Hand load nickel plated cases?
- Thread starter igotta40
- Start date
NMexJim
Member
No worries. Load 'em up.
longdayjake
Member
They won't last as long as the nickel will make them brittle and resizing may be slightly harder but they are reloadable.
armoredman
Member
I often joke with my son as we are policing up the empties at the range that getting my brass is a lot like going to a rock concert - I always want my nickel back...
I've been shying away from Nichel cases as of late. I've learned to feel the die as I resize, and prep brass. I can't do that with a Nichel case.
Those cases may work well for you and may even last longer than your brass cases. But again the neck tension might
feel different as you seat the bullet. It depends on how you intend to use the finished ammo. You may not be able to compare them to your brass case results.
Those cases may work well for you and may even last longer than your brass cases. But again the neck tension might
feel different as you seat the bullet. It depends on how you intend to use the finished ammo. You may not be able to compare them to your brass case results.
.38 Special
Member
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- Sep 15, 2006
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- 7,405
Agreed. My experience has been that some batches of nickel will fail pretty early on, but that once they've held up for a few cycles, they probably will go as long as unplated.
nettlle
Contributing Member
What walkalong said. I use a lot of 45acp nickle plated (range brass) and it does crack a little sooner. I wasn't aware it was harder on trimmer blades but I can understand why.
My grandmother would only shoot nickel plated cases in her 38 Special. She saved her brass. I don't know why since nobody in the family reloaded at the time. I inherited her plated brass along with her revolver, so nearly all my 38 reloads are nickel.
I once left some nickel 357 cases for 4-7 days* in my vibratory tumbler using walnuts shells.
They came out as 'just brass' at the end...
Remarkable stuff... that walnut.
* (I forget`em)
GeoDudeFlorida
Member
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- Dec 1, 2020
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- 11,262
Yeah, I got some .357Mag brass like that. It’s ugly but it still shoots.
Annealing. Well, I have and it turns out fine but that might make it flake off more sooner.
.45Coltguy
Member
I have a lot of nickel .38spl cases and find that they do split at the mouth sooner than regular brass cases. Not sure how I acquired so many; maybe in a trade of some sort.
bfalcon00
Member
Yeah I ended up with a lot of nickel 38 special too. No idea where they came from either. They load and shoot just fine though
lightman
Member
Yes, load them like any other case. Like the others have said, it seems like Nickel cases fail sooner that unplated cases. Sometimes the Nickel flakes off and can stick to the inside of the sizing die and scratch cases. This can be cleared up with a bore brush and solvent.
Frankl03
Member
I avoid them when I pick up brass at the range.
Yea, I’ve never tried to anneal nickel plated cases, don’t figure it would work well, might though, dunno.
I will never reload nickel plated cases again after two bad experiences. In both cases, years apart, a bit of nickel plating flaked off and stuck to a carbide sizing die resulting in scratching every sized case after that. The first was a Star Press, but I can no remember who made the 45 ACP die. The second was a 38 Special RCBS carbide die, which RCBS replaced, saying that nickel plated cases can be a problem.
Reloading nickel plated cases works well, until it doesn't. YMMV
I've annealed nickle plated rifle cases, (223 & 308) no issues so far.
As said, nickel plated rifle cases can be reloaded just like brass, they just do not last as long. Make sure you have good lubrication when sizing the cases.
I've done some rifle case forming with nickel plated cases and it worked just fine, but case life is short. I formed 6.5x54 Kurz Mauser from some Fed nickel 308 Win cases.
I've never tried annealing them.
Nickel handgun cases are a bit different matter. They reload just fine. With enough reloading cycles the nickel may flake off or just wear off. At least with 38 Special, I feel case life is a but shorter than with brass (case mouth or case body cracks) but you really won't notice the difference in case life unless you really chart your case usage.
I do not discard nickel plated cases out of hand, but I do not go looking for them either. I'd rather reload brass cases.
Sometimes I buy some factory ammunition that is in nickel plated cases. The cases just get rolled into my normal reloaded inventory and culled when they fail.
I've done some rifle case forming with nickel plated cases and it worked just fine, but case life is short. I formed 6.5x54 Kurz Mauser from some Fed nickel 308 Win cases.
I've never tried annealing them.
Nickel handgun cases are a bit different matter. They reload just fine. With enough reloading cycles the nickel may flake off or just wear off. At least with 38 Special, I feel case life is a but shorter than with brass (case mouth or case body cracks) but you really won't notice the difference in case life unless you really chart your case usage.
I do not discard nickel plated cases out of hand, but I do not go looking for them either. I'd rather reload brass cases.
Sometimes I buy some factory ammunition that is in nickel plated cases. The cases just get rolled into my normal reloaded inventory and culled when they fail.
Last edited:
243winxb
Member
Nickel brass may not spring back after firing, causing hard extraction?
High mileage, old, Rem 357 mag brass & nickel fired side by side, showed/measured less spring back of the nickel cases. Hard extraction. 158 lswc, 2400, 13.0 grs. WSPM.
I Only use nickel in 38 spec for carry. Stays cleaner.
High mileage, old, Rem 357 mag brass & nickel fired side by side, showed/measured less spring back of the nickel cases. Hard extraction. 158 lswc, 2400, 13.0 grs. WSPM.
I Only use nickel in 38 spec for carry. Stays cleaner.
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