Nickle plated
- Thread starter Kram
- Start date
I reload with cast lead projectiles and won't use nickel plated for cast round reloading as I flare the pistol case mouths more to easily accept the softer cast lead rounds without shaving any lead off the round. Flaring and crimping the nickel plated rounds is slightly harder on both the dies and the case, so I don't do it. But for FMJ projectiles that don't need additional case mouth flaring, I'll use whatever shells are next in the hopper, so to speak.
Another point - I swage less favorable 9mm brass into .40 S&W JHP rounds which requires annealing of the shell - and that is only done with brass - can't be done with nickel plated -
I find the 9mm nickel plated shells make nice bullet necklace pendants - I'm sure someone will cringe at that comment ;-)
Nickel plated shells are " pretty " and they do hold up longer in storage as they won't tarnish- but then if you are storing your ammo correctly, this shouldn't ever be a problem.
At the end of the day, for responsible & learned shooters & reloaders, nickel plated brass seems a fashion statement more than anything. I have more reason, being a caster, to avoid nickel plated shells and no reason to seek them out or favor them.
Another point - I swage less favorable 9mm brass into .40 S&W JHP rounds which requires annealing of the shell - and that is only done with brass - can't be done with nickel plated -
I find the 9mm nickel plated shells make nice bullet necklace pendants - I'm sure someone will cringe at that comment ;-)
Nickel plated shells are " pretty " and they do hold up longer in storage as they won't tarnish- but then if you are storing your ammo correctly, this shouldn't ever be a problem.
At the end of the day, for responsible & learned shooters & reloaders, nickel plated brass seems a fashion statement more than anything. I have more reason, being a caster, to avoid nickel plated shells and no reason to seek them out or favor them.
One major plus for my semi-auto nickel plated cases; they are so much easier to find in the dirt, rocks, trash at my "range"...
I believe the plating process may have changed over the years. I think earlier plating was "electroplating" (using electron flow principles to "coat" a material with nickel), but now much is done with "electroless plating" (an auto-catalytic reaction that deposits an even layer of nickel-phosphorus or nickel-boron alloy on the surface of a solid material). I'm thinking the different processes may have an effect on case life? I have nickel plated cases from the late '60s (picked up at a police range, pre 9mm, which are still nice and shiny and I have reloaded some so many times the plating is wearing thin and brass is showing through...
My "observation" and I'm not a metallurgist, just a lifelong machinist/mechanic...
I believe the plating process may have changed over the years. I think earlier plating was "electroplating" (using electron flow principles to "coat" a material with nickel), but now much is done with "electroless plating" (an auto-catalytic reaction that deposits an even layer of nickel-phosphorus or nickel-boron alloy on the surface of a solid material). I'm thinking the different processes may have an effect on case life? I have nickel plated cases from the late '60s (picked up at a police range, pre 9mm, which are still nice and shiny and I have reloaded some so many times the plating is wearing thin and brass is showing through...
My "observation" and I'm not a metallurgist, just a lifelong machinist/mechanic...
Last edited:
Uncle Nick, I just resized a little over 3k nickel plate 9mm with my good 9mm resizing die.
I did hose them down good with lube before resizing them.
I'm going to go resize some brass 9mms now to see if my dies picked up. If they did I will know why.
Thanks for the heads up and I wish I would have known this before I bought the nickel plated brass.
Gary Wells
New member
Charlie 98:
Uhhh....
I shoot & reload in quantities of from about 500-600 cases from the same source (me or friends) & same purchase date, generally new but occasionally once fired. I do not comingle them so that I can keep a close eye on when they start splitting. Out of a lot of about 500 cases I will see my 1st split case at about the 6th or so reloading cycle. By about the 10th cycle I will start seeing 2-3 split cases per 100. I shoot a very "pip-squeak" target load and will get as many as 25 or so reloading cycles. I lose very few cases, maybe 1-2 per 100 fired. I will shoot & reload until I am down to about 100 or less cases with most split.
Uhhh....
I shoot & reload in quantities of from about 500-600 cases from the same source (me or friends) & same purchase date, generally new but occasionally once fired. I do not comingle them so that I can keep a close eye on when they start splitting. Out of a lot of about 500 cases I will see my 1st split case at about the 6th or so reloading cycle. By about the 10th cycle I will start seeing 2-3 split cases per 100. I shoot a very "pip-squeak" target load and will get as many as 25 or so reloading cycles. I lose very few cases, maybe 1-2 per 100 fired. I will shoot & reload until I am down to about 100 or less cases with most split.