nickel brass and sizing die.

[starmac]

My 357 dies are steel, and the sizing die has started leaving length wise marks on the brass. Looking in the die it is scarred up, it wasn't doing this on several hundred brass casings, but started after I started sizing the nickel ones. I have another die, but is it steel to, and am afraid if I use it on the nickel it might mess it up too.
To I just need to put this on hold and get a carbide sizer? Will nickel mess with the hornady nitride or what ever they call them dies? I was planning on getting a hornady seating die anyway, so wouldn't mind buying the set, but hate too mess up another die.

[country gent]

The tritum nitride coating is very hard and does have lubricating qualities to it, but it is a very thin coating also. I dont think the nickel cases will be a big issue with them as long as the lickel isnt chipped leaving sharp edges.

[starmac]

Well I just found an old thread, that I should have read before messing with the nickel. lol It sounds like I can use my steel die, if I debur it before sizing. I was sizing then trimming and deburring, and pretty much scrapped that die, unless I can polish it out.
It sounds like I will just have to add another step, till I get a carbide die.

[dave 45-90]

Dirt on the cases imbeds itself in the die and scratches your brass.....Your brass cases are like that to if you look under a magnifying glass....Carbide needs no lube, and dirt won't be picked up as easily, nor will it embed in the die....All my dies are carbide, and I give each a good cleaning after and before using them...The nickel case magnifies every scratch.....Straight wall dies have to be kept white glove clean or you will have problems...I load a lot of 38 spl. in nickel and the only prep I use is a tumbler with walnut media and Dillon polish

[starmac]

I inspected the brass, and they show no scratches nor does the first fifty or so of the nickle. The inside of my die now looks terrible itself. I tried the deburring and run 20 or so cases through another die, and even a couple without deburring, with no scratches, but that throws everything out of sink, so I made a mad dash to sportsmans, and the lgs for some carbide dies, but no luck. They surprisingly did have hornady, which they do not keep many of, but they are not carbide and I don't want to risk ruining another one. I am just going to put the nickel on hold until I can get a carbide die.

The lgs did get a shipment of powder in, so it wasn't entirely a dry run.

[Pistol Pete]

Hello....I use Titanium Carbide dies for 9mm and 40 S&W. The instructions with the die set says to use lube about every 5 or 6 cases. You don't really have to, but i might use lube about every 15 cases or so if I remember to. However, when dealing with the nickel cases, they are much harder. I lube those about every 5th case just to help make it easy on the die. It really helps on the nickel cases. Be sure to inspect those nickel cases every time you reload them. Since they are harder, they will start to crack around the mouth much sooner than brass.
Hope that helps you out.
Pistol Pete

[375supermag]

Hi...

I have quite a few nickel cases in .357Mag that I have reloaded repeatedly over the years with no issues whatsoever. They are in the mix with about 1000 cases that I use for my generic target shooting/plinking/general purpose load that gets fired in half a dozen .357Mag revolvers. I have never had any scratching of cases or flaking of nickel coating in over 20 years of repeated loadings in these cases. I do inspect each case individually at multiple points in the case prep/reloading process and can't recall ever rejecting a nickel case for scratches or flaking. Maybe I am just lucky.

I use RCBS carbide dies and wipe all cases after tumbling with a cloth to remove any residual dirt, dust, or whatever.

I do clean my dies regularly with GunScrubber from Birchwood Casey, so that may help.
I never lube any pistol cases, so I don't know if that may help. I bought carbide dies just so I wouldn't have to lube and I have no intention to lube cases if I don't have to.