nickel cases?

[coosbaycreep]

Other than the fact that they look mighty purdy, is there any good reason for nickel over brass?

In both .500 and .44, the nickel cases I have are considerably more difficult to resize. Every time I put one in, it makes me think for a second that there's a problem, because the brass ones require a lot less effort.

They seem to require more effort to seat bullets in too.

Does nickel last longer than brass cases?

 

[Hairballusmaximus]

The nickel cases resist tarnish etc and are easier to see in low ligh for chamber checks etc.

The nickel cases are a little harder to size because they are harder than plain brass and have more friction than brass.

My experience is that no the nickel cases will not last as long as brass. They seem to be more brittle and more susceptible to work hardening if being crimped(roll crimp for revolvers, no noticeable diff for for taper crimped cases)

Nickel does seem to clean a lot faster and stay new looking with a lot less effort than brass.

Hairball

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

the only advantage is corrosion resistance.

 

[71Commander]

My carry ammo is only loaded in nickle cases. Helps keep them separate.

 

[JDGray]

Nickel does seem to clean a lot faster and stay new looking with a lot less effort than brass.

Shooting my RRA 9mm, you will appreciate nickel cases. The blowback design turns em black, and they clean up very fast in the tumbler I've loaded these same case at least 10X, no sign of wear.

 

[Slamfire]

Maybe in a blow back action. Breech friction is undesirable in any semi automatic mechanism and particularly a blow back. If the case sticks in a blow back chamber you are going to have a jam.

A nickel coating on a case would reduce the friction between the case and a steel chamber. So there might be a tiny improvement in extraction.

I have not paid extra for nickel cases. It seems they develop case neck cracking sooner than brass pistol cases.

 

[Walkalong]

JDGray is right about the 9MM AR, and nickle brass sooting up less. It soots the brass cases something fierce. I just tumble it longer. Nickle brass stays cleaner and cleans up faster when shot in most any gun.

I had not thought about using just nickle cases in the 9MM AR. I have enough to make a big batch of them for that. Hmmm....

 

[The Bushmaster]

Nickel plated brass came out during the era of when the police were carrying revolvers and carried their extra ammunition in leather loops or pouches. This kept them from corroding from the acid use in tanning the leather. The reason that nickel is use in defensive ammunition is that it ejects easier and therefore lessens the chance of a jam.

I'm not sure what equipment you are using coosbaycreep (I'm from Coos Bay) to resize your nickel cases, but I don't find them any harder to work with then plain brass.

Do they last as long as plain brass? Yes and no. I have some (around 60 left) R-P that I bought in 1967 that I still load today. And I have some that has gone by the wayside after only 5 reloadings.

I reload nickel brass in 9mm X 19 and .45 ACP for defense. And .357 magnum for my cartridge belts (I have a Colt SAA and a Ruger Blackhawk). Also in .38 Special for house defense rounds (S&W mod 10s)

I still say...If you don't like your nickel plated brass, I'll take it as I use it for the purpose it was intend for...

 

[420Stainless]

I got some .45ACP Federal pre-primed Nickel from Natchez online last week for $15/100. It looks like they still have some. Never reloaded for any semiautos before (mostly rifle and lately some revolver) so I don't know how good the quality of them is, but it seemed like a good deal when compared to unprimed brass prices.

 

[Horsemany]

Nickel cases with chew up a cutter head quickly. Don't like em.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Bushmaster hit it. If you leave your brass cases ammo in the loops of a leather gun belt for a long period, they'll get brittle in a hurry. The shiny stuff won't.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Horsemany. That is not what is dulling your trimmer cutting head. I've been trimming nickel plated brass with the same cutting head on my RCBS Case Trimmer 2 for the last 22 years and they are just as sharp as they were when new.

Nickel is softer then carbon steel and will not scratch dies. Will not damage or scratch rifle or handgun bores either...Let's see...What other wife's tales do we have out there?

 

[Horsemany]

Horsemany. That is not what is dulling your trimmer cutting head. I've been trimming nickel plated brass with the same cutting head on my RCBS Case Trimmer 2 for the last 22 years and they are just as sharp as they were when new.

Nickel is softer then carbon steel and will not scratch dies. Will not damage or scratch rifle or handgun bores either...Let's see...What other wife's tales do we have out there?

Sorry bud not a wives tale. I can trim hundreds of brass cases with the same cutter head. But if I trim 100 nickel cases it'll dull the cutter severely. I have some that are worn right down with ring impressions. The reason you are having success I assume is you have a better cutterhead. Some even have carbide teeth like a saw blade. The ones I use are standard Lyman cutterheads and I've talked to other people who have trouble with them too.

You say nickel is softer than steel..True. Water is softer than rock but have you seen the Grand Canyon lately? The fact is Nickel is much harder than brass. Bingo. Nickel is harder on cutterheads than brass. If you have a good cutterhead it may not matter but the Lymans are terrible with nickel. I've been through several so I know it's not just one bad cutterhead. A quick search will find other complaints of nickel being hard on cutterheads. NOT a wives tale.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Hummm...Sounds like you need to trade that Lyman in for a RCBS trimmer. OR...You could just send me the nickel cases...I could use 9mm X 19, .38 Special, .357 magnum, .45 ACP, .30-30, .30-06...

