My � is little bitty and you have a big one? Story of my life. I tried cap locks and that didn't help? Is there a list of what all is hidden in there?

my 2�
cent 1
in my experience, nickel brass results in higher pressure. I BELIEVE this to be slightly reduced volume... case in point a 40gr load of something under a 139 gr BT... in brass, no problems, in nickel.. the ONLY primer back out i've ever had... and this is a medium BOOK load... not just 1 gun, but 3 708s

cent 2
what most people call chrome plated is nickel plated, and the chrome is more or less clear... nickel-- shiney, chrome -- clear (green, but clear)

at the end of the day, if your rifle loads aren't warm, it wont matter

Myself, unless proved over reloading and lots of shooting, would never mix rifle brass... I've had too may troubles with just rem vs win...

jeffe

I use nickel for my 6x45mm reloads, so they are color-coded and can't get mixed up with the .223 Remington for the Mini-14.

ZERMEL,



Those are some very funny things you are saying about nickel plating! Very funny indeed! Too bad there is NO truth in any of it!

Nickel plating of cases is done for ONE reason and ONE reason only . . . CORROSION RESISTANCE! Leave a brass case in a rifle chamber for a couple days in a hot humid climate and you get a nasty little galvanic corrosion cell which may get you a STUCK cartridge/case.

Nickel plating is all of a few MICRONS thick. 2.54 MICRONS = 0.0001"! Yeah boys and girls that is REALLY cutting down on the case capacity and increasing operating pressure alright!

Nickel is harder than WROUGHT IRON. OH yeah, wrought iron is some REALLY soft stuff (softer than many brass alloys).

Nickel plating can be heat treated to make it moderately hard, RC63 to 65, but you won't find that on a cartridge case (brass wouldn't like it).

The CHEAP nickel plating which is done to firearms munitions is NOT very hard, although it is possible it could be harder than a cheap SOFT barrel. This cheap nickel plating WILL DEFINITELY NOT BE HARDER THAN A PROPERLY HEAT TREAT STEEL SIZING DIE!

Cartridge brass is NOT Cu 85%, Zn 15% with traces of silver, etc, etc.

Cartridge brass IS Copper (Cu) 70% Zinc (Zn) 30%. There are some trace elements in the alloys (less than 1%, typically MUCH less than 1%). At least that is what Remington, Norma, Bertram, Winchester, and Some Germany milsurp brass is, determined by chemical spectrum analysis.

ASS_CLOWN

Zermel and others , you obviously aren't metallurgists !!Cases are made by a process called back extrusion which requires a very ductile brass . The most ductile is 70Cu, 30Zn ,it may also contain small amounts of other elements.This alloy , long used for cases is commonly called 'cartridge brass' [no kidding ! ]The forming of the case requires multiple stages of extruding and annealing to produce the proper hardness and grain size. ..As for nickel,it is used originally for corrosion resistance , less problem with cartridges in a leather belt which would turn brass green quickly from the tanning chemicals .It is now used for denoting premium ammo by some companies. There are two types of nickel plating ,electrolytic [applied with electricity] and electroless [ no electricity used ]but this is nickel with some phosphorous forming an alloy which can be hardened. Cases are coated with pure nickel, very thin and very soft.It will NOT change the volume of a case ! It will NOT scratch the die !!!Scratches on dies and cases are caused by dirt .Sand [silica] is very abrasive and will even scratch carbide dies ! I know some of you are fightened by science but learn to live with it , after all it is the 21 st century.

"And why do you never see nickel plated brass with the BR clan,ha? Is it because these guys are dumb and don't know good brass when they see it."



Well, some BR-ers DO use nickel-plated brass. A couple of years ago I needed some brass for my 6 Tall-Dog. Russ Haydon sent me some of his, and guess what...it was nickel plated. Russ is a very well respected bench-rest shooter who owns one of the two or three premier BR shooting supply houses. He can shoot any type he wants...



Alberta Canuck

One good reason for using nickled brass is to separate one calibre from another. For instance, when I go antelope hunting, I use a .280 Remington most of the time. As a spare, I take a .270 Winchester which I've had for many years.

To keep from inadvertantly mixing the cartridges, I load the .280 rounds in nickled cases, and the .270 rounds in regular brass-finish cases.

Alberta Canuck

If ya'll are ruining dies with nickle cases then you should clean your dies once in awhile, its not the nickle scratching your die body, its the crap that you let pile up in there..It has no place to go when you jam a case in it...

My nickle cases come out a beatiful burnish unless I polish them bright...but never scratched...