What's the purpose of nickel plating

jdmick · November 3, 2006, 07:07 PM

I'm still a noob here so please bear with me. What is the purpose of nickel plating brass cartridges? I've got a bunch of .243 stuff that's plated that my manual says shouldn't be run through a non-carbide sizer.

mete · November 3, 2006, 07:12 PM

In the old revolver days it reduced the amount of corrosion from carrying it in leather belt loops. Today it's often used to denote premium ammo .Some hand loaders also use it to differentiate loads.

Tom2 · November 3, 2006, 07:20 PM

Well it makes the loads look pretty, and prevents the brass turning brown, or green in worst case. I have heard that they don't last as long as plain brass, I don't know if the plating makes the brass more brittle or what. I have reloaded straight pistol cases without problems and had never heard that it caused any problems. But I have carbide dies for pistol. I have also heard that it is cadmium, not actually nickel plate, anyway. Can't confirm that. Bought a ton of PMC 357 plated cases real cheap, 20 some years ago. They seem to hold up pretty good. I haven't really tested them to their limits as I only load occasionally for my needs and don't do high volume shooting much.

mrawesome22 · November 3, 2006, 07:39 PM

I've never heard of carbide sizer for a bottleneck cartridge. Anyway, it's all about bling. They don't corrode like brass. I've got nickel and brass that is the same age and the nickel is still bright and shiny. The brass on the other hand corrodes quickly to a dark brown color. I still remember pulling some 1970's .270 ammo out of the top drawer of my Dad's dresser when I was a kid. It had all these green spots on them that appeared to be mold. Hell, it almost looked like moss. It wasn't in a box though. It was just laying in there. I've bought Remington express ammo with the same junk on it. That's why I'll never buy Remington ammo again. I love their firearms. But their ammo quality is really lacking. Can't really see a reason why I would ever need to buy factory ammo again though.

jdmick · November 3, 2006, 08:38 PM

OK. Looks and maybe function in extreme cases. Thanks for the replies.

Ausserordeutlich · November 4, 2006, 09:42 AM

Never heard of a carbide sizer for bottlenecks? Check out Dillon for .357 Sig and .223 dies.

JDG · November 4, 2006, 05:43 PM

The nickle plating is slicker than brass, for better feeding in defensive rounds.

amamnn · November 5, 2006, 04:06 PM

An interesting quote from Sierra:

There are also carbide dies for bottle-necked rifle cartridges available, but these are intended for another purpose entirely. Constructed with a carbide insert that runs the entire length of the die, carbide dies for bottle-necked cases do require lubrication. Due to the difficulty in working large pieces of carbide they are extremely expensive, often running in excess of $200 for a sizing die alone. Their use is normally limited to commercial reloaders who need the greater tool life offered by carbide, which is said to be well in excess of one million rounds. Given the fact that few reloaders will resize enough rounds in a lifetime to wear out a set of standard steel dies, carbide rifle dies are mentioned here only as a point of curiosity.

November 3, 2006, 07:07 PM	#1
jdmick Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Posts: 142	What's the purpose of nickel plating I'm still a noob here so please bear with me. What is the purpose of nickel plating brass cartridges? I've got a bunch of .243 stuff that's plated that my manual says shouldn't be run through a non-carbide sizer.

November 3, 2006, 07:20 PM	#3
Tom2 Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 5,676	Pretty Well it makes the loads look pretty, and prevents the brass turning brown, or green in worst case. I have heard that they don't last as long as plain brass, I don't know if the plating makes the brass more brittle or what. I have reloaded straight pistol cases without problems and had never heard that it caused any problems. But I have carbide dies for pistol. I have also heard that it is cadmium, not actually nickel plate, anyway. Can't confirm that. Bought a ton of PMC 357 plated cases real cheap, 20 some years ago. They seem to hold up pretty good. I haven't really tested them to their limits as I only load occasionally for my needs and don't do high volume shooting much.

November 5, 2006, 04:06 PM	#8
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	An interesting quote from Sierra: There are also carbide dies for bottle-necked rifle cartridges available, but these are intended for another purpose entirely. Constructed with a carbide insert that runs the entire length of the die, carbide dies for bottle-necked cases do require lubrication. Due to the difficulty in working large pieces of carbide they are extremely expensive, often running in excess of $200 for a sizing die alone. Their use is normally limited to commercial reloaders who need the greater tool life offered by carbide, which is said to be well in excess of one million rounds. Given the fact that few reloaders will resize enough rounds in a lifetime to wear out a set of standard steel dies, carbide rifle dies are mentioned here only as a point of curiosity. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal

November 3, 2006, 07:12 PM	#2
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	In the old revolver days it reduced the amount of corrosion from carrying it in leather belt loops. Today it's often used to denote premium ammo .Some hand loaders also use it to differentiate loads.

November 3, 2006, 07:39 PM	#4
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	I've never heard of carbide sizer for a bottleneck cartridge. Anyway, it's all about bling. They don't corrode like brass. I've got nickel and brass that is the same age and the nickel is still bright and shiny. The brass on the other hand corrodes quickly to a dark brown color. I still remember pulling some 1970's .270 ammo out of the top drawer of my Dad's dresser when I was a kid. It had all these green spots on them that appeared to be mold. Hell, it almost looked like moss. It wasn't in a box though. It was just laying in there. I've bought Remington express ammo with the same junk on it. That's why I'll never buy Remington ammo again. I love their firearms. But their ammo quality is really lacking. Can't really see a reason why I would ever need to buy factory ammo again though.

November 3, 2006, 08:38 PM	#5
jdmick Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Posts: 142	OK. Looks and maybe function in extreme cases. Thanks for the replies.

November 4, 2006, 09:42 AM	#6
Ausserordeutlich Junior member Join Date: May 27, 2006 Posts: 996	Never heard of a carbide sizer for bottlenecks? Check out Dillon for .357 Sig and .223 dies.

November 4, 2006, 05:43 PM	#7
JDG Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: West Michigan Posts: 673	The nickle plating is slicker than brass, for better feeding in defensive rounds.