chris downs
New member
So I come across some cracked case mouths from time to time. Though my nickel plated .45 acp cases amount to less than 5% of total .45 acp cases, almost all the cracked case mouths are nickel plated cases.
For some reason, I'm not sure why, but nickel cases seem to crack sooner than plain brass.
Way too many loaders seem to over expand the case mouth
As little as possible is best in my experience.Is there a way to determine best bell?
You are making a conclusion not congruent with my experience with .38 Spl. cases. I started with a mix of Nickled and plain Brass .38 Spl. once fire mixed head-stamp cases. Over a period of time and many reloads of those cases, the Nickle cases would split at a greater rate. When a case showed a minor crack at the mouth, it would be replaced with another once-fired case in that batch and in effect, sorting out the Nickeled cases. My point being, the belling and crimping were the same for both Nickeled and solid Brass cases. The only variable was that some were Nickeled, some were not.I have some very old nickel cases that have been loaded many times. Nickel cases can crack/split easier than pure brass but it’s almost always from having too much expansion. Way too many loaders seem to over expand the case mouth and I don’t know why.
44 AMP said:I guess they just don't make them the way they used to!