Any advice on reloading nickel plated cases?

Thanks

They reload just like normal brass cases. However, it is important to make sure they are especially clean. If there is any loose debris on nickel cases, you run a higher risk of scratching your die. Normal brass generally has some give to it, but nickel is obviously harder on the outside. Make sure to clean your cases thoroughly and everything else is just like brass.

I am surprised about what the nickel plated cases can manage (Federal). I've tried to make 416 Taylor cases out of both 458 and 338Win nickel cases and I belived that the nickel coating would crack, but it did'nt.
I think nickel cases are fine, even if my buddies call them "Psycho-cases".

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Shoot well, and hit hard.

Arild.

If you intend to run unplated brass through your dies after nickel plated, be sure to thoroughly clean the dies. Small bits of nickel can come off and remain in the die. When plain brass is run through the die, the bits of nickel will put deep scratches in the brass. My two cents of personal experience.

Daryl:

I have used nickel cases in .222, .270, .30-06, 7mm RM, and .243 necked down from .308. Have had great results with .222. The larger calibers sometimes have a very rough interior neck surface. I solved this by wrapping some steel wool around a mandrel chucked into a drill to polish the inside of the neck.

Nickel cases are a bit "harder", but are also very smooth and I've had no trouble reloading them in the normal manner.

Fired in a tight chamber and neck-sized only, they should last forever. (They are also easier to spot when ejected onto the ground!)

It's getting pretty close to hunting season in Alaska, so I suppose you're gearing up!

I load Federal Nickel in 3006, 270 Weatherby and 7 Rem Mag.

I am very happy with the results and achieve excellent accuracy and case life with them.

Some of the 3006, partial sized only, has been fired 9 times with no problem, and no apparent increase in pressure.

One of the benefits to a nickel case, at least in my eyes, is that it should provide an extra measure of 'slickness' to aide in extraction.

Being purely subjective, I enjoy the look of the nickel cased round more as well.

I don't remember the author's name, however, I read an article a few years back that recommended against using nickel plated cases due to two issues. Firstly, he said the neck of a nickel case would scratch the bullet upon loading and hence lead to greater fouling as the scratched bullet was fired. Secondly, he said that the small flakes of nickel that are present after trimming could lead to bore scratches or become imbedded. I won't comment on the articles validity, though I will point out that the article was intended for the benchrest crowd. May not be relevant in a sporting context. FWIW.
Regards, Matt.

[This message has been edited by Matt in Virginia (edited 08-01-2001).]

Matt - Nickle can migrate into the bore if you are not careful. Nickle can and does flake. Case inspection and cleaning is very important. Since they are so easy to clean, many ignore close inspection. You should inspect your cases both before and after resizing. Watch for signs of flaking and discard any that are questionable. Clean your dies completely after sizing and seating.

All in all, nickle cases hold up very well to repeated reloadings. Just be extra careful, nickle is not something you don't want in your chamber, barrel, or die sets.

[This message has been edited by Zero Drift (edited 08-01-2001).]

The smith that built my rifle said not to use nickle cases. I already had 100 of them for another rifle and 50 have not been used. They are for sale: W-W nickle cases .280 Rem. John

I wonder about something. Are people getting nickel confused with chrome? Just how hard is nickel? Any metalurgists on this board? I'd ask the metalurgist at work but he's dumb as a rock.

I've used nickel cases any time I've run accross them. If I have a choice I will pick nickel. I dropped a nickel .280 loaded round during the deer season a couple years back. It was found the next summer near my stand. It would have never been seen if it was brass, it would have been black. This case was still bright and the shell fired normally when tried.

Flakeing, I have never seen a rifle case flake. I have seen some cheap pistol cases flake however.

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if you run, you just die tired

I used nickle cases for pistol rounds for years, and was very pleased with them. Cleaned up better than new in no time. However now I reload for rifle. In a recent thread on the forum at benchrest.com the consensus was ditch them. Potential damage to dies, bullets and trimming tools far outweigh any cosmetic advantages.

Regards

Ray

I use nickel cases and Barnes XTC bullets. Blue and silver, if there is a prettier round I don't know of it. Case life is good and they shoot great.

I just resized some 30.06 cases to 8x57 (brass hard to find here) including a bunch of nickle ones that I had come by. A nice looking, slick case when done, but noticeably more difficult to form than brass, needing several slow steps to do the deed. It will be interesting to compare case life to the brass units.

Grizz:

I'm not a metallurgist (and I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn express last night, either), but I do believe the "scratching" potential of nickel is overblown.

First reason: Millions of rounds of nickel-plated shot have been fired through somewhat delicate shotgun barrels, and I've never heard tell of damage from the practice.

Second reason: Nickel-plated cases have been the standard in handguns for decades and I've never heard of a concern about their use in that application. Remember, handguns typically shoot many times the number of rounds through a given barrel than the typical rifle in a lifetime. They also more typically shoot unjacketed lead bullets in which loose nickel particles would embed in more easily, and thus "scrub" through the bore.

Third reason: Nickel-plated cases don't really tend to "flake" very badly. I have seen the nickel partially worn off of pistol cases sized many times without lube in carbide dies, but there don't appear to be any "free" particles floating around to shoot down the bore.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the biggest problem I've found with nickel cases is rough neck interiors, and that's been limited to a couple of calibers from a particular manufacturer.

I've only used nickle cases in pistols, both the 357 and 44 mag. In the 357 I had several cases split full lenght, and in the 44, many of them developed cracks at the mouth after a few firings. I have never had those problems with plain brass cases.

I haven't tried them in a rifle round yet, and are a bit hesitent due to my experience with the pistol cases, and other problems folks report.

My 2 cents

Hello,
I do not use nickel cases becaue they are more expesive than their brass counterparts.

Daryl,
I will never use nickel plated again. It is very easy to get a bad batch of cases and not know it until you load them. The plating process can and will make the cases more brittle than a non-plated cases. Compared to unplated, you will have more split necks. I just trashed what was left of 100 pieces of Remington .25-06. I loaded up about 60 rounds and most of the case necks split before I ever fired them. I did use three different bullets and all had the same results. I went back to regular brass and purchased a tumbler. By all means, if you want to use them then use them, but be cautious. Inspect them very closely after loading them. Just one of my bought lessons I guess.

Eric

Daryl: I have been using nickel plated cases for at least seven years now, and so far I haven't had any problems with them. I always clean the .338 Magnum fired cases before I neck-size as follows:

a. Brush the inside with a 25mm nylon bore-cleaning brush. I turn the case upside down when I brush the inside. Then I neck-size them (Perhaps it would be better to full-size the cases for auto-loaders?).

b. After sizing/decapping, I use the same brush to again brush the inside with soapy hot water, and then rinsing them throroughly with hot water to remove all traces of soap.

c. I place them in a loading block, and use a hair dryer to dry them. This loading block has small holes that allow the water to drain out and away from the cases. Once they are too hot to the touch and completely dry, I let them cool overnight in a dry place.

I use both nickel plated and brass cases, but the nickel plated ones stay clean and shiny for a very long time, even if they get wet. Brass turns dark fast where I hunt, specially on rainy days. I have never seen any nickel plated cases flaking, nor have I put any scratches on my Redding dies.