Why Nickel cases?

[Lovesbeer99]

So I have these winchester nickel plated shells. I plan to reload these, but I noticed that if I buy these new, they are way more expensive then regular brass. But what's the advantage? Why nickel over regular brass?

Thanks
Lovesbeer99

 

[Linear Thinker]

Loves,
No advantage in this day and age. Nickel plating was introduced when cowboys and cops wore spare cartridges in belt loops, brass reacted with tannins in the leather and corroded quickly. Nickel plating prevented that.
LT

 

[strat81]

What Linear Thinker says is true. However, I find they tarnish less during general use too. When I bought 1x 9mm brass, I got 3000+ pieces of nickel. They seem to look better longer than the brass cases do.

The downside is that nickel-plated cases are slightly more brittle than brass cases and have a slightly shorter life.

 

[EddieCoyle]

The downside is that nickel-plated cases are slightly more brittle than brass cases and have a slightly shorter life.

Sometimes it's more than "slightly". When I reload 10mm, about 10% of my cases split after firing on the 1st reloading. I no longer buy, nor do I bother picking up nickel plated cases.

 

[Linear Thinker]

Good points - the nickel plating is a lot harder than brass, and does not take to resizing well.
LT

 

[Shoney]

I guess none of you have ever hunted under adverse conditions where even well oiled and maintained brass gets "sticky" within a very short time of leaving camp. This sticky brass is now hard to feed and hard to chamber in what used to be an otherwise smooth working action.

If you are hunting dangerous game, where getting a quick follow up shot is essential to your life, you want "brass" that feeds smoothly and without a stutter. For example a grizzly hunt in costal British Columbia. Nickel brass serves this purpose.

Except for hunting on the dry open prairie, all my hunting brass is nickel brass, and all my PD pistol brass is nickel.

 

[jungleroy]

I use nickel 357 brass and 45 long colt brass because I can tell when I wear the nickel back down to brass that the shell is about to give up the ghost.
I also think the nickel plating keeps hot loads from sticking the brass inside the cylinders of my wheel guns.
Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[evan price]

I separate out the nickle cases from range brass in semiauto calibers and use the nickle cases only for developing loads, or loads that are "heavy". It's a simple way to make sure I don't grab a wrong box of ammo to take out plinking with friends.

 

[Doug b]

Nickel is slightly self lubricating.The older stuff manufactured back in the '70s & '80s was electro-plated making it brittle the current stuff is chemically bonded.

 

[strat81]

Sometimes it's more than "slightly". When I reload 10mm, about 10% of my cases split after firing on the 1st reloading. I no longer buy, nor do I bother picking up nickel plated cases.

YMMV. My experience with reloading nickel brass is with 9mm, using relatively mild loads (4.1gr TG or 4.7gr Univ w/ 115gr FMJ). 10mm can be a pretty stout cartridge.

I guess none of you have ever hunted under adverse conditions where even well oiled and maintained brass gets "sticky" within a very short time of leaving camp. This sticky brass is now hard to feed and hard to chamber in what used to be an otherwise smooth working action.

I'm not a hunter but what you said makes perfect sense. Look at most self-defense ammo. Most premium SD ammo is nickel: Gold Dots, Golden Sabers, Hydro-shocks, etc.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Linear Thinker...What do ya mean "No advantage in this day and age"...I still use a gun belt with cartridge loops for my SAA Colt and SA Ruger...I hate green gooey brass...

 

[Floppy_D]

It's shinier too.

 

[moxie]

Shoney, you say you oil your brass? I imagine it would get sticky.

It also could fail to fire if the oil contaminates the primer. Modern ammo really doesn't need any help to work well, even under adverse conditions.

 

[lesjones]

Nickeled cases seem to eject more smoothly. My fave .38 Special +P self-defense load is Remington's version of the FBI load, and the nickel cases slide right out after firing.

 

[GRIZ22]

I think the initial reason for nickel plated brass was to prevent verdigris (sp?), the green stuff growing on brass caried in leather loops or pouches.

Autoloaders are much more prevalent now than they were 30-40 years ago and the nickel plating having a lower friction makes for more reliable extraction. Required? No but a nice added touch. All of the "premium" ammo has nickel cases that I've seen.

