fan_of_flux
New member
Nickel feels stiff and brittle in the sizing die. Brass has a smoother feel because it is more malleable than nickel. However, nickel sure does look pretty with black bullets.
Nickel vs brass cases
- Thread starter cdoc42
- Start date
Average Joe
New member
No, I fine no difference, other than color.
Ime, at least 9 out of 10 cracked case mouths are on nickel (handgun) cases.
Edit: I should mention that the over 90% of cracked case mouths being on nickel plated brass happens with brass which is mostly (80+%) not nickel plated.
Last summer I bought two boxes .357 Mag Fed 158gr JSP specifically so I'd have 100 NON-nickel .357 cases for weaker reloads. I always use .357 brass for .357 reloads to help prevent build-up in the charge holes.
Edit: I should mention that the over 90% of cracked case mouths being on nickel plated brass happens with brass which is mostly (80+%) not nickel plated.
Last summer I bought two boxes .357 Mag Fed 158gr JSP specifically so I'd have 100 NON-nickel .357 cases for weaker reloads. I always use .357 brass for .357 reloads to help prevent build-up in the charge holes.
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Dead-Nuts-Zero
New member
I have a lot of once fired LE range nickel 38's from the 70's & early 80's.
Recently got back into shooting 38's & reloading them. Found the old nickel were hard to prime & went back to brass.
Could have been a primer issue or maybe the specs on vintage nickel, I didn't spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.
I also believe the old 38 nickel I loaded split easier (more frequently) than brass, but again it's vintage nickel & I had all I wanted after range sessions so it really was not an issue for me.
Overall, for shooting (not reloading) I would probably choose the nickel over brass if price & performance were equal.
Recently got back into shooting 38's & reloading them. Found the old nickel were hard to prime & went back to brass.
Could have been a primer issue or maybe the specs on vintage nickel, I didn't spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.
I also believe the old 38 nickel I loaded split easier (more frequently) than brass, but again it's vintage nickel & I had all I wanted after range sessions so it really was not an issue for me.
Overall, for shooting (not reloading) I would probably choose the nickel over brass if price & performance were equal.
A little off topic, but a year or two ago I bought some used Winchester .38 brass off GB, and some had primer pockets that were too small to accept Federal small pistol primers. I searched around here (iirc) and found that some are made with smaller (metric?) small pistol primer pockets. That was the first and only time I ran into that.
Dead-Nuts-Zero
New member
Carmady
I find this very interesting.
Were they nickel or brass?
I will look, I think problems I had were all Winchester nickel.
Don't recall what brand primers I used but they were very tight, enough so I gave up after about 50 rds.
I find this very interesting.
Were they nickel or brass?
I will look, I think problems I had were all Winchester nickel.
Don't recall what brand primers I used but they were very tight, enough so I gave up after about 50 rds.
The brass makers outsource to one another depending on who is busy with what. Some of the European and Israeli-made brass is on the tight end of the spec range, where U.S.-made brass tends to be in the middle of the tolerance range. So, outsourcing is one possible answer. If Winchester sent some of that outsourced brass out to be plated with nickel, the plating would tighten it further.
"Were they nickel or brass?"
Brass. In the pic you can see a little step machined at the top of the primer pocket. When I first looked at them I didn't notice that it was a step, and thought it was a circular indentation caused by trying to force the primer into the brass, but today after a closer look they appear to be made that way...old eyes. I saved them in a baggie for making dummy rounds.
Brass. In the pic you can see a little step machined at the top of the primer pocket. When I first looked at them I didn't notice that it was a step, and thought it was a circular indentation caused by trying to force the primer into the brass, but today after a closer look they appear to be made that way...old eyes. I saved them in a baggie for making dummy rounds.
Attachments
On the subject of primer pockets Ballistic Tools Small and Large Primer Pocket Swage Gage ® Set is a good investment. They came up maybe a year or two back here in the forums. For those who do not have a set of pin gauges.
Checking some old but never loaded Remington Nickel Plated Brass the go gauge is a real tight fit in about 5 out of ten cases I pulled at random. The pocket diameters come in around .2085 or less telling me that some primers will be a hard fit.
Ron
Checking some old but never loaded Remington Nickel Plated Brass the go gauge is a real tight fit in about 5 out of ten cases I pulled at random. The pocket diameters come in around .2085 or less telling me that some primers will be a hard fit.
