Nickel Plated Brass

Wolf.

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--A couple days ago four of us were discussing why some brass is nickel-plated and some was not. None of us knew for sure, but we had these theories.

I don't think the "A" theory is valid, but does anyone know with any degree of certainty why some brass is plated and some is not? Here are the theories:

A. Nickel plating is only available on +P loads because the nickel plating makes the shell case stronger to withstand the higher pressure. (To tell the truth, I never noticed one way or the other and I'm not gonna sort through a bunch of brass.)

B. +Ps would generally be a defensive/offensive loading and might be carried around a lot, but rarely fired. Therefore sweat, other moisture and contact with materials, such as leather and clothing could cause regular brass to discolor and corrode slightly, thereby staining certain materials.

C. Maybe it's a marketing thing. Maybe people expect shiny nickel bullets since they pay more for the +P load.

Tailgunner1954

B is close, it's simply a corrosion reduction measure, esp when left in a leather belt loop.

Wehrmacht_45

from what I read, the nickel plating also adds a bit of lubricity to the round, facilitating feeding and extraction.

charliemeyer007

+1 for TailGunner. My experence is the plated brass is weaker and fails sooner when reloaded. Usually I don't use the stuff but in poor extractor designs like NEI's/H&R the extra slick is worth the trade off for hunting rounds.

RCrosby

And just to clarify; nickel plating has been with us since way before +P loads. I have some nickel plated .38 Special brass that takes large pistol primers and dates back to I don't know when.

heavyiron

+1 with Tailgunner.

Nickel plated cases go back to at least the late 1930's.

Heavyiron

CapnMidnight

Nickel cases clean easier, size smoother, don't corrode or tarnish, last longer and feed better. RCrosby, those old cases you have with the large pistol primer pockets are one of the evolution steps in the development of the 357 mag, they may have Elmer Kieths fingerprints on them. LOL. I haven't seen any of them in years.
For what it's worth.
W.D.

RCrosby

Captn,
I've dusted the brass for prints and so far nothing that matches Elmer, though I do have one that looks pretty close to Phil Sharpe.
Some are Peters, others are Winchester.
I'm interested in the possible connection to the developement of the .357. I'd always just seen them as an early variation before the industry standardized on the small primer.
Do you have any more info about that possibility?
Cheers,