Brass.. ?

[Schleprok62]

OK, next question...

Are there any real world differences between the nickel plated brass, and the yellow brass? (Other than appearence)


Thanks

Tom

 

[kimbernut]

nickel plated vs. brass

nickel plated is smoother and harder resisting grit pickup and scratching better than yellow brass however in even lower pressure (starting powder weight)magnum cartridges the extra hardness makes it more brittle and thus more subject to splitting the side of the case . I've not had this problem with .380 auto,9mm,.38 spl.,or .45acp- only in .357 mag. (the only mag. I shoot)

 

[308win]

Nickel is brittle. /rhyme off.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I'm not going to get into this argument as I still have nickle plated Remington brass that is 40 years old and I have it loaded for my mod 19 S&W. I always load it to 7.8 grains of W-231 under a 125 grain Remington SJHP at 1120 fps out of a 2 1/2 inch barrel...I don't have no more problem with splitting with it anymore then I do with plain brass...Darn...And I said I wouldn't get into this argument...So much for that...

 

[Steve C]

Are there any real world differences between the nickel plated brass, and the yellow brass? (Other than appearence)

I have had to throw away more cracked nickle plated cases than brass cases even though the brass cases I have outnumber the nickel. However the nickle plated cases don't all fail even after many reloading. I have a box of .357 Federal that I bought as loaded ammo in the Mid 70's that have been reloaded many many times over the last 30+ years. I've had to throw away 6 or 7 cases out of the original 50 that have cracked at various times.

 

[ATAShooter]

I will say this... The nickel seems to show less signs of wear and tear v.s. reg brass in an M1A. Sratches dings from ejection are less. Also, there is a big difference in how much pressure I have to use when full length resizing them.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Schleprok62...No matter if you are against nickle plated on not. If you spend periods of time on hunts or, as I do every year, 6 days on horse back in the mountains. You will want to have a few nickle plated cases around for the firearm you use. IF you carry them, as I do, in leather loops on your belt. Nickled cases don't corrode and turn a nasty green when in leather beltloops. Plain brass can and will...

 

[JDGray]

I used the same 357 cases over and over and over again, with no problems, now I have a tumbler, so I can give them a rest The nickel cant get dirty, it seems

 

[dakotasin]

i've only worked w/ nickel cases for my bolt guns, and was unhappy w/ it; it was a nuisance to size and trim.

 

[donspag]

I have nickle .357 mag cases that look almost like brass I have reloaded them so many times. I have found winchester nickle (at least the lot I have) to be really tough. Sure you get split mouths after awhile and have to chuck some out. Nickle is more brittle but looks better to me.

I load the heavy loads in once or twice fired brass and then just load them progressively weaker until I get to my favorite .357 practice load of 6 grains of Universal Clays under a 125g JHP - pretty light load but fun to shoot.

Don

 

[azredhawk44]

The nickel-plated is a lot tuffer than the brass cases.

This can prematurely wear out your dies. Brass is very soft and malleable, but the nickel plating is not.

I won't shoot nickel brass out of my M1A. Actually, I won't reload nickel brass would be a more accurate statement. If I bought a box of specialty ammo and it was nickel plated, I wouldn't reload the brass.

 

[YellowLab]

I found some .223 nickle plated cases at the range one day.

Seems that the military uses nickel plated shells for high test loads. Even some of the TM's I have from the 40's state that nickle plated sheels were for 'High Pressure' rounds.

Other than corrosion resistance, and if you wanted to do some high pressure loads, nickle is not worth the extra money.

 

[g56]

Having carried a S&W Model 66 in a duty rig for several years, you need to shoot up the ammo you keep on your belt rig to keep it fresh, nickel is necessary due to the leather. I can't tell you how disgusted I got with nickel cases that cracked and had to be thrown away after being fired the FIRST time, this problem occurred with Remington, Winchester and Federal issued 357 ammo. If you wanted to reload it, you would invariably have to replace 2 or 3 cases every time you shot up a box of 50, if those were reloaded, you would have to replace a few more after the second time they were fired. It wasn't the pistol, I also carried a Model 13, and then a Model 19, then went to a Model 66, the results were the same. Brass cased ammo gave no problems at all in the same pistols.

 

[caz223]

Nickel plated brass is what I use for testing, I use plain brass for the loads that I've worked out over the years.
I just do it that way so I don't get them mixed up.
Because I use them no differently, I'm not much help, just telling you what I use 'em for....

 

[Joey2]

I have used Federal nichol brass for hot loads and find that it develops a hair line crack after a few reloads versus doing it with brass.

 

[caz223]

Oops, my post above should read "SO differently".