Ron
"Was the brass decapped when you bought it??
Is it possible the brass was loaded with crimped in primers, fired, the primers punched out, but the crimp not removed??"
1 I don't remember whether the brass was already decapped or not.
2 That's the first I've ever heard of "crimped in primers," so I guess it's possible. I've never noticed any primer pockets with a step before.
Is it possible the brass was loaded with crimped in primers, fired, the primers punched out, but the crimp not removed??"
1 I don't remember whether the brass was already decapped or not.
2 That's the first I've ever heard of "crimped in primers," so I guess it's possible. I've never noticed any primer pockets with a step before.
Dead-Nuts-Zero
New member
Originally I thought my problem nickel was mostly Winchester stamp.
However after checking several I had loaded, the majority seems to be R-P and Federal with a few Winchester mixed in.
Still don't know which brand(s) had the tight pockets.
Will try a few more vintage nickel next time I load 38's to see if I can figure out the problem.
However after checking several I had loaded, the majority seems to be R-P and Federal with a few Winchester mixed in.
Still don't know which brand(s) had the tight pockets.
Will try a few more vintage nickel next time I load 38's to see if I can figure out the problem.
Carmady: I'd second the idea of crimped primers. Generally a feature on military ammo. 38spl was used by some of our military,particularly Air Force .
The circular "step" is where metal was displaced.
Folks who use military brass have ways of removing the crimp.
I had a Husky and a Win M70 in 7mm Rem that were radically different in headspace. In an effort to get better case life with sure cycling,I went nickel brass for the Husky and plain for the M-70.
I,too have noticed sizing effort a little higher with nickel,and necks more prone to split.
If I had to guess,it might be if the plating splits it creates a stress riser and focusses the working of the brass. (But I cannot say I know that to be true)
The circular "step" is where metal was displaced.
Folks who use military brass have ways of removing the crimp.
I had a Husky and a Win M70 in 7mm Rem that were radically different in headspace. In an effort to get better case life with sure cycling,I went nickel brass for the Husky and plain for the M-70.
I,too have noticed sizing effort a little higher with nickel,and necks more prone to split.
If I had to guess,it might be if the plating splits it creates a stress riser and focusses the working of the brass. (But I cannot say I know that to be true)
OldManMontgomery
New member
With all the complaint about nicked brass, I've never had any noticeable problems. I will add here I used to shoot PPC (the Police Pistol Course) using only revolvers and I loaded all my ammunition.
I've known folks who will not use nickeled brass and I've known folks who wouldn't use anything else. I still haven't had problems.
When I was shooting NRA 2700, I had a large pile of nickel Federal cases. I shot them and reloaded them until the head stamp was beat flat. Lost more than I discarded due to splits or whatever. Some of them were so used one had to look at the head stamp end to see the plating; it was worn off the sides. Losing them was still the main problem.
You're a big kid. Decide for yourself.
I've known folks who will not use nickeled brass and I've known folks who wouldn't use anything else. I still haven't had problems.
When I was shooting NRA 2700, I had a large pile of nickel Federal cases. I shot them and reloaded them until the head stamp was beat flat. Lost more than I discarded due to splits or whatever. Some of them were so used one had to look at the head stamp end to see the plating; it was worn off the sides. Losing them was still the main problem.
You're a big kid. Decide for yourself.
Bucksnort1
New member
For 38 and .357 magnum, I load all my JHPs in nickel cases and all plinkers in brass cases.
Your toilet is an asset.
Your toilet is an asset.
GECO brass from Europe almost always has tight primer pockets for one and an undersized flash hole for another. But even with that said I wish I could get more of it off the ranges I frequent because it's high quality. As for nickel plated, I never have enough of it in any single head stamp to reload with it. So I just use brass for volume and consistency. I don't buy it. But then I haven't bought factory ammo in years now.....
I pull my Nickle cases and use them for loading defense loads. Slicker, more corrosion resistant, so technically, they will offer greater long term storage and reliability. But, I also don't leave them in my brass groups since they do tend to crack much sooner than the non Nickle plated brass cases.
Reloader270
New member
I agree with all the comments above. However, should you decide to continue to use the Nickle cases, try getting a Foster FL Die. It size the nickle cases with ease.