Brass case or nickle plated cases?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Wildbillz

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
1,014
Hi All
I am getting ready to load up some 357Mag ammo and looking at my supplies I have both types of cases. Any reason to choose one over the other? I seem to recall someone telling me that the Nickle plated cases were more brittle and prone to cracking? Any truth to that or BS?

Thanks
WB
 
The comparative lifespan of nickel cases is a long-running debate on the interwebs. There are certainly lots of nickel cases out there that have seen many, many, many loadings. But there are also a lot of people that swear they get neck splits (not a safety issue, but definitely an end-of-case-life issue) more frequently/sooner with nickel. I suspect some of these are actually just nickel plating flaking, as opposed to a crack in the brass.

All that said, unless you are concerned about corrosion of brass in contact with, say, leather bandolier ammo loops, there's not a lot of value to be gained by picking the nickel-plated stuff. Although it does look pretty. I wouldn't pay any extra for it.
 
ATLDave said it pretty well. Personally I prefer brass over nickel. I've had nickel cases split prematurely, or what I consider prematurely, and I've had the nickel peel off and stick in the resizing die. In reality, I doubt there is much practal reason to choose one over the other. Some reloaders, including me, believe that nickel is harder on cutting tools like case trimmers.
 
I have a batch of midway stamped nickel cases that have been sized so many times that most of the plating is gone.
Use them both, they're fine.

I suspect the rumor started with a batch of brass that maybe wasn't the cleanest alloy, and so had premature neck splits, and just happened to be nickel plated
 
I have nickel cases that I've collected over the years and their primary purpose for me is the ability to be stored for a long. Of time without corrosion so if you're building the apocalypse Supply you can leave them around for a long time without them looking very ugly
 
If I grab my bucket of split/damaged brass most of the split cases will be nickle 38 Special. Most of them are pretty old (many are Peters headstamp) but in my experience nickel does seem more prone to splitting at the mouth than regular brass. That said I have a few 38 Special cases that have have been reloaded so many times that most of the nickel is worn off. I like nickel but it does not seem to last quiet as long.
 
Why would a plated case split more than an unplanted case. Both are brass.
I’ve got RP nickel cases I’ve used for 38Special wad cutters for decades and brass for 38 Special SWC as long. I haven’t done a survey but don’t see much difference in case life. I toss a split case so nothing to compare. Nor have I ever seen any peeling off but as mentioned tumbling and reloading will remove the plate over time. A long time.
 
It simply doen't matter. Use either one. If one or the other cracks then so be it.

Besides if you use nickel they are nice and shiny so you will not have to worry about cleaning to "surgically" clean cases:rofl:
 
Unless you are planning on carrying them in a leather dump pouch/loops, there is no reason to choose nickel plated; OTOH, when the range brass I pick up is nickel, I don't throw it away.
 
Personally, my 5 year old granddaughter loves the nickel played brass. As she assisted me in resizing my 300 BO brass she insisted on passing me only the pretty cases...which were all nickel.
In this scenario the pretty cases were all once fired Speer .223 Rem cases from a LEO range. Picked them up really cheap...although processing is a pain. They’d likely be perfect for .223 Rem reloaders as they came wet tumbled and pre-lubed, cutting a lot of work for 223 loaders...not so much for .300 BO converters.
I noticed after depriming that the pockets are nearly spotless.
 
I believe the OP stated he has both types, So use either one or both.
When I was shooting revolver more, I loaded 357 in Nickel and 38 special in brass, Just "because":)
 
Lubricating a nickel plated pistol case before sizing will prevent shaving in the die, and, make sizing almost effortless. I tumble clean pistol cases with an oily patch on the Thumler's tumbler and it is so easy to size afterwards.
 
The nickle plated will wear a little quicker. I usually only use then to help identify very hot loads. The more pedestrian loads just go in regular brass.

They extract a little more easy, but not significantly versus regular, clean brass that I've noticed.
 
Early in my reloading habit, I bought many nickel-plated rifle cartridges because I thought they would last longer. I have several improved calibers that need to be fire-formed plus some that have to be reformed from other cases. These split at a rate that made me wish I had never seen a nickel case.
However, I don't think this applies to straight-walled cases like your .357 ones. Shoot them and reload them as you would a brass case.
 
Why would a plated case split more than an unplanted case. Both are brass.
I’ve got RP nickel cases I’ve used for 38Special wad cutters for decades and brass for 38 Special SWC as long. I haven’t done a survey but don’t see much difference in case life. I toss a split case so nothing to compare. Nor have I ever seen any peeling off but as mentioned tumbling and reloading will remove the plate over time. A long time.
Theory is the nickel is slightly harder and more prone to fatigue cracking. Since the nickle is plated to the brass, after a few cycles the nickel cracks and that crack (a stress concentration) propagates into the brass.
 
Last edited:
Hi...
I have been reloading using both nickle or brass cases interchangeably with no discernible difference in performance or case life... that's over 35+ years. Those with more experience may have a different opinion.
 
Hi...
I have been reloading using both nickle or brass cases interchangeably with no discernible difference in performance or case life... that's over 35+ years. Those with more experience may have a different opinion.
After 35 years don’t think a few more years would matter all that much............ pretty much sums up my own experience, as it applies to hand gun brass only. ;)
 
In cowboy action competition, some of us use a bit more powerful load to ensure that the knockdowns fall when we encounter them on a particular stage. I load regular competition loads (125 grain bullet) in brass cases, and the somewhat heavier loads (158 grain bullets) in nickel cases. Makes it easy to tell the difference at the loading table, and easier to put the heavier loads in the gun(s) that will be used on the knockdowns. If you are making a variety of loads, the different cases can help prevent mixing them up.

I get about as many splits with one as the other.
 
I have nickel cases that I've collected over the years and their primary purpose for me is the ability to be stored for a long. Of time without corrosion so if you're building the apocalypse Supply you can leave them around for a long time without them looking very ugly

That is the real advantage of nickel cases whether for reloading or from Mfg. Brass corrodes faster after time than brass. However, how big a deal is that? How much longer has never been tested. So why pay more?
 
Off topic just a bit what was the original purpose of nickel plated cases?. Corrosion resistance for the military perhaps. A Google search seems to lead primarily to forums. Several this forum.
All I learned was the plated process was known in 1800 but not used until 1837.
 
Nickel case related issue, yes, but......

The ONLY case failure from my reloads has been a nickel case. Why? Nickel plating can/will conceal a case failure of brass fired from a barrel that does not fully support the case. Slang term is "Glock Bulge". Of note, other brands do not fully support the case.
 
Both work fine. I use nickel-plated for 45 acp as easier to find in the gravel at our range. For relatively hot 357 and 42 mag, I recycle cases after about 6 loads. About 6 – as keeping track of number of reloads of every case when they get mixed in tumbler etc. after use is too much work, I buy a thousand of brass, recycle the whole load at about 6 loads, buy a thousand nickel, run them about 6 loads and on. Works for me.
 
I've separated them. Bullets seem to seat deeper in the nickle, and I need to back off the die. Both shoot fine though.
 
I prefer brass cases and feel they last a smidge longer than nickel plated.

But they both work fine. I do occasionally use nickel plated cases to distinguish the ammunition from something else.

These days, I do not buy once fired brass or shoot where range brass is available to pick up so the only nickel cases I get these days are from the rare time I buy factory ammunition.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top