Can anyone tell me if nickel plated brass will cause higher pressures than plain brass with the same load? I am experiencing this problem,I think. Thanks ........wapiti7

No difference.

just wanted to share my experience between the two. I don't know if its a fluke or what but I was loading my 22-250 a little too hot and having a hard time closing the bolt on my rifle when shooting plain brass shells, but had no problem closing the nickle plated brass shell. It didn't seem to expand as much. again no scientific proof just an experience

Nickle brass in its self won`t cause pressure to rise with like loads. But if the brass is of thicker wall design or otherwise has a smaller capacity pressures can go up.
This is one of the reasons for working up when changing any components.

I don't use nickel brass simply because it is so stiff and hard to resize, I would not think it would cause any pressure changes when resized to the chamber, only good thing about it is it is pretty to look at

There are some situations when nickel plated brass has some real advantages. Brass (which I think is mostly copper with a little zinc) is subject to corrosion. For most hunters this comes from sweat on hands and fingers which contains salt and fatty acids. The effects can range from simple tarnish to serious corrosion which can weaken the metal. In hot and humid climates found in the forests of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, as well as other places around the world, the problem is more prevalent and keeping cartridges in a leather looped cartridge holder will accelerate the process. Those who keep ammunition in a marine environment, such as on a boat, will also have the problem. For the hunter who lives in a modrate climate or who can always store his ammo in a dry place this is not really a problem. But if you are staying or living for long periods of time in a steamy jungle or in a marine environment, then the nickel plating can add a little security.

quote:

Originally posted by wapiti7:
Can anyone tell me if nickel plated brass will cause higher pressures than plain brass with the same load? I am experiencing this problem,I think. Thanks ........wapiti7

\
yes, without a doubt

in 708, one of the FEW rounds I will load up warm, both cases being remington 708 cases...

1 gr off max loads (and my max aint as high as some in this) in brass cases... 5-7 reloads...

in nickel cases, 1 loading, 1 reload resulted in leaky primers ....

never again

jeffe

Thanks for the info. When I changed my .257 wthby load over to nickel plated brass, my primers started shooting out. This did not happen when I was shooting wthby brass. I am changing back to brass to hopefully fix the problem..........wapiti7

Uuuuuhhhhh, if you're having a prob CLOSING the bolt on a round, it ain't cause its loaded hot. That shouldn't make any difference. Unless you're neck sizing and have fired the case several times.
Plated brass is "slicker" than regular brass but it will not alter the pressure on the round. (in the real world that is, please no hair-splitting, long explainations about the miniscule difference in plated brass opposed to standard)
I don't like the stuff myself.

In the FWIW department, if you're loading so close to the ragged edge that a simple change in brass is popping primers, you might want to reevaluate your load. There are more varibles to a cartridge than the primer.

Dear Wapiti7,
Here's a thought: Little fragments of nickel, embedded in the bullet jacket, scouring your rifle barrel...Sort of like fire lapping.
I say this because I've had plenty of plated brass shed nickle flakes during resizing. I'm not sure how hard the nickle actually is, but anything harder than the rifle barrel is going to cause some serious wear and tear. Reaming out the necks of the plated brass simply adds one more variable to a process demanding consistency, and so on. I've also pulled some projectiles from handloads with plated brass [7mm Rem mag] and found the nickle scraped the jackets.
I should also say commercially prepared nickle plated ammo is most probably free of these concerns. I just don't think reloaded nickle plated ammo is worth the risk to my barrels.
As for corrosion resistance, there may be some point, though I've fired some pretty horrible looking surplus 8mm ammo through my 98/22 without incident. Some might argue with this, but I think commercially prepared ammo may be a little more weatherproof than [my] reloads, just because the brass has never been stressed and the necks and primer pockets should be nice and tight.
Good shooting,
Albatross [ex-Cheeky].

Whapiti--the problem isn't the nickel brass. You mention that nickel brass compared to the weatherby brass was higher pressure. THIS IS BECAUSE you are using 2 different brands of brass. Weatherby is usually more roomy than other brands of brass...especially remington. Weatherby doesn't make nickel plated brass.
I would think there is a good chance you will have up to 2 grains diff between weatherby and other brands of brass in your gun. If you use a chrono it will clear this up for you.

