Nickel plated brass

I have a few rifle cases that are nickel that I have pushed them to the back of the stack numerous times skipping over them. I have been waiting till I have enough to fill a box.

I have a few thousand nickel pistol cases. I have some 38 SPL and 45 ACP that I inherited that have been reloaded multiple times over the past 40 years and are still serviceable. They have always been loaded with lower end loads.

I also have some 9mm and 45GAP nickel cases that I load up with a SD bullet to +P velosities. I have reloaded 50 45GAP cases 13 times and I am down to 49 due to a lost shell. I am doing the same with 50 9mm and at the 7th reload I had a speer split the case mouth. They are ready for their 9th reload and I have had the one split and 2 lost. It is also easier to keep up with "special" loads spent brass if you use Nickel.
 
It is generally accepted that nickel plated brass came about primarily due to brass tarnishing when kept in leather belts & ammo pouches. Some time later Winchester, Remington, Federal, & some other manufacturers started using it in their premier & specialty loads.

I am shocked at the # of peeps on this thread using, or considering using nickel plated cases for reloading & shooting in general. Most rifle peeps shun it or shy away from ir for fear of chipping. Top competitors in both bullseye, bench rest & long distance rifle shooting never use it.

That being put to print, I shoot & reload only nickel plated cases for 5 different .45 autos. I have obtained over 40 reloads and will generally get 25 reloads per case. I generally reload in lots of 600 cases & work down from there. I shoot a very light target load.

Using for rifle, I would suggest keeping a close eye on the shoulder area of shouldered rounds. Keep a close eye on your dies also on nickel plated rounds for chipping in the shoulder area & scratching dies.
 
Lots of repeated myths, lies and assumptions on this thread.

Modern "nickel" coating Is an electroless coating, not traditional plating process. When 38 special cases were first PLATED with nickel, they were electro-plated only on the outside. Not the inside or the primer pocket.

Notice that modern electroless coating is the entire case, inside and outside. They don't flake like the old plating process. That is info left over from 70 years ago.

As for it being hard enough to scratch dies, well that's just not true. The nickle-phosphorus coating used on cartridge cases is not nearly as hard as the tool steel quality dies are made of. If Redding dies are so soft that nickle can scratch them, I'd find a different company to buy dies from.
 
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snuffy,

The cases that I mentioned were all brand new and they did indeed flake badly. They did NOT appear to have the less shiny electroless plating that I am familiar with.

Unless the manufacturers have changed their plating process in the last 8years then I would still shy away from them.
 
Lots of repeated myths, lies and assumptions on this thread.
Click to expand...

I have tumbled 38 Special cases until the cases took on a two-tone appearance without flaking. I have formed 280 Remington nickeled cases to 35 Whelen and 338/06 without the case flaking. Again, the failure rate was 50% because of neck splits.

F. Guffey
 
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