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Posted: 8/6/2022 6:44:22 PM EDT
[#1]
Cartridge cases are nickel plated so you can leave then in leather belt loops without them turning green from corrosion, usually done in the old black powder calibers like 45/70, 30/30, 38WCF, 44WCF and 45 Colt. Not sure why you would nickel plate 223 cases.
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Posted: 8/6/2022 7:01:44 PM EDT
[#2]
From my understanding for reloading they are the same as normal winchester cases. It seems that a lot of manufacturers are using nickel plated cases for defense/duty ammo, not sure what the reason is though.
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Posted: 8/6/2022 7:07:25 PM EDT
[#3]
Quoted: Is there anything special about this? I tried looking online but the only thing I could find is that they are Winchester. Avoid them for an AR and they are the cases I most often get stuck in dies. I hate nickel plated cases for reloading but for SD factory pistol ammo I actually look for it. |
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Posted: 8/6/2022 7:34:46 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It seems that a lot of manufacturers are using nickel plated cases for defense/duty ammo, not sure what the reason is though. Corrosion resistance. Hornady even offered some of their TAP ammunition in black-nickel plated cases.  .... |
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Posted: 8/6/2022 8:23:59 PM EDT
[#5]
Molon nailed it. Plus the harder surface of nickel cases supposedly allows cases to feed from the mag and into the chamber more easily.
One thing- I never trim nickel cases, I feel it gives the nickel a place to start flaking, and I have seen trimmed nickel cases that have flaked. However, do what you want to do. If a nickel case needs trimming I throw it into a bag and sell it at gun shows when I have enough of them. |
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Posted: 8/6/2022 9:31:55 PM EDT
[#6]
Did/does the military use nickel plated?
I guess what's got wondering about them is the WMA. The other Winchester nickel cases I've used have always said Winchester and not WMA. Are these just old cases? |
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Posted: 8/6/2022 10:46:37 PM EDT
[#7]
Good point made about the trimming giving the cases a place to start losing some of the coating. I've trimmed TONS of them and never felt it was an issue, but the brass case mouth is noticeable once trimmed.
I like to save them and convert to 300blk as a way to more easily identify the stuff I've loaded hotter than others. I.e., Barnes tac tx bullets go into the nickel cases and 147/150s go into brass. The projectile is obviously different, but I like being able to tell them apart from across the room. |
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Posted: 8/6/2022 11:35:58 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Molon nailed it. Plus the harder surface of nickel cases supposedly allows cases to feed from the mag and into the chamber more easily. One thing- I never trim nickel cases, I feel it gives the nickel a place to start flaking, and I have seen trimmed nickel cases that have flaked. However, do what you want to do. If a nickel case needs trimming I throw it into a bag and sell it at gun shows when I have enough of them.  Never heard that before, I've been trimming nickel cases for over 40 years without issue. |
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Posted: 8/7/2022 1:35:31 AM EDT
[#9]
I have nickel cases that I have loaded so many times they are barely able to tell they are nickel anymore. I have never ever had a case peal the nickel away from the case.
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Posted: 8/7/2022 9:25:10 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have nickel cases that I have loaded so many times they are barely able to tell they are nickel anymore. I have never ever had a case peal the nickel away from the case. I'm in the same boat. The only difference I've ever noticed between nickel and brass, the nickel doesn't seem to ever need trimming. |
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Posted: 8/7/2022 3:16:48 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Did/does the military use nickel plated? I guess what's got wondering about them is the WMA. The other Winchester nickel cases I've used have always said Winchester and not WMA. Are these just old cases? WMA is Winchester’s Oxford, MS facility. They make a LOT of stuff that isn’t exactly “military.” For example, .40 S&W and 9mm “training only” ammunition; this stuff is dyed purple to identify it as not for duty use. All of it I’ve seen has had a WMA headstamp. Note that SOME of the .40 training rounds started out as nickel plated, others as plain brass. The purple dye is a PITA when wet tumbling, because it “does things” to the non-dyed cases in the same load. |
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Posted: 8/7/2022 5:03:18 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Avoid them for an AR and they are the cases I most often get stuck in dies. I hate nickel plated cases for reloading but for SD factory pistol ammo I actually look for it. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Is there anything special about this? I tried looking online but the only thing I could find is that they are Winchester. Avoid them for an AR and they are the cases I most often get stuck in dies. I hate nickel plated cases for reloading but for SD factory pistol ammo I actually look for it. This. Ni cases stick in dies unless they are lubed well I cull them out and don’t use them |
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Posted: 8/7/2022 5:48:51 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Corrosion resistance. Hornady even offered some of their TAP ammunition in black-nickel plated cases. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/28568/hornady_black_nickel_cases_002-2479731.jpg .... when loading a mag into a gun easy to see if it's brass (training) or nickel (duty) |
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Posted: 8/7/2022 11:53:32 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have nickel cases that I have loaded so many times they are barely able to tell they are nickel anymore. I have never ever had a case peal the nickel away from the case. I've also not experienced any nickle cases flaking... just wearing the nickle off. I've got a nickle coated Gov Remington 1911 that flaked. Think it might have been caused from Hoppe's #9 getting to the copper coating under the nickle. Have some 223 nickle plated cases I haven't loaded yet. Got them for something easy to ID with a specific load just for kicks. I was ordering other cases and just added them with free shipping. Not something I would normally look to order. We were always issued nickle cased ammo for our wheel guns back in the day. Thought it was for corrosion resistance. |
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Posted: 8/8/2022 11:43:17 AM EDT
[#15]
I have used Federal nickel plated .223 brass and found it easier to resize than brass. I'm using Imperial Sizing Die Wax, which probably makes the difference.
Trimming is much harder on my carbide blades (Gracey MatchPrep using Bob Jones carbide three-way cutters). |
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Posted: 8/8/2022 4:04:53 PM EDT
[#16]
Electroplated nickel CAN flake, like on pistols. The process starts with a thin copper plating on the steel, which makes it easier to actually electroplate with nickel. It’s not trivial to electroplate copper onto steel (it requires a cyanide bath as the electrolyte), but once the copper is bound to the steel, nickel will bind to the copper. This is the crux of the matter: if there’s a flaw in either the nickel layer or the copper layer, and anything gets to the copper itself, the plating breaks down. And that flaw could simply be holster wear.
Modern cartridge cases are electroless plated; this is a purely chemical reaction that applies a controllable thickness of a nickel alloy evenly over the entire surface of the part. It should not be able to flake, since there are no intermediate layers. It CAN wear through, though. I have some old cases that have been cleaned so many times that you can kinda tell they were once nickel, but not so much now. |
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Posted: 8/8/2022 9:38:05 PM EDT
[#17]
I see I should have saved some of those old cases that flaked off at the case mouth. I had problems with handgun and rifle cases.
Oh well. |
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Posted: 8/10/2022 2:38:38 PM EDT
[#18]
I have seen plating come off nickel plated handgun brass. I shot the 38's till the case split.
Federal Match Brass used to be all nickel plated stuff. |
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Posted: 8/10/2022 2:49:55 PM EDT
[#19]
Don't really come across many rifle cases that are nickel, but with .357 magnum it's very common. They will stick as described, but it's a minor issue. I too have reloaded .357 so many times that the nickel gets cleaned off in the tumbler, never had any cases that flaked.
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