Nickel Plated Case Tips?
- Thread starter oldillini
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Bottom Gun
Member
Lube, size and load them like you would load any other brass. No special equipment required.
gwpercle
Member
Completely reloadable , treat them just like a brass case .
Carbide dies are not required . Most dies for bottle neck rifle are NOT carbide ... they will be steel and you lubricate the cases just like brass ones .
Straight walled handgun & rifle rounds that can be resized in a carbide die are not "required" to be lubed ...but a little case lube on those cases along with the carbide dies makes resizing very easy .
Hope this helps clear some of the confusion .
Gary
Carbide dies are not required . Most dies for bottle neck rifle are NOT carbide ... they will be steel and you lubricate the cases just like brass ones .
Straight walled handgun & rifle rounds that can be resized in a carbide die are not "required" to be lubed ...but a little case lube on those cases along with the carbide dies makes resizing very easy .
Hope this helps clear some of the confusion .
Gary
RockRat64
Member
I like them. Maybe it's only me, but I feel like I need to set my dies slightly different for them than brass 
.38 Special
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- Sep 15, 2006
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No difference, for practical purposes.
Some people say the nickel will flake off and damage your dies. I have been using them for decades and have never damaged a die with them.
Some people say they don't last as long. My experience has been that some lots will suffer from neck splits almost immediately, but that any lots which don't show early problems tend to last about as well as unplated.
And if you are annealing by hand, nickeled cases don't really change color until they're way too hot - ruined - so you'll have to find a more objective method for that project.
Otherwise, just use 'em. They'll be fine.
Some people say the nickel will flake off and damage your dies. I have been using them for decades and have never damaged a die with them.
Some people say they don't last as long. My experience has been that some lots will suffer from neck splits almost immediately, but that any lots which don't show early problems tend to last about as well as unplated.
And if you are annealing by hand, nickeled cases don't really change color until they're way too hot - ruined - so you'll have to find a more objective method for that project.
Otherwise, just use 'em. They'll be fine.
Thanks for the feedback. Didn't want to go down a rabbit hole with a badger at the end if I could avoid it.
Most of my cases came from once fired Federal factory ammo with some brass casing from other brands. My Tikka shoots the Federal well, so I have a bunch of it.
Most of my cases came from once fired Federal factory ammo with some brass casing from other brands. My Tikka shoots the Federal well, so I have a bunch of it.
AJC1
Member
The only difference I've found is trimming and chamfer is slower because the coating makes the material harder.
As said, size and load just like brass cases.
I find nickel bottle neck cases have a considerable shorter life than brass but then I do not attempt to anneal them. They are great for differentiating special loads though.
Just a side note, there are only carbide rifle sizing dies made for just a handful of cartridges such as 223 Rem and 308 Win. They are made for the high volume loader who would quickly wear out a steel sizing die. When we are talking high volume it is a number greater than what Han Solo can imagine.
Also, the cases need to be lubricated even though the die is carbide and the dies are expensive.
Straight walled nickel size and load just like brass. I’ve loaded mostly 38 Special cases with target loads and nickel last about as long as brass. I’ve reloaded some so many times, the nickel gets worn off and it is difficult to tell that they were plated. I’ve had nickel flake off at times with no damage to my dies. They just fall away when retracting the case from the sizer or get tumbled off the case when tumbling.
Finally, I do not avoid nickel plated cases, but I do not go out of my way to buy them either. Just one data point to consider.
I find nickel bottle neck cases have a considerable shorter life than brass but then I do not attempt to anneal them. They are great for differentiating special loads though.
Just a side note, there are only carbide rifle sizing dies made for just a handful of cartridges such as 223 Rem and 308 Win. They are made for the high volume loader who would quickly wear out a steel sizing die. When we are talking high volume it is a number greater than what Han Solo can imagine.
Also, the cases need to be lubricated even though the die is carbide and the dies are expensive.
Straight walled nickel size and load just like brass. I’ve loaded mostly 38 Special cases with target loads and nickel last about as long as brass. I’ve reloaded some so many times, the nickel gets worn off and it is difficult to tell that they were plated. I’ve had nickel flake off at times with no damage to my dies. They just fall away when retracting the case from the sizer or get tumbled off the case when tumbling.
Finally, I do not avoid nickel plated cases, but I do not go out of my way to buy them either. Just one data point to consider.
greyling22
Member
I found with 223 that the nickel case mouths were pretty bad about shaving copper off my bullets when I seated them. I aggressively chamfered the insides, but eventually went with brass.
.308 Norma
Member
For "a" RCBS die set? A die set for what? A die set for straight walled pistol/handgun cases like a .357 Mag or something like that?
As others like gwpercle said, "Most dies for bottle neck rifle are NOT carbide."
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Do not put lube on the shoulder of bottleneck rifle brass. You can cause dents on the shoulder. Most times it will iron out when fired but it will eventually weaken the case. Put the lube on the case body and maybe a very little inside the case mouth if the sizing ball seems to be sticking.
After full length sizing you should check the case length and if it's long trim to that cartridges specs. Then chamfer and deburr the case mouth. If necessary clean the primer pocket and you are set to reload those cases. Primer pocket cleaners are inexpensive and available.
Here are many chamfer/deburring tools:
https://www.midwayusa.com/chamfer-and-deburring-tools/br?cid=8936
Here are some primer pocket conditioning/cleaning tools:
https://www.midwayusa.com/primer-pocket-and-flashhole-tools/br?cid=8937
I like this Lyman tool because it does both the mouth and primer pockets in 1 tool for 1 price.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101286290?pid=135615
I like Imperial Sizing Wax but many are good. Use a small amount, this 2oz tin seems to last forever!
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012768051?pid=519525
And the other choices:
https://www.midwayusa.com/case-lubrication/br?cid=8933
Good luck and don't worry about reloading bottleneck cases.
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AJC1
Member
I have and use the big orange Lyman tool as well. It will also hold any standard bit so when dealing with crimped pockets the rcbs military crimp remover screws right in. Very handy. If one ever envisions bulk loading a drill press can be your best friend, and it's handy for a lot of other things, while a case prep center is a one trick pony.
rdnktrkr
Member
As said earlier, I've found more split necks on nickel cases than brass, I think the nickel makes them harder making them more brittle. I like to load hollow points in nickel for my handguns just for easy identification (and they look pretty))
lightman
Member
I've loaded lots of nickel hand gun brass but not so many rifle cases. I load them the same way as brass. It seems like I get split cases sooner with nickel than with brass. I have had handgun brass where the nickel started to peal and its possible for a piece of it to stick in the die and scratch the following cases. Once you catch it its not that big of a deal, usually! A bore brush usually removes any thing that gets stuck. Having said that I still prefer brass but if I were you I would load what you have.
Riomouse911
Member
I like to load Wadcutters, JHP or other non-plinking revolver rounds in nickel cases strictly because I know immediately that it is not a plinker round. And, like the others, it does seem like the case necks will crack faster with .38 cases than plain brass.
I am still getting lots of reloads from my nickel cases, in some cases so many the cases are no longer shiny nickel anymore. I separate the brass/nickel cases in my red plastic Folgers coffee cans, I don’t mind using them at all.
Stay safe.
I am still getting lots of reloads from my nickel cases, in some cases so many the cases are no longer shiny nickel anymore. I separate the brass/nickel cases in my red plastic Folgers coffee cans, I don’t mind using them at all.
Stay safe.
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