Nickel?

You can load them but they are hard on the dies....abrasive and harder than regular brass cases.

Also, they can't be annealed as doing so makes them harder. Just shoot them 'til the wear out which sometimes ain't too long.
 
Yes nickel plated brass is good for reloading. It does tend to become brittle and cases crack at a higher rate than pure brass. If they crack after sizing just toss them. Not a big deal.
 
I you are having problems reloading with nickel plated cases then the problem is you. Yes they do not last as long for reloading but they should work the same. Steel cases is what you want to avoid as they are much harder on dies.
 
Load them the same as any other brass. They tumble clean a lot quicker. They have a different feel when resizing like they are stiffer, but slide easier. No need for lube in carbide dies. Lube for standard non-carbide dies, just like any other. I've heard you get less reloads from them. I have yet to be convinced, as I have several sets, most over 10 loadings, that have never met their end of life. They are my preferred case for 38/357 snce they don't tarnish and discolor from handling.
 
Agree with TimSr 100%. Nickel plated cases are just fine for reloading. Along with lots of them in a variety of calibers, I have some .357 Super Vel plated brass that came along with the first centerfire handgun I ever bought (original - not Mark III - Colt Trooper, wish I still had it). Been reloading them for about 45 years now, with only a few getting tossed with neck splits. I've also still got, and still use, the dies that came in the same package deal. Only once ran into one small problem - I had a batch of Remington .38 Special nickel cases where the plating started flaking off, so I tossed those. Otherwise, just the same as brass except that they clean up a bit better and size a bit easier.
 
My S&W 38Master prefers them to brass (feeding better). I've loaded them many times, using the common bull's-eye load, and have no more wear from usage than brass.
 
I take nickel cases and throw them in a mason jar. When I fill the jar I will load them with Hornady XTP or Sierra V-crown JHP. I have never bought any but everything has been range pickup. I have been doing that the past 16 years and I have put away a fair amount for the zombie apocalypse.

I used to reload them but the 9mm cases last about a quarter as long as what brass does. When I shot 38/357 they lasted about the same as brass but I was shooting mouse fart loads 99% of the time.
 
I started reloading in '69 mainly with brass I picked up at a police range and about 75% were nickel plated. Since this was pre-web, nobody told me nickel plated brass was any different so I just reloaded them the same as non-plated. I have had absolutely no problems related to nickel plated brass. Nope, my .38 Special Lee dies are still in good shape; no excess wear. I have reloaded some so many times I can see through the plating to the nekkid brass underneath. I have had no flaking of nickel. The cases get reloaded just like any brass and last just as long (with a wide variety of loads from pip squeak to +P+, and I have some nickel plated .357 Magnum brass that has had some "hot" 125 JHP rounds.).

Perhaps some have had problems, but with my equipment (started with a Lee Loader, then Lee dies, then Herter's dies, and an old Pacific set) and my loads from just enough to get the bullet outta the barrel to "barn burner", hot loads, I have had no problems related to nickel plating only (as different from non-plated).

I still have a few hundred nickel plated .38 Special and .357 Magnum cases and if you don't wanna try them I'll take any you want to get rid of...:D
 
They're just nickel plated brass. Reload just like any other case, but the nickel tends to come off. Found they get brittle on the mouth a bit quicker too.
They do not bother the dies in the least. Both nickel and brass are nowhere near as hard as any steel.
"...pre-web, nobody told me..." Ditto. Lotta stuff changed when whatisname invented the internet. Nobody tells me anything now either. Still expected to know though. snicker.
 
I've had both good and bad nickel. Some of it flakes off, and I've had small flake particles cold weld to the nickel matrix than holds the carbide particles in the carbide sizing ring together and start scratching cases. Had to polish it out with abrasives to get the finish back. I've had other nickel that just gradually wore off and never flaked, and that caused no issues. Seems like more than one plating process has been used. But if you are using, say, Lee sizing dies, they aren't terribly expensive to replace. I'll just advise you to apply a spray lube to the cases (even though you aren't supposed to have to with carbide pistol dies), and see if that doesn't discourage flakes from sticking to the surface. If I'd thought of it at the time I still had a lot of nickel 357 Mag cases I reloaded, I'd have done that, too.
 
Speaking for some of the larger belted mag rifle calibers only, the nickel plated cases are more susceptible to cracked necks and somewhat more difficult to resize. This morning upon sizing some .416s, four split necks out of 40 nickel plated cases and zero splits out of 20 brass cases which is fairly standard ratio across the board. This apparently has something to do with difference in case thickness between the two. The nickel plated cases seem to be thicker. Take two sized cases, one nickel and the other brass of the same brand (R-P for the example), and the same volume of powder will fill more of the nickel case than the brass case. I've never had a flaking issue with the nickel brass, just lose a lot more due to cracked necks.
 
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I've damaged two sizing dies with nickel cases, RCBS replaced the first die but told me they wouldn't replace another if damaged with nickel. FWIW I have never damaged a third sizing die and I gave up nickel cases many years ago.. They aren't worth the trouble they can cause.. William
 
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