Do nickel cases hold up better

Dano4734, this may be a bit late but a thought about your question regarding a load for deer in the 454 Casull. I used the latest Lyman manual for the data below and calculated ft-lb of energy with this formula: E= mass in grains x velocity squared divided by 450240.
I used their report of the most potentially accurate maximum load.

You used your .44 MAg successfully; if you used a 240gr bullet at 1177fps you'd have 738 ft-lbs of energy; a 300gr bullet at 1046 fps = 729 ft-lb. The pressures are essentially the same (36800 vs 36100). That looks like a wash.

In the .454, using the same procedure:

Hornady XTP MAG 240gr = 1732 fps = 1599 ft-lb = 46900 CUP

Barnes XPBHP 250gr = 1650fps = 1512 ft-lb = 53,200 CUP

Hornady XTP MAG 300gr = 1520 fps = 1539 ft-lb = 53,800 CUP

I would probably choose the 240gr bullet. You're getting virtually twice the energy as your successful .44 Mag, and more energy than you would with either a 250gr or 300gr in the Casull with less pressure (recoil).

As you increase bullet weight, velocity drops,and V squared is the key to energy production. I couldn't find data on the two you were considering but one was 300gr and the other 340, so the calculations would probably pan out the same way.
 
Like some of the others here, I use nickel cases to denote full-house Magnum loads (in my .41, and when I loaded .357) or defensive ammo (.45ACP,) but they don't get shot a whole lot, either. Everyone gushes on about Starline brass, I don't consider it any better than anyone else's... brass or nickel, and I think my RP brass is better. I used to get a lot of cracked cases with Starline in .357, that seems to echo what the others see.

Oddly enough, I have quite a bit of factory nickel .45 brass... mostly Speer and Federal, I hardly ever see a crack with it... but that is a low-pressure cartridge compared to the .41... or certainly the .454.

As I rotate my brass, I won't be replacing the nickel brass. YMMV.
 
I have tons of nickel plated .357 Magnum cases that I’ve had and been using for over 30 years with no issues.

I’ve also been using nickel plated 7-30 Waters brass for my T/C Contender, again with no issues. This brass is only a few years old, but no sign of flaking or other issues.
 
The stuff is irregular and depends on the nickel plating job. I've had nickel cases that nickel peeled off of and flaked away around the mouth heading south and that caused a carbide sizing die I had to start scratching cases. Carbide is harder than nickel, but the carbide is comprised of carbide particles in a binding metal matrix and nickel is one of the metals that binds it. But I've also had other nickel cases to which the nickel stayed bound until many, many resizings gradually wore it down to the brass. I just don't know how to tell ahead which one a lot will be until I've had it for awhile.

I've still got a few hundred new Remington nickel-plated 308 Winchester cases that tend to flake at the mouth after trimming. I decided to set them aside for loads for the field because of their weather resistance and where I cannot count on recovering them. Incidentally, I bought them originally to feed my M1A at matches, figuring that having white brass would make my cases stand out and easier to keep, as others would not mistake them for their own when policing their brass. I always lost a few at big matches due to that. However, it turns out the nickel reflects the color of grass and twigs with such fidelity that it becomes invisible in the grass, so I wound up losing more rather than fewer of them.
 
Over the years I have shot and reloaded only nickel plated cases (R-P only) as years back I came across a vendor at a gun show that had something like 7K new, non-primed nickel plated R-P cases for sale at a very reasonable price. I and a shooting & reloading friend split them. I shoot & reload for 5 different .45 autos for indoor target use. As almost everybody else hates nickel virtually every nickel case hitting the range floor is mine. For my old eyes they are easier to locate & have almost a self-lubricating characteristic to them. they clean up nice too. I do lose 1-2 every hundred from chipping but as I inspect my cases religiously before re-loading that causes me no grief. For me they are a benefit rather than detrimental condition. I have gotten (is that really a word?) as many as 30 reloads before scrapping them out.
 
I'm on the other side of the fence on this subject. I have been reloading niclel handgun brass since 1969. I got a lot of my 38 Special and 357 Magnum brass from a Police range that let me scrounge a bit of brass once in a while. I also have some Federal nickel plated 44 Magnum brass used for heavy loads only. In reloading this revolver brass, I take no special precautions except I don't tumble them very long, just a few minutes. I have reloaded 38s and 357s so many times the nekkid brass shows through and no splits, or flaking. I have 12 reloadings on my 44 Magnum nickel brass (265 gr LRNFP over a near max load of WC820), again no splits, no flaking. Perhaps because my brass is "old" and is electroplated rather than "washed"...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top