Can you reload silver brass?

pollo · January 21, 2014, 05:40 PM

Hello all, I have always used factory Winchester Ballistic Silvertip bullets for my .300 Win. Mag. Browning BAR. I have quite a bit of the silver brass that Winchester uses for their Ballistic Silvertip ammo. Can I reload it? Or does it have to be actual brass?

Thanks for any help.

Pollo

jwrowland77 · January 21, 2014, 05:42 PM

You can reload nickel plated brass. Perfectly safe.

trixter · January 21, 2014, 05:43 PM

Yes, it is just nickle plated brass.

LE-28 · January 21, 2014, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Can I reload it? Or does it have to be actual brass?

It is actual brass with nickel plating on it. No worries.

pollo · January 21, 2014, 08:24 PM

Thanks guys. I'll do that.

Pollo

oldscot3 · January 21, 2014, 10:42 PM

The conventional wisdom is to make sure it's very clean before running it through your dies.

Gabe1519 · January 21, 2014, 11:00 PM

Iv'e loaded about 25 nickel plated cases with no problems. Though I have heard you need to watch for any flaking that can get stuck in your die and scrape other pieces of brass. Keep it clean and watch for flakes.

Brotherbadger · January 22, 2014, 01:17 AM

Yup, it's fine to reload.

leefan · January 22, 2014, 08:36 AM

Don't sonic wash it. It tarnishes.

zxcvbob · January 22, 2014, 08:52 AM

I like nickel-plated pistol brass. It reloads just fine, except it doesn't last as long as yellow brass (it cracks sooner)

mnoirot64 · January 22, 2014, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leefan

Don't sonic wash it. It tarnishes.

I have run a lot of these through my Hornady sonic cleaner and never noticed any tarnish. I use distilled water plus the Hornady One Shot cleaner solution.

Jeff2131 · January 22, 2014, 09:52 AM

You need to run a magnet over them. I found some "silver" brass at the range and took it home...looked exactly like nickle plated brass....the magnet told a different story. If its magnetic, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RELOAD IT.

Wyoredman · January 22, 2014, 03:52 PM

Personal experience has proven that some nickel plated brass for bottle neck cartridges requires re-adjustment of your reloading dies. For some reason or other, some bottle neck cases plated with nickel seem to have more "spring" and do not resize completely, making for tight chambering.

I first noticed this problem with my .270 WSM. During a reloading session I had 60 Winchester brass cases and 20 Winchester nickel brass cases, all fired through the same rifle. After resizing and loading with my normal die setting, the brass chambered fine, the nickel required significant force to close the bolt.

I removed the bullets from the nickel cases, adjusted the die to set the shoulder back another ~0.002" (as measured with my Hornady Case length gauge) and they then chambered fine.

Please set me straight if I'm wrong about this observation.

January 21, 2014, 05:40 PM	#1
pollo Member Join Date: March 6, 2013 Location: NC Posts: 40	Can you reload silver brass? Hello all, I have always used factory Winchester Ballistic Silvertip bullets for my .300 Win. Mag. Browning BAR. I have quite a bit of the silver brass that Winchester uses for their Ballistic Silvertip ammo. Can I reload it? Or does it have to be actual brass? Thanks for any help. Pollo

January 22, 2014, 01:17 AM	#8
Brotherbadger Senior Member Join Date: November 10, 2010 Posts: 1,149	Yup, it's fine to reload. __________________ Once Fired Brass, Top quality, Fast shipping, Best prices. http://300AacBrass.com/ -10% Coupon use code " badger "

January 22, 2014, 08:52 AM	#10
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	I like nickel-plated pistol brass. It reloads just fine, except it doesn't last as long as yellow brass (it cracks sooner) __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

January 22, 2014, 09:52 AM	#12
Jeff2131 Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Spring City, PA Posts: 497	You need to run a magnet over them. I found some "silver" brass at the range and took it home...looked exactly like nickle plated brass....the magnet told a different story. If its magnetic, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RELOAD IT. __________________ ---I DON'T DIAL 911---

January 22, 2014, 03:52 PM	#13
Wyoredman Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2011 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,352	Personal experience has proven that some nickel plated brass for bottle neck cartridges requires re-adjustment of your reloading dies. For some reason or other, some bottle neck cases plated with nickel seem to have more "spring" and do not resize completely, making for tight chambering. I first noticed this problem with my .270 WSM. During a reloading session I had 60 Winchester brass cases and 20 Winchester nickel brass cases, all fired through the same rifle. After resizing and loading with my normal die setting, the brass chambered fine, the nickel required significant force to close the bolt. I removed the bullets from the nickel cases, adjusted the die to set the shoulder back another ~0.002" (as measured with my Hornady Case length gauge) and they then chambered fine. Please set me straight if I'm wrong about this observation. __________________ Go Pokes! Go Rams!

January 21, 2014, 05:42 PM	#2
jwrowland77 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2012 Location: Conway, Arkansas Posts: 1,398	You can reload nickel plated brass. Perfectly safe.

January 21, 2014, 05:43 PM	#3
trixter Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Where E. Pine St. crosses I-5 Posts: 51	Yes, it is just nickle plated brass.

January 21, 2014, 08:24 PM	#5
pollo Member Join Date: March 6, 2013 Location: NC Posts: 40	Thanks guys. I'll do that. Pollo

January 21, 2014, 10:42 PM	#6
oldscot3 Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2007 Location: texas Posts: 997	The conventional wisdom is to make sure it's very clean before running it through your dies.

January 21, 2014, 11:00 PM	#7
Gabe1519 Member Join Date: December 10, 2013 Location: Houston/College Station Posts: 38	Iv'e loaded about 25 nickel plated cases with no problems. Though I have heard you need to watch for any flaking that can get stuck in your die and scrape other pieces of brass. Keep it clean and watch for flakes.

January 22, 2014, 08:36 AM	#9
leefan Member Join Date: January 5, 2014 Posts: 16	Don't sonic wash it. It tarnishes.