Nickel plated cases...
- Thread starter bjm42
- Start date
I am another at-home shooter. I keep all my brass as shiny as possible to help in finding it. As stated, nickel is easier to locate than the browner colors of brass. I loose brass prior to wearing it out.
I use an L&R Ultrasonic for cleaning my brass and have found out the hard way not to mix nickel and brass together since it discolors the nickel. I use a different batch of cleaning solution for each also to keep the brass discoloration on the nickel finish.
Recently, I ordered a thousand pieces of 357 Sig once fired brass. They all turned out to be Speer and in nickel. It was $57.00 per thousand. I had a package of CCI primers which were also nickel finished. I started off using these, and I ended up ruining more than were fitting properly. I changed over to some brass Winchester primers and they were easier to press in place without causing any damage. Never had this happen in any other brand of brass in either nickel or brass finish.
I use an L&R Ultrasonic for cleaning my brass and have found out the hard way not to mix nickel and brass together since it discolors the nickel. I use a different batch of cleaning solution for each also to keep the brass discoloration on the nickel finish.
Recently, I ordered a thousand pieces of 357 Sig once fired brass. They all turned out to be Speer and in nickel. It was $57.00 per thousand. I had a package of CCI primers which were also nickel finished. I started off using these, and I ended up ruining more than were fitting properly. I changed over to some brass Winchester primers and they were easier to press in place without causing any damage. Never had this happen in any other brand of brass in either nickel or brass finish.
Two years ago I was building up a 180-grain .357 load.
Grabbed a coffee can of once-fired nickeled Remington brass to do 'em in.
Had used nickeled Rem brass in reloading in the past with no problems.
Found a bunch of split cases (longitudinally, not at the cannelure) in that once-fired bunch (factory loads).
Tossed 'em & carried on.
After shooting my reloads found several more splits & tossed the whole batch.
May have been a bad year for Remington nickel.
Denis
Grabbed a coffee can of once-fired nickeled Remington brass to do 'em in.
Had used nickeled Rem brass in reloading in the past with no problems.
Found a bunch of split cases (longitudinally, not at the cannelure) in that once-fired bunch (factory loads).
Tossed 'em & carried on.
After shooting my reloads found several more splits & tossed the whole batch.
May have been a bad year for Remington nickel.
Denis
It does happen.
back in the early 70s my Dad got a few boxes of .45ACP ball in nickel REM-UMC cases. Close to half split on firing. I've been reloading the rest ever since, each case has probably been loaded a dozen or more times, there are brass "wear stripes" on the nickel, and all those cases are still fine.
I don't think its the nickel alone that is a problem, when nickeled cases fail early.
Cheapshooter
New member
Common sense when you think about it. Most companies have some sort of language advising not to use reloads.
They have no idea if people doing the reloading are competent, or have the quality control ability of major ammunition manufacturers.
) liked the way you could handle he cases without creating any corrosion, they also looked cool. Bob Wright
New member
As a matter of interest, some of the first cartridges I ever bought in centerfire were old REM-UMC .45 Colt with nickeled cases and balloon heads. How many times I reloaded these I don't know, but the headstamps were worn down so much as to be faint on some cases. And the nickel was wearing so thin the brass was beginning to show through, looking more like gold that nickel.
And I've got nickel .44 Magnum, .44 Special, and more recently, .45 Colt all nickel plated. I carry cartridges often in leather belt slides with six loops for daily carry. Also many, many .38 Special and .357 Magnum cases. None of these have any higher failure rate than plain brass cases.
Regardless of case material, I find that most cases can be loaded about ten times with maximum or near maximum loads before failures start to occur, and over fifty times with moderate loads.
Bob Wright
And I've got nickel .44 Magnum, .44 Special, and more recently, .45 Colt all nickel plated. I carry cartridges often in leather belt slides with six loops for daily carry. Also many, many .38 Special and .357 Magnum cases. None of these have any higher failure rate than plain brass cases.
Regardless of case material, I find that most cases can be loaded about ten times with maximum or near maximum loads before failures start to occur, and over fifty times with moderate loads.
Bob Wright
Freedom Arms is the only gun company I know of that has embraced the use of reloads, and supplied me with printed reloading data.
I'm 54 years old, and I do not recall ever seeing LEOs putting cartridges in leather loops on a cartridge belt. They always carried ammo in speedloaders in pouches, so I'm not really a believer in the nickel/leather explanation. Maybe the pouches were leather too, but I know that I prefer nickel for defensive revolver ammo because it tarnishes badly just from handling it with your fingers.
I'm also one of those who documents how many times my brass has been reloaded, and I'm also one who has noticed no difference in the reloading lifespan, at least with 357 and 38s. I've not come across 9mm nickel, but it would sure be easier to spot on the ground.
My advice, if you have it, use it, and draw your own conclusions.
