why nickled brass ?

[edwin41]

hi to all..
ive been searching this forum for an answer to this question.
it appears to be that brass is nickelplated for the use in leather holsters.
that would explain some calibers , but who carrys .223 rem in a holster ?
many more calibers out there that are plated but not suited for holsters i guess

so , does anyone knows why a perfectly good brass casing would be plated
with nickel ?
for me , i like the brass ones better , but i was given a lot of plated ones ,
and since im "el cheapo " i intend to use them all .
they seem somewhat more difficult to reload and weaker though.

i guess i just want to know the why behind the plating.

 

[Grumulkin]

1. They're pretty.

2. They don't discolor in leather cartridge holders.

They'll also dull cutter heads so I use trim dies when trimming them.

 

[rcmodel]

The original intent was to prevent green verdigris when carried in leather belt loops.

Since then, they supposedly give slicker extraction and feeding with high-end SD ammo.
Or they might ride around wet in a cops Glock or AR mags or car trunk for months on end too.

Then there are folks who just like the looks and will pay more for them.

Reloading doesn't enter into the equation when manufactures & sales get into the picture.

rc

 

[kingmt]

There isn't much left to say after the first 2 post. SD ammo is ment to be carried more then used. I get green cases in my mag from time to time. I've been thinking of loading some of the plated before I ware a hole in my brass polishing it.

 

[Kernel]

We call it "nickel", but these days most silver colored brass is most likely plated with cadmium.

I bought 1000 pieces of .223 "nickel" IMI GI brass back in the 90's. The story then was it was surplus from the Israeli Navy. They thought it might come in contact with salt water and didn't want it to corrode.

 

[Rodentman]

IMHO they are harder to resize, well at least the .50 AE "nickel" are tough to get into the die. Yes I lubed them. I'm not sure if I'll keep them after the next firing.

 

[TGReaper]

I have absolutely no proof that it doe's but it seems to work just a bit slicker in my S&W Mod.52, Bullseye gun.
TGR

 

[243winxb]

Nickel plated is for my carry guns.

 

[FROGO207]

Sheeh I always thought it was for bullet bling. You know--- the shiny silver bullets to match the shiny gold teeth.

 

[Fishslayer]

I get green cases in my mag from time to time. I've been thinking of loading some of the plated before I ware a hole in my brass polishing it.

Toss it in a vibrator with some cob & Nu Finish for an hour or so. Bright & shiny with a protective coating.

 

[kingmt]

I do after a twist in the steel wool.

 

[springer99]

Like to use Nickel cases for my 38 Super. It's much easier that way to see and separate my cases from all the 9mm laying all over the ground.

 

[Striker Fired]

I used to have several .280 Remingtons and went out west with a group for a while, several of them had .270's.It was real hard to tell which was which if our mags or rounds got mixed up.I found a buddys .270 mag full of rounds in my ammo can one year.I just happen to catch a .270 stamp on one round as I was putting the mag in my gun(we had the same guns,so our mags were identical).After that I bought Nickel cases only for my .280's.It was easy to tell them apart.

 

[evan price]

They are more slippery and feed better in magazines and actions. Also it's a way to product-place your ammo as 'premium' due to nickeled cases.

 

[sugarmaker]

I have a theory that they wear my dies out faster - it's a long story over many years but I don't use nickel plated brass anymore.

 

[gpb]

Post #5 states

"We call it "nickel", but these days most silver colored brass is most likely plated with cadmium."


I'd like to know which cases are cadmium plated since I'd like to avoid those because cadmium is highly toxic. Any references on which companies cadmium plate?

 

[Danco411]

Nothing more to say.

 

[edwin41]

thanks for the replys guys !
i get the picture now , gonna use the ones i got , but aint getting any new.
as mentioned , i like brass better , maby i can swap these with someone
who does like them.

but i must say that i really like the bullets previously posted !

 

[wyyup]

Danco,

What round is that? It is beautiful.

 

[brickeyee]

We call it "nickel", but these days most silver colored brass is most likely plated with cadmium.

Given the toxicity of cadmium, pretty unlikely.

 

[gpb]

Quote:
"We call it "nickel", but these days most silver colored brass is most likely plated with cadmium.

Given the toxicity of cadmium, pretty unlikely."


I agree. Given the toxicity of cadmium it's very unlikely. That's why I asked for the source of this information. If cases are indeed plated with cadmium I will be sure to avoid them.

 

[johnjohn]

If I remember correctly cadmium is sort of flat looking like aluminum.

 

[gpb]

Plated cadmium typically has a flatter whiter look than plated nickle. It can also have a dichromate finish applied which often gives it a yellow look not dis-simlar to a slightly tarnished brass. I have never seen a case that appeared to be cadmium plated, but I haven't seen all plated cases. I have seen steel cases that had a zinc plate with dichromate finish. This gave them look somewhat similar to brass but clearly not brass.

 

[JDGray]

If you shoot a 9mm blowback AR-15, nickle plated cases are the way to go! Brass will turn black from soot, and take many hours in the tumbler to clean, nickel cleans up in no time.

 

[olafhardtB]

I once noticed that a group of game wardens used whatever color brass matched their badges, this was in the days of wheelguns. Nickel plating is easy and effective. It provides good corrosian resistance aand lubricity. It is as hard as mild steel and not particularlly toxic. I give no credulity to the idea that any currently manufactered ammo is cadmium ptated, it makes no economic, environmentalany other kind of sense.