Nickle vs Brass cases

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Nickel cases are smoother to resize and don't last as long as plain brass.
 
They cycle smoother through semi-autos too.

But the nickle finish can flake after a few shootings.

One thing to keep in mind is nickle is harder than steel.

Nickle particles going down your barrel and getting ground on by subsequent bullets is kind of rough on bores. But it shouldn't be a big deal unless your brass starts flaking the nickle coating off. SOME nickle on the rough inside of the case mouth might transfer to bullets, and that could also cause some barrel wear, but I wouldn't worry about it unless you are shooting thousands of rounds of it.
 
Some claim they don't last as long, are harder to resize, wear dies out or scratch the dies, and a host of other complaints.

I have been using nickel for both handgun and high power rifle for many years and haven't come across any negative aspects. They don't ever tarnish, so therefore make excellent carry and hunting rounds. Some say they have issues with splitting too, but it hasn't been a problem I've ever encountered. I've got some for belted magnum that I know have been loaded at least 10 times, and they're still looking good. I think it's probably more of a personal preference for those who either do or don't like them I guess.

GS
 
can we get a nickel vs brass sticky please mods?

Brass will last a lot longer than nickel
brass will tarnish over time and get ugly
nickel will not tarnish and will stay pretty
nickel will size easier than brass

I save my nickel brass for when I actually buy nice expensive copper jacketed holla tips rather than the usual free cast boolits recycled from the berm at the range. I can count the brass splits over the past two years on one hand and I have a big jar under my bench full of split nickel cases.

dont get me wrong, I will still grab all the nickel 45 and 357 cases I can find at the range... they're purdy

edit- I would never purchase once fired nickel cases...
 
Keep in mind that under the shiny nickel is brass.

The plating process is not conducive to long brass life with repeated sizing.

The original purpose was to prevent corrosion in leather belt loops.
 
Nothing scientific here about which lasts longer, but it seems like I find more nickel cases with split necks than brass.
 
I use primarily nickel. It seems to be more "slick" when chambering, cleans up nicely, and looks cool to boot. For the amount I shoot, the few thousand cases I have will last quite a long time. I buy it "once fired" if I need to, but it is very rare that I do. I also use brass for when I go to a range that I won't get a large percentage of it back. If I shot frequently, I might think differently.
 
Nickle plated brass is much better when put into leather belt loops, doesn't turn green. Do you carry you spare ammo in loops or dump pouches or speed strips? I do have some 'speed loaders' some place and they ride in leather pouches.

I have loaded and re-loaded and re-loaded .45 ACP nickle plated brass until the nickle is thinning away. Just like regular brass cases, they last a long time.

The old steel sizing dies would gall brass and for a long time I just knew it was nickle but brass did the same thing, maybe a little sooner than brass. (Cleaned out and polished the same.)

So, what is the real differences? Nice shine.

I don't care one way or the other.
 
I use nickel and brass to easily identify similar calibers such as .38 brass/ .357 nickel, 44 special brass/ 44 mag nickel etc. 30/30 brass 32 special nickel. I think the necks split sooner on nickel though, no science just what I see....
 
Back in the days when steel resizing dies were the norm for hand gun cartridges, nickel cases caused more die problems than brass cases. Generally, material would get embedded in the die causing scratching. Easy to polish out but it consumes a little time. Of course with steel dies, sand on cases will get embedded in the die and scratch the case as well, regardless of the finish.

I have not seen similar issues with carbide dies and nickel cases although there is a thread here that a fellow got build up on his carbide die after resizing nickel 380 ACP cases.

I use both and do not specifically avoid nickel cases but I try not to buy them. I would rather have brass. But, if I needed cases and nickel was all that was available, i would buy them.

As Oldpapps said, nickel cases hold up better when put in leather loops.

I do find case life of nickel handgun cases a bit shorter than brass. No hard and fast data but it seems the nickel cases cull themselves from my inventory faster than brass. It does not stop me from using them.

Of course, my opinion and $5 will get you an overpriced designer coffee.
 
I'll take you up on that designer coffee!

But on a more serious note, I do carry speed loaders and I like the fact that I don't have to constantly swap my cartridges out because they begin to get corroded every week or so. Not so much for my wife's AL magazines n

Doesn't Starline offer nickel? I thought I saw them offered on their web site, not that I'm in any need of brass for the next 50 yrs. or so, handgun brass that is.

GS
 
Yes Starline offers nickle brass.

I have bought and used quite a bit of it and it's good stuff.
 
Nickle is purty, too.

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Those are 1960/1970 vintage Speer Silver Match bullets. Wish I could find more of them. They shoot real good.
 
I havent noticed any diferance either way as far as case life goes but I do use nickel brass on any of my loads in excess of published maximums for use only in my revolvers, so they don't get mixed up and fired in anyone else's firearms which could be weaker and unsafe.
 
Kurastduuks;

I do something like this for 357/38. I'll use nickle for 357 and brass for 38.

Makes it easier to tell apart and I'm not as concerned about throwing them all in the same tumbler together.
 
Nickel like the coin, not nickle like a pickle.

Nickel plated cases are less prone to corrosion, but are reloadable a little less due to their hardness.

Silver is pretty :D

Good way to keep your plinkin and carry loads seperate at visual glance.

Nickel is easier to spot in flash-light.

Brass tends to be easier to find, but some reloaders want nothing to do with nickel cases.

I wish I could find a few boxes in all the calibers I shoot- its great for all the reasons above.

MAinly I want some in .308 for hunting loads.... that aren't federal.
 
blarby said:
MAinly I want some in .308 for hunting loads.... that aren't federal.
Click to expand...

Why not Federal?

I bought a box of Winchester 300 Win Mag nickle plated hunting loads once, just to tear apart and reload with Sierra Matchkings. Is that wrong? :)
 
Given the choice, I pick nickel. The primers seem to seat nice and firmly, and the neck tension always seems a little better. YMMV (I should add, I just load for pistol)
 
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I was buying a bunch of 7 mag yellow brass from a guy who also had a couple hundred Federal nickel he didn't want. I got them for nothing, those are the one's I referred to as having at least 10 loads on them, and are still holding up just fine. Nickel will start to flake off after it's been loaded a bunch of times, but even so, it hasn't presented any issues that I've discovered.

The only thing I've ever noticed about nickel is case capacity can be slightly reduced, probably due to the nickel plating? I've noticed pressures are slightly higher, than with the same loads with yellow brass, chrony verified as well. But it's always best to re-work the load anyway when using different components, standard operating procedure for me.

GS
 
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