 

[Cosmoline]

where even well oiled and maintained brass gets "sticky"

"Well oiled" brass? Maybe that's the reason it's getting sticky. I've always kept my brass well clear of any oil or grease. Just make sure the primers are sealed and leave them alone. I've lost heaps of such ammo in the snow only to find it next spring, and it still fires fine. The only problem I ever had was some greening of brass kept in a bandolier in a damp trailer. I found it out was better to keep the brass in totes outside if you don't have a proper house for it.

But as far as brass outside getting sticky, that's not normal at all. It may get wet or dirty, but neither of those conditions is a major problem. Just wipe any dirt or excess water off. Or heck just leave it.

 

[snuffy]

It also could fail to fire if the oil contaminates the primer. Modern ammo really doesn't need any help to work well, even under adverse conditions.

A long held internet myth. It's been disproved time and again that almost nothing will cause a primer NOT to fire. They are sealed by a special lacquer that keeps out moisture and oil. A harsh solvent that will dissolve the sealant will kill a primer.

While nickel IS harder than plain brass, it won't harm either chambers or loading dies.

Modern nickel plated cartridge cases are electroless plated.
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/redox/faq/electroless-plating.shtml

They can control the thickness and hardness of the plating.

 

[Cosmoline]

It's been disproved time and again that almost nothing will cause a primer NOT to fire. They are sealed by a special lacquer that keeps out moisture and oil.

IF they are sealed, they're pretty hard to mess up. But oiling of the brass is still pointless and would only encourage grit and crud to build up on it.

My problem with nickel is the shiny covering tends to flake off when resizing. I realize this doesn't make them weak, but it's annyoing because it leaves little flakes of shiny stuff all over.

 

[asknight]

Only mil-spec loads are lacquer sealed. Factory plinking and hunting loads do NOT have lacquer sealed primers or necks.

 

[rjohnson4405]

I like the way they look with stainless steel guns. (That sounds like mall ninja talk, but what the heck.)

They do seem to expand less under hotter loads.

Basically, though, like everyone else said, the major SD brands use them so I do.

 

[snuffy]

Only mil-spec loads are lacquer sealed. Factory plinking and hunting loads do NOT have lacquer sealed primers or necks.

I wasn't talking about the sealer you see on the outside around the edge of a primer. I was referring to the sealant on top of the primer pellet before the anvil is pressed in. This keeps oil and other stuff from killing the primer pellet,(the part that is an explosive, activated by a sharp blow crushing said pellet).

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Use the brass you have, it will work fine.

Is Nickle brass better?

Well...I've never seen anyone neck turn Nickel brass. I've had low pressure .45 ACP reloaded brass crack with much more frequency than brass brass. I've yet to see premium brass (Lapua, Norma) in Nickel. I've heard tell, but never experienced, that dies may be scratched by Nickle chips.

On the positive side...it's shiny, and looks pretty. Most of the women I've known, like shiny things.

But it strikes me like front-wheel drive....If it's so great, where are the competitive front-wheel-drive race cars? The Ferraris, the Porsches, Lotus, Lamborginis? Ever see a front wheel drive Rolls? Why not?

But it's shiny...and sells well. Maybe that's the advantage. It sells....Hmmmmm...I've never had a woman buy brass for me.....

 

[uk roe hunter]

i think nickel coated brass looks really cool especially with black moly bullets. they look so good you could shoot werewolves with them. loaded ammo has that sort of "i'm deadly don't fu** with me" look. but silver and black is really good. whether it is needed or not it attracts buyers, thats why the makers do it.

 

[Shoney]

If your weapon is well oiled, it has a very very thin coat of oil on all working parts, the bore and in the chamber. This oil is transferred to the brass. I personally polish my brass with Turtle wax in the media, no need for oil.

In the Larch and Cedar forests of the NW US and Canada, water from rain, condensation, or melting snow picks up minor amounts of chemicals from the trees (Lignins and Tannins I am told) as it drips off, then reacts with brass and weapons. If you compare these tarnishing effects on polished brass vs polished brass wiped lightly with gun oil vs polished brass coated by wax or silicon finish, they will all tarnish to a degree, with the waxed having the greatest resistance to tarnish.

I have been in wet hunting camps where guys had to clean weapons nightly and in addition would polish their brass each evening with steel wool and wipe them with a dry oiled cloths to retard tarnish. Under those conditions, the nickel brass had no problems.

 

[moxie]

"I have been in wet hunting camps where guys had to clean weapons nightly and in addition would polish their brass each evening with steel wool and wipe them with a dry oiled cloths to retard tarnish."

All I can say is...wow!