Nickel Plated .223 Bullet Auction Prices

[Brillo]

Can anyone tell me why people are paying so much for nickel plated .223 bullets? For example, on eBay 200 rounds of Ni plated Lake City FMJBTs recently sold for $31 plus $5 shipping (Item number: 260066538561). This amounts to about 18 cents per bullet. Except for use in very corrosive environments such as the jungle I've never heard of an advantage to nickel plating. I don't know of anyone who uses them for bench rest shooting. Am I missing something?

 

[Wil Terry]

WELL IN THE FIRST PLACE...

Are we discussing bullets or cartridges here ???

 

[Brillo]

Nickel plated bullets.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=260066538561&rd=1&rd=1

 

[taliv]

use search. i asked that question about a year ago. some answers involved concerns about the hardness of nickel being very bad on bores. since then i discovered a group of people who believe nickel plating == armor piercing. that's flawed for several reasons, not the least of which is that rifle ammo doesn't need any help going through armor... but hey, it might explain the popularity

 

[Walkalong]

New one on me. It has to be bad for bores and it can't possably help penetration, but then, what do I know. I've never seen them before.

 

[Brillo]

It coultn't possibly be for penetration as it is only a couple of thousandths of an inch thick. Nickel is a bit harder than copper so I would guess it to be slightly worse on rifle bores, and it galls badly and might, as a result, load up some on the inside of a bore. Ammonia will not dissolve it as it does copper so it would be more difficult to remove from a bore using conventional bore cleaning techniques. Lots of questions, few answers. Maybe I should try to contact Lake City Arsenal about it.

 

[ilbob]

My guess is that those buying them think they are something special and are thus willing to pay extra for them.

Some people prefer nickle plated brass cases as well.

 

[Jim Watson]

They found out that if you drive cupro-nickel jacketed bullets faster than about 2000 fps - as when going from .30-40 Krag to .30-03 - that it gave horrible hard metal fouling. I don't know if a thin plating of plain nickel would be as bad... but I would not want to find out the hard way, AND pay extra for the priviledge.

 

[trickyasafox]

Hi-Tech ammo used to carry these. I'd contact them and see if they have any left. I think the going rate was about 26 bucks per 500.

 

[Brillo]

Thanks Trickyasafox. I'm really not interested in buying any unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I just can't figure out why some folks are paying such a high premium for them when there doesn't appear to be an advantage other than extended involvement in jungle warfare.

 

[trickyasafox]

lol im one of the saps that would buy them just cause they look cool.

not at 28 bucks per 200, but maybe at 40 per k, you bet your butt i'd get a thou just to make some pretty ammo

 

[Master Blaster]

The only reason I could think of for using these, would be to make decorative fake cartridges for gun belts and bandoleers used in parades, and for displays in museums.

Maybe they are good for marine environments under extreme conditions as well???

 

[Black Snowman]

Ya, maybe pick up some, some nickle brass, some primer sealant, and make LONG term storage ammo . . . Other than that, pretty I guess, or you have a Lone Ranger fetish.

If they were decorative, why SS109? Why not a plain FMJ or HPBT? Seems kinda funny. I wonder if Lake City plates them or if they are done after-market?