I find nothing wrong with nickel brass and even enjoy loading it....some people hate it!!

Kraky,
I was relaoding the wthby brass for a couple of years with no problems. Then I box a box of 100 federal nickel plated because it was a good price. I never had the problem with the wthby brass. I used the same load, primer and bullet. Now the primers are popping out every 2nd or 3rd shot. I just bought 2 new boxes of wthby brass and I'm going to scrap the fed. nickel. I thought that the interior dementions mifgt be smaller in the nickel than the brass brass, thus creating higher pressure. I'm only speculating.......wapiti7

Weigh the nickel brass against the original brass and check for an appreciable difference. If you see a difference of 5-10 grains, then do a water volume test and scale down the load to make them equivalent. Then develop a new load based on these findings.

Wapiti--that's exactly what I'm saying...weatherby brass in general has the most internal case capacity and thus will make less pressure. If they coated it with nickel it wouldn't make a difference. IT'S THE BRAND THAT IS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE. Also....federal (unfortunately) also has a reputation for being softer makeup and tends to "lose the primer" pocket quicker than most other brands.
You kind of got caught with a "double whammy" when you made the switch to federal.

quote:

Originally posted by wapiti7:
Kraky,
I was relaoding the wthby brass for a couple of years with no problems. Then I box a box of 100 federal nickel plated because it was a good price. I never had the problem with the wthby brass. I used the same load, primer and bullet. Now the primers are popping out every 2nd or 3rd shot. I just bought 2 new boxes of wthby brass and I'm going to scrap the fed. nickel. I thought that the interior dementions mifgt be smaller in the nickel than the brass brass, thus creating higher pressure. I'm only speculating.......wapiti7

You thought!? Wouldn't it be wise to find out? Here's how. Take one each of both headstamps, weigh them empty, then fill to the top with water and weigh them again. The difference is the capacity in grains of water. A good representation of the differences of internal capacity. As was said, wheatherby brass is usually thinner, hence of higher capacity.

Albatross, nickel is no where near as hard as steel, it's nickel not chrome! Also, I've never seen a nickel rifle case peel or flake. A few .357 cases, 20 years or so ago did de-plate or peel.

Grizz, are you lashing out or does it just appear that way in your response? Just curious........wapiti7

quote:

Originally posted by wapiti7:
Grizz, are you lashing out or does it just appear that way in your response? Just curious........wapiti7

Nope. If I were, you'd know it. Just do the test, I bet you'll find out it wasn't the nickel plating that caused the higher pressure. I can see how you might think that, a few too many exclamation marks.

No difference. I use them for 45 ACP and 223 because they're easier to find on the ground after firing them.

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
There are some situations when nickel plated brass has some real advantages. Brass (which I think is mostly copper with a little zinc) is subject to corrosion. For most hunters this comes from sweat on hands and fingers which contains salt and fatty acids. The effects can range from simple tarnish to serious corrosion which can weaken the metal. In hot and humid climates found in the forests of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, as well as other places around the world, the problem is more prevalent and keeping cartridges in a leather looped cartridge holder will accelerate the process. Those who keep ammunition in a marine environment, such as on a boat, will also have the problem. For the hunter who lives in a modrate climate or who can always store his ammo in a dry place this is not really a problem. But if you are staying or living for long periods of time in a steamy jungle or in a marine environment, then the nickel plating can add a little security.

i agree with winks analogy especially when it comes to storing cartridges in leather loops. those carts will be greener than 2 week old bread.

i load a lot my my revolver cartridges in nickle brass. the only rifle that i load with nickle is 7mm mauser. i think they look prettier that way.lol.

your pressures are from the hardness of them coupled with the lesser internal volume , as they are a bit heavier construction as most are for the premium line of factory loads and are loaded right up to the tops of permissable pressures , but i use them in my bench loads for my 308 as they shoot same speed and accuracy with 1.5 to 2 grains less of same powder cause of the smaller internal volume ive found ! they are harder and more resistant to expansion near the base cause of the process by which they are plated , nickeled are allways harder all round as far as i have found in pistol as well as rifle cases . hope this helps you out , as id just drop back 2 grains and chronagraph them alon side the brass loads an see .