Nickel plated brass

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hondo1892
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Nickel plated brass

Post by hondo1892 »

I like how nickel brass stays shiny and doesn't get tarnished. However when reloading nickel cartridges I tend to have quite a bit of mouth cracking when I bell them. Is there any way to keep the cracking to a minimum? I've never heard of annealing nickel like brass can be done. I've been staying away from nickel .357s because of this reason.
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marlinman93
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by marlinman93 »

I've reloaded thousands of nickel plated .38 and .357 brass and they take a lot of reloads before they crack or fail. And very few failures among all I've done over the decades. Just not something I ever thought twice about.
Now nickel plated rifle brass is different, and I avoid it at all. The rifle cases seem to get brittle sooner, or fail sooner, so I wont reload rifle brass that's nickel.
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COSteve
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by Griff »

I have some nickel plated .38 Special brass... been reloaded so many times the nickel has all but worn off. Very little cracking or defects. Some of this is 50 or more years old. Used before it came to me. I've also got some 7mmRemMag nickel brass, it was new when I got it, and holds my absolute favorite hunding loads. None if has been reloaded more than once. No, it doesn't get shot much. Maybe one or 2 20 rd boxes. More'n enough to get me thru a couple of seasons.I also have some 45ACP and 45 Colt nickel brass. It's loaded with my EDC loads. Always jacketed HPs. Again, not reloaded very much, as I don't tend to shoot them except when rotating ammo for EDC.

I know cowboy action shooters that either swear by or studiously avoid nickel plated brass. Some like it because it stands out in the grass, (easy to retrieve), or claim it cracks too easily... (not enough life). I think it has more to do with reloading technique than anything else. It may work harden more than regular brass, but if you bell to the absolute minimum to start bullets, that's enough, IMO.
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elmo123
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by elmo123 »

I have found that not belling the case mouth anymore than need keeps them from cracking/splitting especially with the 38 Spl.
hondo1892
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by hondo1892 »

I try to ball my .357 brass as little as possible. The last time I loaded up some rounds, probably sixty I had six or seven pieces that cracked. I have not had the problem with .38 spl cases. I also thought that maybe the pressure that the .357 is loaded to may have some effect also.
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COSteve
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M. M. Wright
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by M. M. Wright »

I think I've noticed nickeled brass cracks sooner than plain but then I suppose some of mine has 20 or more reloads on them.
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Pisgah
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by Pisgah »

I have been reloading for nearly 40 years now. There are reasons to like nickel cases, but I have not found extended case life to be one of them. A typical batch of, say, 100 cases will suffer one or two mouth splits after one reloading, three or four after the second, and so on. Meanwhile, plain brass cases tend to go through four or five cycles at a minimum before I will start to see a few splitting. I think there's something about the plating that makes them work-harden and get brittle faster than plain brass. I now tend to use them for special uses. For instance, when I load factory-standard .45 Colt loads I will use plain brass because those will be shot up and reloaded more often than the Ruger-only loads I make for my Bisley Blackhawk. The Ruger-only loads I do with nickel cases so I won't end up putting a Ruger load in to my Uberti SAA. They might get reloaded only once or twice before they are chucked.
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6pt-sika
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by 6pt-sika »

Back thirtyfive years ago when I was hung up on 7mm’s I bought nice new R/P nickel plated 7-08 , 280 , 7x57 and 7 Mag brass . I’m still using the 7x57 and 7-08 brass .
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Re: Nickel plated brass

Post by stretch »

I think it has more to do with reloading technique than anything else. It may work harden more than regular brass, but if you bell to the absolute minimum to start bullets, that's enough, IMO.
I'm inclined to agree. Bell JUST enough so that it doesn't shave lead, or to start your
jacketed/plated bullets.

Having all of the cases trimmed to +/- .001" helps here.

That said, I really don't like trimming brass. Of all of the tasks associated with reloading, I
think that is my least favorite. I think it's even worse than scrubbing lead, although I could
make an argument with myself either way.

Cases that are all the same length also help with a consistent crimp. Again, crimp just enough - no more!

https://www.finishing.com/165/71.shtml

This link is interesting. It seems that nickel plating can embrittle brass depending on a number
of factors, including the preparation of brass and the method(s) used to do the plating.

It seems as if it can be a real problem with some steels if there is hydrogen present. Interferes
with the grain structure of the host metal, apparently.

-Stretch
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COSteve
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