Winchester brass

[irvb]

I have some Winchester 45 auto casing . they are silver in color .if you scratch off the outer coating it looks like it is brass underneath. i would like to know if anybody has any experience with the silver casings. can they be reloaded safely.

[rwilson452]

yes the nickle plated brass can be reloaded. generally they are harder on your dies and don't last for as many reloadings as straight brass will.

[Wild Bill Bucks]

I reloaded some in .308 but had trouble with the necks splittling after a couple of loads. My suggestion is to check them VERY carefully for neck split, and I wouldn't reload them more than once or twice. I think the nickel plating makes them a little more brittle, and therefore lets them split a little easier than brass.

[Smokey Joe]

Irv B--The 2 posters above nailed it, except that I would respectfully disagree with R Wilson on one point: IMHO, a carbide sizing die is impervious to damage from both brass and nickel, carbide being the hardest of the 3. So, if your sizing die is carbide (which it should be in a straightwall pistol caliber) there is nothing to worry about.

In .45 ACP, the general rule is: Load 'em and shoot 'em until they split, then save 'em up and sell 'em for scrap metal. The scrap metal dealers generally take Ni plated stuff along with the "regular" brass, no problem. And scrap brass happens to be fetching a nice price nowadays, partly because the Chinese are snapping up all the copper they can lay their hands on.

Ammo was originally Ni plated for corrosion resistance, back when the police wore a leather belt full of .38 Spl cartridge loops--the leather tended to corrode unplated brass. And Ni plated brass looks sharp in a black leather cartridge belt!

Personally, I don't care for the look of Ni plated brass, and wouldn't buy it, but the free range brass I pick up, especially in .45 ACP, I load & shoot, all equal-opportunity, except for that junky A-merc brass. If the brass splits after 2 reloads, well, the price was still right.

[Sevens]

See, I think it looks terrific in every caliber. But as frugal as I am, I've read enough about it's durability that I wouldn't choose it over brass. But I think it's extremely sharp looking and it also doesn't seem to get as dirty as brass.

I've never see nickel plated in any rifle caliber other than .30/30.

[Smokey Joe]

Sevens--The Winchester WSM's come Ni plated. I imagine it's for contrast with the black bullets.

[LSMNTBC]

I have nickel plated in .308 Federal.

[WCW]

I have fifty nickel plated cases left out of two hundred in 25-06. They sure don’t last all that long, and I only get a few reloads before the necks crack.

I bought this brass at a going out of business sale, and thankfully it was inexpensive. I wouldn’t pay good money for it, even if it does look great, stays looking good forever, and is a breeze to clean.

It’s been my experience that the nickel plated pistol brass will generally last a lot longer than the rifle brass. I have a ton of nickel plated brass in .38 special, and some of those cases have been round the patch a good number of times before splitting.

I can’t say I ever noticed any difference in either rifle or pistol dies after resizing plated brass either, so I’m not sure they do any damage.

[Bottom Gun]

You won't be able to tell any difference on the nickel plated and your regular brass in .45 ACP.
Splitting is not an issue with the .45 ACP.
I have some nickel brass which I have reloaded for 32 years and they still have not split. I really have no idea how many times some of my .45 brass has been loaded but it never seems to wear out.

[caz223]

I prefer nickel plated brass, as it cleans up easier in my ultrasonic cleaners, and I believe the nickel plating prevents leeching the zinc from leeching during cleaning.
In that, it's more convenient and durable FOR ME.