I'm 54 years old, and I do not recall ever seeing LEOs putting cartridges in leather loops on a cartridge belt. They always carried ammo in speedloaders in pouches, so I'm not really a believer in the nickel/leather explanation. Maybe the pouches were leather too, but I know that I prefer nickel for defensive revolver ammo because it tarnishes badly just from handling it with your fingers.
I'm also one of those who documents how many times my brass has been reloaded, and I'm also one who has noticed no difference in the reloading lifespan, at least with 357 and 38s. I've not come across 9mm nickel, but it would sure be easier to spot on the ground.
My advice, if you have it, use it, and draw your own conclusions.
I carried plain brass silvertips for years, and those things got so dark and nasty looking that it literally eroded my confidence in them to the point that I replaced them with nickel.
Is ugly , tarnished brass going to bother you when you clean it, get nickel.
A lot of what you have already read is true.
Is ugly , tarnished brass going to bother you when you clean it, get nickel.
A lot of what you have already read is true.
Tim,
I'm a little older than you, and I recall leather cartridge loops very well.
Even by the time I got into LE in '76, they were still in use as speedloaders started to invade the field.
Not talking full "Old West" cartridge belts, just belt slides with 6 or 12 spares that slid onto the duty belt.
At my first PD, besides the dump boxes I started with & the speedloaders I picked up later, I carried a leather cuff case with 6 loops on it, filled with armor-piercing KTW rounds. In nickel cases.
You've never seen movies or photos of cops in the '40s & '50s with at least 6 visible rounds on a duty belt?
That's exactly what nickeled rounds were developed for.
Denis
I'm a little older than you, and I recall leather cartridge loops very well.
Even by the time I got into LE in '76, they were still in use as speedloaders started to invade the field.
Not talking full "Old West" cartridge belts, just belt slides with 6 or 12 spares that slid onto the duty belt.
At my first PD, besides the dump boxes I started with & the speedloaders I picked up later, I carried a leather cuff case with 6 loops on it, filled with armor-piercing KTW rounds. In nickel cases.
You've never seen movies or photos of cops in the '40s & '50s with at least 6 visible rounds on a duty belt?
That's exactly what nickeled rounds were developed for.
Denis
Bob Wright
New member
Just as a historical fact, all revolver cartridges considered "police" ammunition was nickeled. Older rounds (collector quality) in .32 S&W Long, .38 S&W, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .45 Colt, and .45 ACP will be found with nickeled cases. Of the same vintage, target .38 Special cartridges will have plain brass cases.
When the .38 Super cartridge was introduced, it was decided to load it in nickeled cases to distinguish it from the .38 ACP.
Current practice however, is to load "premium" ammunition with nickeled cases just "for show."
Bob Wright
When the .38 Super cartridge was introduced, it was decided to load it in nickeled cases to distinguish it from the .38 ACP.
Current practice however, is to load "premium" ammunition with nickeled cases just "for show."
Bob Wright
Years ago I read of one police department that had patrol officers load
their belt slides with nickel .38s to "match" their silver shields while the gold badge types were ordered to use the brass colored rounds.
The author was Mas Ayoob I believe.
In another article, possibly in G&A, .38 brass from a single lot were taken and reloaded. They were reloaded with moderate loads. A few split with only a few reloads, some gave out after around 10 and some went to 30 reloads before the test was ended.
their belt slides with nickel .38s to "match" their silver shields while the gold badge types were ordered to use the brass colored rounds.
The author was Mas Ayoob I believe.
In another article, possibly in G&A, .38 brass from a single lot were taken and reloaded. They were reloaded with moderate loads. A few split with only a few reloads, some gave out after around 10 and some went to 30 reloads before the test was ended.
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Gary Wells
New member
About 25 years ago a friend & I were cruising the Costa Mesa show and we came across a gentleman selling a lot of 7000 brand new nickel plated brass cases in .45 auto. R-P, non primed. I don't remember the price, but it was so good that we ould not afford to pass it up. I took 3500 & he took 3500. Needed a dolly to get them to the vehicle. Over the years I shot & reloaded them in groups of 500-600. With a light target load of about 3.6 grs of Herc Bullseye, WLP primers, & 185 grain H&G mold pattern # 130 LSWC. I am currently shooting up my last batch of 620 cases & am on the 4th reloading of those cases. I always got somewhere between 12 & 30 reloads before the cases split.
Gary Wells
New member
I believe that 1 of the major causes of failure is the bell & crimp operations.
buckhorn_cortez
New member
Hydrogen embrittlement is associated with steels, both carbon steel and stainless steel, aluminum, and titanium. It is not associated with brass.
Therefore, plated brass cases should not crack from hydrogen embrittlement.
Hydrogen embrittlement is treated by a "de-embrittlement" process that usually consists of baking the plated part after plating at 375F for four hours.