases, I've never had a problem.

[Reddirt62]

Yes, with carbide dies. I have several thousand in 9mm and 45acp.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Big Tom]

Never had a problem with .44 mag, .40 s&w, 9mm with carbide dies and nickel cases.

[lightman]

I've loaded a lot of nickel cases with no problems. Sometimes the nickel starts to peel off around the case mouth and I trash those. While I will load nickel I prefer brass cases.

[375supermag]

Hi..

I have been reloading nickel cases ever since I started reloading back in the early 1980s.
I have never had any issues of any kind...no splits, no flaking, no problems with dies, no problems period.
Many have been reloaded multiple times with light loads, medium loads and even some fairly powerful loads, although nothing over book maximums.
This ranges from .38 Spl up through .44Mag and just about everything in between but no bottleneck cases. All with carbide sizing dies.

[DxieLandMan]

I reload them all the time in Lee Carbide dies with no problem. From 9mm to .41 Magnum. Never had any trouble at all.

[Walter Laich]

I've just ordered a molten salt bath annealing system to try to lengthen the time it takes for my nickel cases to crack at the mouth.

I've been using the same batch in my Vaqueros (45 Colt) for over 5 years and at 10% failure rate.

I replace them with brass ones now as brass lasts longer for me

[Jack Stanley]

Never had a problem with the carbide sizer die but the taper crimp die does seem to attract nickel flakes . In so doing scratches appear on the rest of the cases . Rather than try to get the flakes out I just don't use nickel .

Jack

[Catpop]

I scratched a steel sizing die back in the 70s using dirty nickel brass. Switched to carbide and no problems since!

[sparkyv]

I reload them all the time in Lee Carbide dies with no problem.

Me too.