Nickel VS. Brass

S

stealthman

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What are the advantages/disadvantages of nickel coated brass over just straight brass? I have some for my .17 Rem and it seems like the nickel cracks necks about 2-3 loads quicker than the brass necks crack. It also feels more ridgid in the press, but that could just be me. Is this normal? Any of you guys prefer nickel?
 
Brass has a MUCH longer reloading life. What you are experiencing with nickel casings is typical. Brass withstands pressures and heat much better.
 
Stick with the brass. What i have found is that the nickel cases seem to size harder.When doing alot of rounds sure is nice to have the ease of the brass vs the nickel just my .02
 
I've got a ton of once fired .223 in nickel and had nothing but trouble with getting them to twice fired. Neck problems, primer problems, all kinds of problems. I ended up pulling apart a bunch of loaded rounds that all had something wrong with them just to recover components and reload into brass. It's pretty, /end story.

And they were true once fired, all by me
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Originally Posted By: ShynlocoBrass has a MUCH longer reloading life. What you are experiencing with nickel casings is typical. Brass withstands pressures and heat much better.

+1, Brass bends easily, Nickel is more brittle than brass. While the plus side to nickel is its pretty, but because it doesn't expand/stretch as easily it will then crack.
 


Isn't it a crazy world?

Here, we have eight straight posts and nothing but horrible experiences with nickel-plated brass. And I have absolutely no doubt that all of these folks have vast experience.

Personally, I've fired AND handloaded tens of thousands of nickel-plated cases with total satisfaction. Both my .280 Ackley and my beloved .223 Ackley absolutely thrive on Winchester-brand nickel-plated cases.

Short case life? Nope, NEVER.

Scratched dies? Absolutely NOT.

Perhaps my great experience comes from actually cleaning my cases very carefully, both at the range and with a vibratory cleaner. I also use Redding TiN neck-sizing bushings in a Redding Type-S die and, of course, all of my chambers were cut with a Henriksen reamer.

I find that nickel-plated cases give exceptional life and feed like quicksilver. They also fireform easily to Ackley configuration ... something I would not have believed without actually seeing.

One difference; the nickel-plated necks "spring" back .001" more than regular brass necks, so I have to use a .244" TiN Redding neck bushing on nickle and a .245" bushing for brass.

Accuracy is the same, whether I use Winchester brass-brass or Winchester nickel and the case life is at least 15 loadings with the nickel until the primer pockets eventually wear out or expand beyond that which is acceptable.

Soooo, I guess this leaves us with experienced folks on both sides of the equation. The reader is left to find out the truth by himself.

Personally, I'll be shooting "Lone Ranger" nickel-plated cases until I die.

Steve Timm


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Just a few .223 Ackley cases ... Brass and Nickel-Plated
 
It could be something I am doing incorrectly. Accuracy seems to be identical with either. I am loading 21.6gn H322 behind a 25gn Berger with Rem 7 1/2 primer, so not too hot and under published max load. I am averaging 3 loads for the nickel and 5-7 loads out of the brass before I am getting cracked necks. Primers look good and there are no signs of pressure at all. I do not anneal them. They are being shot out of an AR. I use an RCBS full size die and a Hornady seating die. My downfall might be that I don't clean/vibrate my brass after every load. Maybe every 2-3 loads depending on what it looks like. I don't think I have ever had brass as pretty as that in the two boxes in the pic above. Wow.
 
Well, like steve said, load it up and see what works best for you. I myself prefer brass, but youll be able to find out for yourself.
 
My experience has been the same as Steve Timm's. I have many nickel cases on load 20+. Been loading for 35 years and never had a problem that I didn't have with regular brass
 
I've used both with no problems whatsoever, except for 22 Hornet. It flaked off and scratched my dies up.I either got a bad batch, or hornet cases are just to thin. Never used them again in the Hornet
 
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