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Thread: Nickel-plated brass

  1. #11
    Great Master kodiak1's Avatar
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    If it couldn't be reloaded how did they make it into a cartridge in the first place????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????
    Ken.
    Ken.

    Love to Live, Live to Shoot!
    Live by the Gun...Die by the Gun...

  2. #12
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    Baldy,
    It just seems odd to me that there should be such a dramatic difference in case life, and I was hoping that there might be an obvious explanation. No put down of you was in any way intended. It's just a mystery, and I like to try to get to the bottom of mysteries like that.

    There was a thread not too long ago on the CB board speculating about different brands of brass. Some loaders feel very strongly about it as Baldy does, based on his own experience (which I believe is every bit as valid as mine, even if different). And if someone is really negative about one brand of brass (excluding the European and Asian cheapos), it seems like usually it's Remington that they don't like. The general consensus next door was that with the ones that aren't big sellers, whichever company was currently making the run just did it with however many headstamps were needed and sold it to the others for resale. It does on the face of it explain why there can be a lot of inconsistency with different lots with the same headstamp. But, with a big seller like .38 or .357, that doesn't sound right or practical.

    Remington only sells nickle rifle brass in the most common calibers, but all of the big ones sell nickle handgun brass, and I would think it's reasonable to conclude that each company makes its own. FWIW, I have never had a bad batch of WW handgun brass, or of their rifle brass in any of the most common cases. I have, however had problems with some not-so common WW ones like 8x57, .300Sav, and .257 Roberts. I have had rare bad batches of Rem & Fed handgun brass, but also batches of them that have had really good case life. I have never had a problem with REM or Fed rifle brass in common calibers, but again I have had occasional problems with a batch of less common or oddball ones, and about as often as with WW. What I'm saying is that my experiences seem to support the consensus next door, i.e. with the less common, anybody might have made it.

    It is an observed fact that with all three companies, in a batch of 1000 cases (both new and once-fired), there will be a lot of weight variation within the batch, and no one company has shown less variation or closer tolerances than another. It still doesn't answer the question of why, but it does suggest four possibilities 1) I have been unusually lucky to get mostly good batches of Rem brass, 2) some have been unusually unlucky to get mostly bad batches of Rem brass, 3) there really is a problem with Rem producing consistent brass, or 4) since we're all so totally into shooting and loading we're all nuts to start with. Despite my experience, from all that I have heard, I'm leaning towards 1 & 3, and I still have more questions than answers.

    There is one thing I am convinced of, though, and that is that even if some brands of brass have longer life than others, nickle plating in and of itself does not in any way contribute to a decrease in case or sizing die life.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  3. #13
    Private Baldy's Avatar
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    Smile Plug Nickel

    Hey Versifier maybe you are up in the far northern part of the country and I am in the far south and maybe we are getting our brass from two different plants, or companys. About 2yrs ago one of the guys down at the range had measured the wall thickness between several of the major brands. He found there was a difference but I can't remember them. I will ask around down there this weekend and see if anybody knows. I have just started reloading and I didn't pay it much mind what the man said at the time. I don't have any nickel now but if I did I would pay real close attention to what happen with it. I may buy a box and run some test on them myself. Your are right about me belling them out a little to much as I have already reset that. I had about 50 nickel and run out of them fairly quick. I'll get more this week end. I say load them till they split brass or nickel.

    Shoot fast make one Hole..

  4. #14
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    I don't buy my brass locally, but get it from places like Midway. I do use range brass, though, and I have no idea as to its origin. I haven't bought factory loaded ammo in at least thirty years, except .22's. I don't know if the "biggies" have multiple locations for their ammo making operations, but it is a logical assumption that if they do it could easily be a reason for batch to batch inconsistency.

    As to thickness, that makes sense, too. One of the members who lives in southern CA was talking about loading .30 Mauser and mentioned that he found that the Rem brass he was getting was thinner, and this enabled him to load a slightly larger boolit and get better accuracy from his broomhandle with an overlarge bore. I have also heard more than one mention this with regard to .45ACP. All considered this to be a positive thing, accuracy wise, but the discussion was about cast boolit/bore relative sizes, not about the life of the brass.

    In my .308 cases, the Rem plated rifle brass I use measures .013 neck thickness vs. WW unplated at .015. While I have a lot of four different headstamps, all of it is loaded right now and not available for measurement. That's not a big enough sample to make any kind of real judgement, but it does lend a little weight to the theory.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  5. #15
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    Howdy All
    I'm new here and this thread caught my eye first. I have used Rem. and Starline nickle plated in 44 mag, 357mag and 38. I start getting cracked case mouths after 5 or 6 loadings. I have some Rem. and Win. brass that have had 20 + full ppower loads and are still holding up. The dies are set the same and loads are the same. I had some nickle 22 hornet cases and fired them thru my K hornet. I lost quite a few with splits in them also. I just don't get the service out of nickle.
    W.B.

  6. #16
    Private Baldy's Avatar
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    Talking Nickel and More

    Hi Woolybooger and Welcome aboard. I sure am glad that I wasn't the only one having a problem with nickel cases. Hey Versifier I asked down at the supply shop where I get my brass, powers, and all my goodies for reloading today and the main man says they don't even reload nickel except by special request. He said the cases are thinner and they also have trouble with them buckleing at the base. I let him go at that as they were busey as bees in there today. I'll catch him another day and pick his mind a little more. I stopped at two shops on the way home and nobody had any 38's in nickel but they had 357's at at $17.95 a box and I just had to pass. That' would be plum crazy to pay that much when I can do the same thing for about $4.80 a box. I think you would agree with me on that one. I'll go to the range tomorrow and see what I can dig up. Some of them guys been reloading since spot was a pup.

    Shoot fast make one Hole..

  7. #17
    Great Master d-o-k's Avatar
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    I had some nickle 22 hornet cases and fired them thru my K hornet. I lost quite a few with splits in them also. I just don't get the service out of nickle

    Welcome to the guide WB This is quite a common problem with fire forming Hornet to K hornet with nickle cases . I have had the same trouble with Rem hornet brass ! Both in forming & just plain Jane resizing! I find that WW brass is the best to fire form & I thourghly recomend anealing after forming your brass ! AS for Revolver ammo I really like nickle & carbide dies & I always bell the mouth of my cases as well as chamfer the mouth of new brass & after trimming

    Dave
    All times wasted wot not spent shootin

  8. #18

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    I just recently bought some rem. 222 nickle brass, one was split in the neck right out of the bag, hope that's not indicative of things to come! I do have some 243 nickle cases that have gone through 4 loadings without any losses.

  9. #19
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    Ruined a perfectly good .357 magnum steel sizer die in the '60s resizing R-P nickel plated brass. After the first resizing the nickel took on a flat dull finish. This was followed soon by the nickel blistering around the casemouth. Particles of nickel came off and imbeded themselves in the die. The cases next came out full of scratches. Believe carbide can stand up to nickel however am never going to resize a nickel straightwall pistol case again in any of my dies. Have converted to 100% brass. For those of you who reload with nickel cases successfully, good luck and hope you never have my experience with them.

  10. #20
    Great Master d-o-k's Avatar
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    G'day & welcome to the Guide Marshal ! I must admit I've always been of the school of thought that Nickle cases should only be used in carbide dies .THe whole concept of nickle bottle neck cases has me scratching my head ,I must admit

    Dave
    All times wasted wot not spent shootin

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