Nickel plated .38 brass

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I use a bunch of nickeled brass and have generally found that some lots will split early on, but those that don't will usually go about as long as plain brass. For many years it was said that hydrogen embrittlement was the culprit, but that explanation seems to have been put to bed. Whatever the exact cause, I believe that there must be some step in the nickeling process which if not done properly will lead to premature failure. Otherwise, I believe each type will have about the same lifespan.

<edit> And as has been noted, carbide is far harder than nickel. I believe it is well past time to forget the idea that nickeled brass will scratch dies.
 
I use nickel cases, even special ordered, to provide rounds to be left in leather; either a belt, a bandoleer, or speed strip carrier. SD rounds for one cartridge are reloads in nickel cases saved from firing commercial rounds. Other guns use commercial SD ammo that is usually with nickel cases. Otherwise, brass cases left in the gun indefinitely will get pretty ugly, possibly more difficult to eject for a reload, hopefully never. We do carry spare ammo for a reason.
 
I have never noted any significant difference between nickel plated and brass. I do not load .38 Special much these days, but I did about 15 years ago when I shot PPC. I remember some shooters would religiously use nickel cases in the belief they were easier to extract when reloading. I understand that was the point of nickel brass for handguns in the first place, easier extraction.

I also loaded a lot of .45 ACP ammunition for bullseye shooting. I remember using nickel plated cases until (virtually) all the nickel was worn off and the head stamp flattened. I lost more that I could not find than losing them to splits.
 
To me nickel brass wears out faster with over belling the case and then over roll crimping the case. Normal brass is a little more forgiving in this case.
 
I load nickel in both 38 & 357, but I don’t load max loads. Over the years I have work the plating off of some cases to the point it looks like a brass case with a nickel wash and the headstamp is no longer legible. These cases have been loaded easily 20+ times, maybe 30+ for some of them. I’m loosing about 2-3 every time I load a batch of 500 so it’s definitely not something I worry about as I have plenty of brass, and it all has at least 20 loading on it.
 
From a guy that shoots generally twice a week you may be getting wrapped around the axle about something that's really not an issue. In the ppc competition days where guys were shooting weekly for competition and practice it may have had relevance. Now you cant find enough primers to wear out pistol brass.
 
I have just as much corrosion in nickel plated as brass in belt loops, I thought it would be less but .... so what...nickel looks better and that all I got to say about that...live with it...some people (shooters) like nickel...get over it...I have a about 1500 nickel used cartridges to reload while you guys hash this out...:neener:
 
I reload .357. I seldom go to the max, unless I intend to visit large bear country. Usually mid-loads, otherwise. My plated reloads (which I pick up for free) get about 6-8 reloads before splitting the length of the case. I'm up to 14+ reloads on unplated brass.
 
<quote>Leather contact with brass somehow speeds up the tarnishing process,</quote>
It is my understanding that amonia is used in the tanning process. A little bit of the amonia remains in the leather for a very long time. Ammunition stored in a leather belt's ammo loops will be affected if the cases are plain brass. The earliest noticeable effects are a green tarnish.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Funny I saw this post; I culled this badly cracked R-P case from a batch of about 200 I resized last night. It didn’t feel right when the ram pushed the case into the resizing die… easy now to see why.

View attachment 1027914

I think this one only went three reloads before giving up the ghost. I didn’t see any sign of failure on the case when I initially picked it up and put it in the vibrating cleaner but I’m sure it failed like this during firing and not just during resizing.


I’m happy with ten reloads for revolver cases. I try not to hot rod my loads so I don’t think I am pushing the limit with ten.
I do have several nickel plated cases that are practically yellow, they’ve probably been loaded, fire, tumbled, processed and loaded again at least 15 times by now. Primer pockets are still ok and no obvious signs of cracking.

I also think the nickel cases are more brittle, but I like them for wadcutter loads so I know by sight what round I am loading. :)

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
I have some cases of 9mm, .38 Special and .357 magnum that I've reloaded over 25 times.
Yes, some have split on occasion so they go into my scrap bucket.
An old timer said pistol/revolver brass can be reloader almost forever. He showed me brass for his revolver that is over 10 years old that he still reloads.
He said I could keep reloading the same brass over and over until it splits or won't hold primers anymore. So I haven't bought any brass for my handguns since my early days of reloading and I got bucket loads of handgun brass that I haven't even touched!
 
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