Using Nickel cases for jackets?

Has anyone using 22lr cases to make 22 caliber bullets used any of the Nickel cases.

How did they work? Any build up in the barrel?

We only use brass for the reason you're asking about.

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Considering that a nickel flake can scratch a hardened die I would not personally do it unless it was a junk barrel.

GONRA sez - watch for COPPER .22 RF cases.
When they show up, are really easy to dehead, etc.

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Originally Posted by M-Tecs

Considering that a nickel flake can scratch a hardened die I would not personally do it unless it was a junk barrel.

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I agree with this. Nickle is a hard metal.

Thank you for the information. I use Brass 22lr cases for my jackets, but the last batch from our gun club included lots of Nickel cases.

Is there any other way to use Nickel cases or do they go into the trash?

Nickel is about 40HRC while tool steel is about 60HRC. There is a persistent myth that hardened sizing dies are scratched by flakes of nickel, I’ve even heard this about carbide dies, but I am certain that it is all just a myth. Perhaps something like a grain of sand got embedded in a case that happened to be nickel and the sand scratched someone’s die, or maybe it never happened at all and it keeps getting repeated anyway, I don’t know.

I wouldn’t expect it to harm a barrel in any way, but I’d avoid it just because I can’t recommend a solvent for removing any that might be left in the barrel.

Edit: your recycler wil, take them, mine prices them as cartridge brass.

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Originally Posted by JimB..

Nickel is about 40HRC while tool steel is about 60HRC. There is a persistent myth that hardened sizing dies are scratched by flakes of nickel, I’ve even heard this about carbide dies, but I am certain that it is all just a myth. Perhaps something like a grain of sand got embedded in a case that happened to be nickel and the sand scratched someone’s die, or maybe it never happened at all and it keeps getting repeated anyway, I don’t know.

I wouldn’t expect it to harm a barrel in any way, but I’d avoid it just because I can’t recommend a solvent for removing any that might be left in the barrel.

Edit: your recycler wil, take them, mine prices them as cartridge brass.

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Most modern barrel steels have a hardness of around 25 to 32 on the Rockwell C scale. I have my own Wilson-Rockwell 3JR Hardness Tester and certified test standards. Most that I have checked are around 28 on the C scale.

Stange how (myself and friends that I have polished dies with scratches) mostly only happen when sizing nickel plated cases????????

Only thing I use nickel cases for are level 3 45/70 loads.


https://hcsplating.com/finishes/comp...ickel-plating/
How Hard Is Electroless Nickel Plating?
Electroless nickel can also protect components from wear and tear that occurs over time, which helps parts last longer and saves companies money on maintenance and replacement costs. Electroless nickel has a hardness of 63 on the Rockwell C scale as plated.

https://www.redding-reloading.com/te...use%20problems.
Nickel plated cases are often associated with die scratching problems. Small particles of the hard nickel plating may be present from trimming and/or deburring operations and can find their way inside the dies.
It is important to understand that foreign material does not have to be hard to cause problems. Brass chips from trimming and deburring can find their way inside the resizing die, where they can literally be welded to the inside of the die under the extreme pressures generated by full-length resizing. When this happens, the "brass against brass" action will gall the cases, leaving an apparent scratch. The condition will rapidly worsen as brass continues to build up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by M-Tecs

Most modern barrel steels have a hardness of around 25 to 32 on the Rockwell C scale. I have my own Wilson-Rockwell 3JR Hardness Tester and certified test standards. Most that I have checked are around 28 on the C scale.

Stange how (myself and friends that I have polished dies with scratches) mostly only happen when sizing nickel plated cases????????

Only thing I use nickel cases for are level 3 45/70 loads.


https://hcsplating.com/finishes/comp...ickel-plating/
How Hard Is Electroless Nickel Plating?
Electroless nickel can also protect components from wear and tear that occurs over time, which helps parts last longer and saves companies money on maintenance and replacement costs. Electroless nickel has a hardness of 63 on the Rockwell C scale as plated.

https://www.redding-reloading.com/te...use%20problems.
Nickel plated cases are often associated with die scratching problems. Small particles of the hard nickel plating may be present from trimming and/or deburring operations and can find their way inside the dies.
It is important to understand that foreign material does not have to be hard to cause problems. Brass chips from trimming and deburring can find their way inside the resizing die, where they can literally be welded to the inside of the die under the extreme pressures generated by full-length resizing. When this happens, the "brass against brass" action will gall the cases, leaving an apparent scratch. The condition will rapidly worsen as brass continues to build up.

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Read the final paragraph you posted. Folks get scratched brass coming out of a sizing die and jump to the conclusion that the die is scratched, but that’s not the problem at all. Carbide dies are not immune to this problem.

About plating, nickel has different hardness depending upon the process and subsequent heat treating. I assume that plating on brass cases is about the hardness of elemental nickel (essentially no heat treat) and you assume it’s about the hardness of plating on steel (more likely on copper on steel). I don’t really know, I just figure that they aren’t doing any heat treatment on brass because it’s not needed and they are on firearms where the additional hardness is needed. Since you have the equipment, can you test it?

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Originally Posted by JimB..

Since you have the equipment, can you test it?

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No, these types of hardness tester uses a specific weight to push a penetrator into the material. The depth of the penetration is converted to the proper scale. Some systems used a microscope to measure the width of the penetrator mark. Also when you get to smaller diameter rounds you should be using a conversation table account for the surface not being flat.

On a plated case the plating is way too thin to get true readings. The plating would have to be at least the thickness of the penetration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_5tdD7k9eU&t=607s

Quote:

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Originally Posted by M-Tecs

No, these types of hardness tester uses a specific weight to push a penetrator into the material. The depth of the penetration is converted to the proper scale. Some systems used a microscope to measure the width of the penetrator mark. Also when you get to smaller diameter rounds you should be using a conversation table account for the surface not being flat.

On a plated case the plating is way too thin to get true readings. The plating would have to be at least the thickness of the penetration.

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That’s unfortunate. We can do more secondary research, but there’s nothing like doing it yourself when possible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JimB..

That’s unfortunate. We can do more secondary research, but there’s nothing like doing it yourself when possible.

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For something as thin as the nickel plating on a 22 case I'm not even sure hardness testing files would work? I've never used them but that would be the first thing I would try. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/hardness-testers/

All chrome plated goes into the trash or scrap brass bucket during sorting of range pick up; for sale at recycler. With cost of swaging dies going from $275.00 to $1,000 - much more cost effective to avoid the Chrome plated for making swaged bullets.