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Posted: 9/8/2010 12:15:29 PM EDT
Hey Guys, I just got back from the shooting range. Someone ditched over 100 new nicklel plated cases. I have loaded hundreds of .357 brass cases but have no experience with nickel cases. I load with RCBS carbide sizing dies and just wondered if there is any special precautions to take or if they and not good to reload. Thanks for any help you can give me
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Welcome to Arfcom.
All I use in 357 are nickel cases. Easy to clean, size and load. No special techniques needed. Don't tumble them for long, the nickel will tumble off. 
Don't last for long? That's not been my experience. These are from my first box of 357 ammo I shot in 1976. These have been reloaded 40 or 50 times. Full loads most of the time, last 15 years or so I've been loading them with wadcutter loads. In this loading, I'm trying standard vs mag primers. The ones that are gone suffered split necks, but all cases do that. |
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When I was a Deputy, this was back in the revolver days, I carried a 357, defense loads are almost universally nickel plated, and we were required to change ammo every few months to make sure the carry loads were fresh, and we shot up the previous carry rounds. It was not uncommon to see 3 or 4 split necks (in a box of 50) on nickel brass after the first firing, not unusual at all. This was common in all brands of ammo I carried, which were mostly Remington, Winchester or Federal, so it wasn't just one brand, and it was in several different pistols I carried over the years, a model 15 in 38 special, two different model 19's, one blue, one nickel plated, and a model 66, so it wasn't the pistol. As you would reload that nickel brass, you would lose 3 or 4 with every loading to neck splits, so when you had several boxes you were loading you would have to designate one box for replacement cases since so many were splitting. I never reloaded 9mm or 45 acp nickel cases, so I don't know how they might fare, but in 357 and 38 special they were pretty bad, you had to carefully inspect every case after firing and again after loading since once in a while you would get one to split during reloading. Split necks on plain 38 or 357 brass cases were rare. |
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I like nickel plated cases if for no other reason than, that they clean up easier. I think they also resist corrosion a little better than brass.
As for wear out, I have so much range brass that it doesn't really matter to me. Performance wise I see no difference. |
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Quoted: They reload fine, they just don't last as long. I've been told that attempts to anneal the cases cause the nickel plating to come off in places, it being more brittle than the brass under it. (hear-say only) Others probably have direct experience. I have had "some" luck annealing nickel. However I for a long time thought I had made about 40-50 of these (7mmTCU from Rem nickel 223) but have not been able find them and thought they got lost when I moved. Now I'm beginning to wonder if I ever did make them.  (IIRC I do have a reloading label that says nickel) |
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