Nickel Plated Cases

[dicehorn]

I ordered some Remington 22.250 brass cases which arrived today. However to my dismay they turned out to be the nickel plated variety.

Dismay because somewhere I had read that these are not as good as the brass chaps for reloading. What I can't remember. Can any of the forum members throw some light on this - or have I got it the wrong way around!!

Peter

[Mousemann]

I gather they are actually more resilient if nickel plated. They go through the dies more easily or something. Had the same question about .357 Mags recently and was told this.

[nice one]

silver good on vampires..:D

[BoNeS]

i have some nickel plated brass and after trying to load 5 i threw them away, did not load very nicely, very hard and someone told me that they actaully damage your dies, i dont know if that is true but i cant afford to find out

[Dave 101]

I have nickel .308 which have been reloaded a few times without any problems , Dave

[tim56]

Iv tried nickle in .357 mag in my long barrel revolver and my marlin 1894. Found they dont chamber as well in the lbr. Using my usual loading dies they seam to be slightly bigger on the diameter although they measure to within .001". If you push em in they dont shoot as accurately in my gun so sticking with brass from now on. Marlin isnt quite as fussy but i prefer to load same ammo for both if i can.

[blue]

Nickel is obviously far harder than brass and possibly could scratch your barrel if any loose plating got into the barrel.
I used it in the .17 and only stopped because I killed my Sinclair and K&M neck trimmer on the nickel.
It looks nice, but I don't see any real benefit.
Not sure I have ever heard of anyone replacing a barrel or die from stray flakes of nickel. If you like it, I'd use it.
Just don't neck turn it..

[baz]

I have used them in 22/250 as I had a bunch of Win Supreme, but since the superb Nosler custom brass has been available I have used them

I didnt have any problems with trimming them etc, I use RCBS and Redding and nothing got damaged

[dicehorn]

Hm........... I think I will return them - it appears brass = no risk, nickel = perhaps. There is enough uncertainty in reloading without making any more.

I believe now what I had read was about case hardness - as already stated by BoNes and Blue

Many thanks for your input

Peter

[marconi59]

Winchester 22/250 nickel plated.
Loaded over 200.
No problems noticed, just keep everything clean as usual.

;)

[bullcross]

i only use nickel in my 243 no probs at all

[jonno1972]

Have used nickel .223, .308 and .38spl with no problems. I would guess about 4000 rnds to date

[baz]

Seems to me that if you use RCBS to trim them they dont cause any problems:confused:

[blue]

It was neck turning I had the problem with. The case length trimming caused no probelms.,

[pablo332]

If you have no intention of trimming your cases they are brilliant, clean up in the tumbler in next to no time and stay that way for quite some time. Used them for years in 357/38. If you intend trimming OAL or neck turning go for plain brass.

[marconi59]

I have no issues trimming Nickel cases with an RCBS hand trimmer....

[majex45]

I know that pistol cases are used at much lower pressures than rifle cases but I have loaded hundreds of nickel WW 38 spl cases. Often loading the cases many times. (I used to shoot PPC revolver competitively).
They are much more resitant to tarnishing than brass (and brass tarnish is hard & can scratch steel dies) and maybe a tad harder to resize.
Having said that the main problem with nickel cases is they become brittle faster than brass. I often get split nickel cases but rarely, brass.
Hope the info is useful.
Majex45

[baz]

Ahh I can see problems with neck turning David, but like you I have nad no problems trimming them, they seemed to last longer than the brass Winchester versions which isnt too long at all in 22/250

[dicehorn]

Ahh I can see problems with neck turning David, but like you I have nad no problems trimming them, they seemed to last longer than the brass Winchester versions which isnt too long at all in 22/250

Hi Baz What would you call 'not long too at all in 22.250?

I am asking this as on another thread recently someone said 3 or 4 times. If so, I am a little surprised as with my 22.250 brass cases in Remington I have one batch that is well into the teens and using Lapau in my 6.5x55 one batch will have had 21 firings through them - very rarely see any neck splitting or other signs of pressure - none have been annealed. Perhaps I don't overload them??

Peter

[baz]

I have had necks split on Winchester cases on first load, although not often, however 5 reloads from one would be a good one, never had any other problems apart from necks, this only happens rarely with other makes

I use Nosler custom now and they are superb, well worth the extra money

I use 41grn H380 in my 40x which is Hogdons top load (but no pressure signs) but I have had Winchester necks go in other 22/250s after a couple of loads that were with 39grn of 380 which was before they increased top load to 41grn (due to burn rate changing over the years)

[dicehorn]

I use 41grn H380 in my 40x which is Hogdons top load (but no pressure signs) but I have had Winchester necks go in other 22/250s after a couple of loads that were with 39grn of 380 which was before they increased top load to 41grn (due to burn rate changing over the years)

That was similar to my load which until a month ago was 38grn of H380, now using N150 with 37grns and Hornaday V max 55grain.

Peter

[RichardH]

I like nickel cases:)

Easy to clean and keep clean and easy to find at night.

Shiny cartridges are always more accurate;)

Richard