 

[ReloaderFred]

coosbaycreep,

If you'll lube those nickel cases with a little bit of spray lube, they will go through your sizing die so fast and easy you'll wonder what happened.

Bushmaster,

You forgot the word again. It's verdigris. Write it down somewhere near your computer so you won't forget........

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Horsemany]

Hummm...Sounds like you need to trade that Lyman in for a RCBS trimmer. OR...You could just send me the nickel cases...I could use 9mm X 19, .38 Special, .357 magnum, .45 ACP, .30-30, .30-06...

Thanks for the offer but I no longer use any nickel plated cases. I have some 270 Nickel plated if anyone's interested.

 

[Gewehr98]

They have their pros and cons

Pros:

Better for corrosion resistance.

Somewhat slicker in operation.

The nickel brass goes through my resizing dies with less effort, it seems. I use Imperial Sizing Die Wax, but between a plain brass case and nickel version, the nickel appears to resize easier. It could just be me, though.

I run nickel .45-70 brass in my Sharps because they're a lot easier to clean of BP fouling. I run nickel brass in my .357 Desert Eagle because it's somewhat tougher and easier feeding. Same goes for the .38 Special brass in my S&W Model 52.

Cons:

The nickel will come off over time, especially if you do a lot of case mouth belling or roll crimping. It will also split at the case mouth sooner if you perform such operations too often.

It's a gold plated you-know-what when it comes to case trimming.

Still, it's a thing of beauty walking in the woods come hunting season, with an ammo carrier full of nickel-plated rounds...

 

[The Bushmaster]

Done Fred...As long as my wife doesn't throw the sticky note away...

Gewehr98...Beautiful works of art. How can you stand to dirty them?

 

[showmebob]

Quote "Sorry bud not a wives tale. I can trim hundreds of brass cases with the same cutter head. But if I trim 100 nickel cases it'll dull the cutter severely. I have some that are worn right down with ring impressions. The reason you are having success I assume is you have a better cutterhead. Some even have carbide teeth like a saw blade. The ones I use are standard Lyman cutterheads and I've talked to other people who have trouble with them too. "

I've trimmed 400 hundred or so with a Hornady trimmer and the standard head with no problems. I agree that they seem to split sooner than brass cases but they are still worth loading!

 

[Horsemany]

I've trimmed 400 hundred or so with a Hornady trimmer and the standard head with no problems.

And your point is? Here's more info from Varmint Al's website. There's more than one reason not to like nickel plated cases.....even IF your cutterhead cuts them OK.

MORE ABOUT NICKEL PLATING.... This is interesting about the mechanical properties of the nickel plating:
Electrolysis nickel plating is a process for chemically applying nickel-alloy deposits onto metallic substrates using an auto catalytic immersion process without the use of electrical current. ...snip....
Hardness and Wear Resistance
One of the most important properties for many applications is hardness. As deposited, the micro-hardness of electrolysis nickel coatings is about 500 to 700 HK100. That is approximately equal to 45 to 58 HRC and equivalent to many hardened alloy steels. Heat treatment causes these alloys to precipitation harden and can produce hardness values as high as 1100 HK100, equal to most commercial hard chromium coatings. ...snip...

Note that if you anneal your nickel plated necks, you are hardening the nickel plating. It can be harder than many alloyed steels before you anneal and can increase is hardness as much as 2 fold by precipitation hardening. I sure wouldn't want those tiny little hard pieces inside the neck getting embedded in the bullet's copper surface and then fire lapping my nice shiny barrel.

 

[The Bushmaster]

In the old days flaking of the nickel plating on cartridge cases was a problem. I had a few that did flake after a few reloadings (cut my finger on one). I am not sure how they are doing it now, but the nickel wears off exposing the brass and no longer flakes. I have never heard of anyone scratching their handgun carbide dies, rifle steel dies or scratching a rifle barrel with todays nickel plating. I certainly haven't...I also don't anneal my cases.

On top of that Varmint Als (I think he's behind the times here)is a web site and not a tech manual...

 

[Horsemany]

Do you think it's possible for people to have scratched chambers or dies and not know it? How many of us have borescopes? Also the possibility for nickel particles embedding into bullets and fire lapping the barrel is very real IMO. And we haven't even touched on the issue of increased bolt thrust and less grip on the chamber walls.

Varmint Al's is certainly not a tech manual but most of his opinions are based on technical information and testing as shown on the sight. His website and opinion is commonly referred to on shooting/reloading forums more than mine or yours.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Aah Phooey...Just send your unwanted nickel plated brass...

 

[Horsemany]

Trade ya.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Hey! I didn't say I didn't want my yaller brass. But if you don't want your silvery ones, I'll take'em, but you don't get any of my yaller one either.