nickle plated brass

Ga boy

I've heard pros and cons about loading nickle plated brass.Is it that bad on your dies?

oneoldsap

I prefer nickle plated brass ! I haven't seen any damage to my dies over the years . Regular cleaning of dies is standard maintainense for me , maybe that's why I don't have any problems with it . The ammo loaded with nickle plated looks as good in five years as it did the day it was loaded . Regular brass doesn't look so good after long storage !

reloader44mag

I prefer nickel plated vs brass....easier and quicker to clean...and looks good for a long time after reloading

dcs shooters

Wait till the nickle peals and scratches your carbide die [:0][xx(]
You guys won't be praising it then [;)]
Also it cracks a lot faster than plain brass, so you don't get as many loadings from it.

MIKE WISKEY

"Wait till the nickle peals and scratches your carbide die "..........not much of a die...........nickle is softer than carbide. I prefer it for 'hunting' as it dosen't tarnish and feed 'slicker'. plane brass lasts longer.

Rocky Raab

I can vouch that nickle can and does flake off, especially at the case mouth due to repeated size/expand cycles. I can also vouch that those flakes can embed themselves in a steel die, cannot be removed and will ruin cases sized in that die forevermore. When RCBS replaced that die, they told me they see it quite often. It cost me nothing but some aggravation, a few cases and some lost time - but that was enough for me to swear off most nickle-plated cases.

bpost

Depends on the purpose. If you are going to load them a lot forget it they neck split faster and CAN flake off hunks of nickel. If it is for hunting, shooting them a few times them and enjoy the bennies of less corrosion potential and easier feeding.

grandman

I have used it in the pass and the nickle came off after about three reloads. Be safe with your dies and your chambers and don`t use it more than once. Trade it off if you can. [8D]

03lover

I have used both nickel and yellow brass for over fifty years.

I have found some manufacturers nickel brass can flake off or cause early case neck splits after minimal shooting and others last forever. I have some 45 ACP and 357 magnum nickel brass that has been fired countless times and is turning yellow from repeated cleaning and still no problems.

I think the quality of nickel brass varies from batch to batch as as well as with the different manufacturers. That has been my experence. It is no different than the variation we see in the hardness of brass. Even the same manufacturers brass varies from batch to batch. Some split early and others don't.

Sad to say, unless you spend big bucks for the best brass available, you can't be sure how good the brass is going to be. Manufacturering quality or lack of, with the general manufacturers leaves much to be desired.