Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I like the looks of nickel and susposedly it's more durable and longer lasting than brass, but I've also heard the nickel plating is like sandpaper on the inside and the bullet experiences more friction as it is propelled out of the casing. I also read that nickel brass and moly bullets don't get along.

Please educate me on nickel plating vs regular brass.

thanks

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I like regular myself. A few reasons.

If FL sizing with a typical RCBS die, nickel doens't seem as springy as say brass. So when seating a bullet, it can be rougher. This can cause runout issues or bullet not loaded straight.

Nickel is hard to trim. Doesn't really cut like brass, but chips.

Lastly, if you are going to go with a type of brass for a gun, you need to stick with it. If you change to different brands or type, you load can change. Sometimes nickel seems hard to find, sometimes not. but brass seems to be constant.

I never worry about damage to my dies or anything like that. But I would only use a collet die with nickel or bushing die.j

I have nickel lying around but always seem to pass it up when loading.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I don't like it - it "feels" brittle.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Just make sure the nickle is not flaking from the brass because it will scratch your die. Good luck.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I use it for my hunting loads, for load development and practice I use regular brass. Don't think it really makes a difference but I just like to do it.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

There is advanatages and disadvatages to everything. Nickel plated brass is harder,and must be FL. resized when virgin brass and deburred both inside and out. Then with a good chamfer on the inside your bullets will seat a little easier. But the brass beibg harder they will seat a little harder and must be done in a slower motiion. Nice since they don,t oxidize like brass will. Some people like shiny brass & they seem to cycle better in most firearms. vangunsmith

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I've reloaded plenty of nickel cases in pistol & rifle and never had a problem with their "hardness" or with flaking of the plating. But you do have to watch out for it. One good thing about it is that is doesn't tarnish like brass does - so I use it for my pistol defense loads which sit for awhile.
I reloaded a set of Win .308 nickel cases over a dozen times (until the primer pockets got too loose from wear) and they always worked well. I DID anneal those cases every 3rd loading and that probably helped to keep them from getting brittle.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Do the Nickel cases hold up better than the Brass?

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I wouldn't say the nickel cases last any longer than plain brass. In some cases theymay last as long, and probably in some cases they won't.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

I'm talking about .357mag. Nickel vs. Brass for reloading. I have about 300 Federal brass cases in .357mag. Should I be purchasing Nickel Cases or will the Federal Brass hold up?

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Oh Pistol. I doubt they will ever wear out. I thougt you were talking bottlneck.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Save your $$$$$ and just use the brass cases you have. I've never bought nickel cases (other than loaded factory ammo that came with nickel cases) and I don't intend to - the extra expense is just not justified......unless you just like the look.
I've been reloading the same set of .357 brass cases(Win, Rem, & Fiochhi) for over 3 years now and have never had a case fail, crack, chip or anything - so you can load those Federals with confidence.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

FORGET NICKEL-PLATED BRASS.... I liked the looks and feel of nickel-plated cases, but I don't load them anymore and here is why. The cases are strong and it is easy enough to outside neck turn them. That is not the problem. The nickel-plating on the case neck ID is like sandpaper. The only way you might be able to remove this grit is with a case neck ID reamer if you have a "tight neck" chamber and enough neck wall thickness to work with. If you have a loaded nickel-plated round laying around and don't believe me, just pull the bullet. It will look like you pulled it out of a tube of 180 grit wet/dry sandpaper. If you pull the bullet out of a brass case mouth that has been carefully chamfered and polished with the steel wool process above, it will be essentially like out of the bullet box. Want copper in the barrel? Start by sanding the surface of those nice polished precision bullets. Try it with a Moly Coated bullet and it is even worse; the nickel-plated cases scrape off the Moly. The nickel-plated case neck IDs don't get any better after you reload them a few times. They are still like sandpaper. Think about a few of those nickel pieces of grit imbedding into the copper of the bullet and what they do to your rifle barrel! I have heard that the nickel is hard enough to score some reloading dies and also wear down the expander ball. Any metal that hard, should be kept away from your precision barrel. I have heard that some people have had success in removing the nickel plate from the neck IDs with a stainless steel brush and a drill motor. I haven't tried it.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Nickel is shiny. That shine cost u extra $$!

Various woodland creatures aren't particular as to "how cool" thecartridge appeared prior to chambering, discharge and subsequent impact.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

What about pressure. I was under the impression that these are a little thicker than brass and more rigid. Would that cause higher pressures than an equal load in a brass case.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Thicker brass will cause higher pressures. One of the old rules of thumb for the .308 class of cartridges was to reduce the charge by 10% of the difference in case weight. I don't know if the nickel brass is heavier or not . . . but I agree with Rebel Hog - stay away from it. The only application I can see would be a hunt maybe in coastal Alaska where salty air corrosion was an issue, and you weren't going to reload the brass anyway.

RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

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RE: Nickel plated brass...good or bad?
 

Ditch all the nickelcases you have. It is brittle and will come open after a few loadings. Ive got several that havent been loaded probably 4 or 5 times and the neck split.