Nickel Plated Brass

WookieRookie · May 22, 2011, 10:09 PM

Quick question guys. Found a bunch of nickel plated brass at the range today. Anything to keep in mind when reloading it? Treat same as regular brass?
Thanks!

praetorian97 · May 22, 2011, 10:10 PM

+1 I was going to ask just that question myself.

tom234 · May 22, 2011, 10:22 PM

The price is right for free brass, plated or not. Plated brass is fine but you'll find that case life is less than standard brass as it tends to split faster. [The plating seems to make it more brittle]. That said, if I were buying brass I'd prefer non-plated.

headlesscashew · May 22, 2011, 10:28 PM

Free brass is wonderful, if your at a public range that allows you to pick up brass of the ground it can more that pay for a day of shooting, got 250 .223 and about 200 .38 sp, easily paid for the range fees. But, be sure to ask first

WookieRookie · May 22, 2011, 10:32 PM

I was more excited about the free brass than shooting today! Saw the guy leaving brass all over the floor, asked if I could have, and the was so happy at that point, could of cared less how I shot! Gallon bag FULL of once fired brass. What a day!

Smokey Joe · May 23, 2011, 09:51 AM

Wookie Rookie--(1) Nope. (2) Yup. Free is the best price.

So what if they split after several reloadings--They were FREE. Load & shoot until they split.

If bottleneck rifle cartridges, recycle the whole batch when you start getting splits. If straight-wall pistol cartridges, especially low pressure ones like .38 Spl or .45 ACP, shoot & reload each separate case until that case splits.

Miata Mike · May 23, 2011, 12:30 PM

I cull the stuff myself. Seems every time I deprime and size them I get something stuck on the die and have to clean the heck out of it to get it not to scratch the next 500 pieces of brass. :barf:

FrankenMauser · May 23, 2011, 01:25 PM

Don't run beat up nickel plated brass through cheap sizing dies (read that as "unhardened, non-carbide"). The nickel flakes tend to get stuck in those dies more often than hardened dies. It may not cause damage to the die, but will tear up other pieces of brass.

Other than that, nickel plated brass is perfectly fine.

As cases start to chip/flake/peel, I toss them. It's much easier to toss the case when things start going south, than having to clean the flakes out of your sizing die every 2-3 cases.

In "standard practice", I use nickel plated cases whenever possible, for my hunting loads. Hunting ammunition gets handled a lot, and unplated cases can get pretty tarnished and "gummy". Since nickel plated stuff doesn't tarnish, it eliminates the possibility of a grime-induced feeding issue.... and gives me one less thing to worry about.

May 22, 2011, 10:09 PM	#1
WookieRookie Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2010 Posts: 105	Nickel Plated Brass Quick question guys. Found a bunch of nickel plated brass at the range today. Anything to keep in mind when reloading it? Treat same as regular brass? Thanks!

May 23, 2011, 09:51 AM	#6
Smokey Joe Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2001 Location: State of Confusion Posts: 2,106	To answer yr questions... Wookie Rookie--(1) Nope. (2) Yup. Free is the best price. So what if they split after several reloadings--They were FREE. Load & shoot until they split. If bottleneck rifle cartridges, recycle the whole batch when you start getting splits. If straight-wall pistol cartridges, especially low pressure ones like .38 Spl or .45 ACP, shoot & reload each separate case until that case splits. __________________ God Bless America --Smokey Joe

May 23, 2011, 01:25 PM	#8
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,427	Don't run beat up nickel plated brass through cheap sizing dies (read that as "unhardened, non-carbide"). The nickel flakes tend to get stuck in those dies more often than hardened dies. It may not cause damage to the die, but will tear up other pieces of brass. Other than that, nickel plated brass is perfectly fine. As cases start to chip/flake/peel, I toss them. It's much easier to toss the case when things start going south, than having to clean the flakes out of your sizing die every 2-3 cases. In "standard practice", I use nickel plated cases whenever possible, for my hunting loads. Hunting ammunition gets handled a lot, and unplated cases can get pretty tarnished and "gummy". Since nickel plated stuff doesn't tarnish, it eliminates the possibility of a grime-induced feeding issue.... and gives me one less thing to worry about. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

May 22, 2011, 10:10 PM	#2
praetorian97 Senior Member Join Date: May 9, 2011 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 455	+1 I was going to ask just that question myself.

May 22, 2011, 10:22 PM	#3
tom234 Senior Member Join Date: February 14, 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 753	The price is right for free brass, plated or not. Plated brass is fine but you'll find that case life is less than standard brass as it tends to split faster. [The plating seems to make it more brittle]. That said, if I were buying brass I'd prefer non-plated.

May 22, 2011, 10:28 PM	#4
headlesscashew Member Join Date: May 20, 2011 Posts: 15	Free brass is wonderful, if your at a public range that allows you to pick up brass of the ground it can more that pay for a day of shooting, got 250 .223 and about 200 .38 sp, easily paid for the range fees. But, be sure to ask first

May 22, 2011, 10:32 PM	#5
WookieRookie Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2010 Posts: 105	I was more excited about the free brass than shooting today! Saw the guy leaving brass all over the floor, asked if I could have, and the was so happy at that point, could of cared less how I shot! Gallon bag FULL of once fired brass. What a day!

May 23, 2011, 12:30 PM	#7
Miata Mike Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2010 Location: North East WI Posts: 418	I cull the stuff myself. Seems every time I deprime and size them I get something stuck on the die and have to clean the heck out of it to get it not to scratch the next 500 pieces of brass. :barf: