Since wet tumbling, I now prefer brass cases...

Magnum Wheel Man · February 23, 2015, 02:52 PM

I find I can more easily polish them to gleaming gold inside & out... & I do have nickel cases that have had the nickel thinned to see through with the old vibratory tumblers, after several times... I expect wet tumbling will do the same, likely before the brass wears out... plus I don't seem to get as nice a finish with the nickel cases, as I do with the brass cases, with the wet tumbler...

I'll still keep a few nickel cases around for gun belt use, just to prevent the green fuzzies... but I've gotten to where those are for ornamental use only...

... over all right now, I much prefer brass cases...

what are your preference???

DaleA · February 23, 2015, 04:46 PM

In my early shooting days I lucked into a bunch of cheap .45 ACP nickel ammunition.

I reloaded those cases so often I lost count (over 10 reloads for sure-like a friend of mined joked we kept our cases so long some guys started naming them). They were all powder puff target loads. At the time I cleaned all my brass with a rag and lighter fluid. We used to mark our cases and at the end of the night we would police our brass off the range and sort 'em all out...we almost always got all of our brass back.

Strange, I was broke back then, had almost no loading equipment (no calipers or case gauges for example) and I shot more then than I do now.

Nick_C_S · February 23, 2015, 05:13 PM

I corn cob vibra tumble; then resize/decap; then wet tumble in SS pins.

The processes are polishing the nickel off my 357 cases - I don't care. It appears the Lemi-shine makes the nickel plate dull and kinda splotchy. So I usually save up my nickel until I have a big batch worth tumbling (Frankford Arsenal tumbler). When I tumble them without Lemi-shine, they come out nice and shiny.

When I buy new 357 Mag brass, I buy brass brass. All my nickel plated stuff is from factory ammo.

skizzums · February 25, 2015, 04:34 PM

I like having about 20% nickel cases to have a simple way to distinguish between shooting ammo and the "s%^& is going down" ammo. I don't use nickel for long-range or accuracy stuff because it generally has minor discrepancies from case to case, especially after a few times reloaded.

Panfisher · February 25, 2015, 04:44 PM

I don't care what the finish is, I just treat them all the same. I decap, wet tumble, re-size, then dry tumble to get the lube off and final finish with some nu-finish in the dry media and viola, shiny and slippery.

February 23, 2015, 02:52 PM	#1
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	Since wet tumbling, I now prefer brass cases... I find I can more easily polish them to gleaming gold inside & out... & I do have nickel cases that have had the nickel thinned to see through with the old vibratory tumblers, after several times... I expect wet tumbling will do the same, likely before the brass wears out... plus I don't seem to get as nice a finish with the nickel cases, as I do with the brass cases, with the wet tumbler... I'll still keep a few nickel cases around for gun belt use, just to prevent the green fuzzies... but I've gotten to where those are for ornamental use only... ... over all right now, I much prefer brass cases... what are your preference??? __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...

February 23, 2015, 05:13 PM	#3
Nick_C_S Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2013 Location: Idaho Posts: 5,522	Prefer brass brass I corn cob vibra tumble; then resize/decap; then wet tumble in SS pins. The processes are polishing the nickel off my 357 cases - I don't care. It appears the Lemi-shine makes the nickel plate dull and kinda splotchy. So I usually save up my nickel until I have a big batch worth tumbling (Frankford Arsenal tumbler). When I tumble them without Lemi-shine, they come out nice and shiny. When I buy new 357 Mag brass, I buy brass brass. All my nickel plated stuff is from factory ammo. __________________ Gun control laws benefit only criminals and politicians - but then, I repeat myself. Life Member, National Rifle Association

February 25, 2015, 04:34 PM	#4
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	I like having about 20% nickel cases to have a simple way to distinguish between shooting ammo and the "s%^& is going down" ammo. I don't use nickel for long-range or accuracy stuff because it generally has minor discrepancies from case to case, especially after a few times reloaded. __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed

February 23, 2015, 04:46 PM	#2
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,312	In my early shooting days I lucked into a bunch of cheap .45 ACP nickel ammunition. I reloaded those cases so often I lost count (over 10 reloads for sure-like a friend of mined joked we kept our cases so long some guys started naming them). They were all powder puff target loads. At the time I cleaned all my brass with a rag and lighter fluid. We used to mark our cases and at the end of the night we would police our brass off the range and sort 'em all out...we almost always got all of our brass back. Strange, I was broke back then, had almost no loading equipment (no calipers or case gauges for example) and I shot more then than I do now.

February 25, 2015, 04:44 PM	#5
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	I don't care what the finish is, I just treat them all the same. I decap, wet tumble, re-size, then dry tumble to get the lube off and final finish with some nu-finish in the dry media and viola, shiny and slippery.