Nickle Plated Brass???

[Lpart]

I can't find any 325 WSM brass. I have a friend who has about 100 nickel plated cases. I have never tried to reload anything but brass cases. Will these work ok? Any problems to look out for?

Thank you.

 

[NoFences]

They will load fine. I have had a couple stick on me when trying to use a small base die for my BAR otherwise I've never had any problems.

 

[roninflag]

I use nickel in several calibers. great. I load ballistic silver tips in that brass

 

[SidecarFlip]

Ron: I've always wondered about sizing nickle versus brass. Any differences? I've actually passed a couple times on nickle plated cases because I didn't know....

 

[MNbogboy]

I've use nickle plated brass in several instances where identification of two calibers can be difficult because of headstamp markings (ie; 25-06/6.5-06 & .257BobAI and 6.5-257 BobAI) I have also used it on a .243 to prevent my grandsons from mixing it with the .260 that they also use...(a .260 will not chamber in a .243 but bringing the wrong ammo in the field will end your day and rattling a .243 bullet down a .260 bore probably won't hit its mark).

Nickel plated brass in the calibers I use seems to size with somewhat more effort so good lube is as important or more important than with brass..

Contrary to popular belief Nickel plated brass will not "scratch" dies...However, nickel being a little harder than brass can allow contaminents to embed in the plating and possibly scratch dies...Extra care must be taken to keep cases clean prior to sizing...(The same contaminents in brass might/may "sink" farther into the brass being it is softer and not scratch dies or scratch as bad as the nickel plated stuff)...
On the other hand nickel (being a little harder) might wear dies more in a given sequence of sizing repititions than brass...But who here has wore many sets of dies out in the first place....I have upgraded a few sets over 50 years but can't say I have ever wore any out....I have however scratched a couple and not with nickle but with dirty "brass"...

Keep the nickle clean and lubed, you should have no problems.

My .02,
Randy

 

[SidecarFlip]

One more question and I'll give it a shot. Can you wet tumble them with stainless pins or do you have to run dry media?

 

[MNbogboy]

Can't answer that one...never tried stainless media...My guess that it would not be any different and clean up the same...

I believe the plating is applied with the electroless method and is only about .001 thick (give or take)...It does eventually start wearing thru in places as the sizing process is repeated (10+)...The neck will show signs the first...In my 6.5-06 I have gotten as many as 15-20 and that batch is still going strong...and the necks are mostly brass looking now....

As I mentioned we use it mostly for identification purposes but if I found a good deal on on nickle plated stuff for any of what I reload for I wouldn't hesitate...Obviously, Remington and Winchester produced a lot of it and I found that it was not any better than brass in the weight/volume sorting aspect.

Randy

 

[sp6x6]

I was given 325 wsm bullets nickle for plowing a guys drive.I had harder time sizing,twice as hard as 340wby case.Had split necks random on second and third reload.Could feel real uneven neck tension. I pitched them,never had brass like it ever.Was looking for brass and this was few years back and think it was midway .Picked up about 4 boxes of Nosler custom loaded with a 200 NAB for a real fair price,no problems since.

 

[Predator 22]

I never really worried about the dies I was always worried about picking up dust or something and firing them and screwing up the chamber. I'm not sure but I think nickel is harder than stainless steel.

 

[mtwarych]

I have used nickel plated brass for my 7mm.
The first thing I figured out is nickel will screw up your case trimmer quick.

As soon as you trim the brass, the nickel will start flaking off the brass.

It is really difficult to visually inspect the case for any telltale marks as in stretching of the brass. Looking for the telltale annular ring of case separation can't be done. You have to use the paperclip to feel the inside of the case.

Nickle brass really looks good when it is being loaded into a stainless rifle but the problems I have had with it just isn't worth it to me.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Obvious issues but none relate to a straight wall cartridge (thats what I have).

 

[mtwarych]

I also have had no problems loading straight wall nickel brass.

I use nickel for all "special" 45 ACP loads.

I use carbide dies for the 45ACP and the only precaution I take is tumbling the nickel cases before I resize and de-cap. I do not lube the cases and have had no scratching of die or brass at all.

 

[blacktail 8541]

I personally like to use nickle to differentiate between stout loads and special loads used for foul weather hunting. I only use them for a couple of firings before discarding.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I use nickel brass in a few chamberings. Size them rather "wet" with lube but not so much near the shoulder as to dent the dang thing. You may see neck splits on nickel brass if it sits with a bullet in it if work hardened; I've had this a bit with my 338 and fed nickel brass. You may also have to run up the load again if it was developed in brass as the neck tension will likely be a bit higher with nickel plated.

Flip, as to nickel plated straight wall, I'd use carbide and lube lightly to size after cleaning in walnut. I've shot thousands of rounds of 44, 357 and 9mm in nickel plated and they have not been much different than regular brass. Possibly even easier to clean as powder fouling can sometimes be wiped off with a rough cloth omitting tumbling. Take it easy on belling the mouth to keep nickel flaking to a minimum.