Nickel plated rifle brass

308Loader · July 4, 2020, 12:12 PM

Bought some 7mm Mag brass from my local range. To my surprise all of them were nickel plated. Didn’t think much of it at the time, $1.50 per pound what could I loose ($3.00). Now it is time to load them. Haven’t ever used nickel plated for reloading. Any thing I need to do different with these? Can they go in the FART with steel pins? Any down side to nickel plaiting? Will the plaiting flake off after several sizing’s?

Thanks for any input.

DukeConnor · July 4, 2020, 01:16 PM

I treat them the same as brass. necks seem to split quicker than brass.

Marco Califo · July 4, 2020, 01:41 PM

Load them the same. Nickle resists corrosion and is used in most "professional" (think game wardens, law enforcement) applications where ammo and firearms are handled daily. They also interface better with leather.
Same as regular brass: Deprime and clean/tumble/polish before sizing, and keep your dies clean, too. Clean dies before use, if needed.
7mm Mag do not last as long as other calibers. Neck sizing only after shooting in your rifle good idea.
FART-ing is a good question: but I would follow F.A. procedure, wash first no pins, then tumble with pins no more than about one hour. Your plated brass will clean-up quickly. After firing on your rifle, I would not pin tumble again soon.
I have used a lot of Nickle plated 40 SW cases and liked them. But not used in rifle.

308Loader · July 4, 2020, 02:00 PM

Thanks for the replies.

Dry tumbling the first batch of 100 with walnut now. Might FART with soap and water after just to see how dirty the water gets. Concerned with wet tumble, pins, citric acid and what it might do to the plaiting. Might be overthinking things as usual.

Happy 4th, dont do anything I wouldnt do, but if you do... take a picture

Marco Califo · July 4, 2020, 02:13 PM

If you Deprime first, and then scrub the primer pockets with a tool (I have Lee and Lyman), you may eliminate the need for pin tumbling completely. Wear gloves; priming compounds have lead and tiny pieces of broken glass (by design).

**Unclenick** · July 4, 2020, 02:37 PM

Search the forum on this topic. I recall it came up before and citric acid caused some kind of darkening reaction, but I can't recall if it was on the nickel-plated brass or on the plain brass tumbled with it. Stainless steel has nickel and chromium in it, so there may be a reaction due to confusing the ions about where they belong, but you'd have to try it to seen.

The question is, why would you use citric acid with nickel? Do you have oxides showing on the nickel? It cleans brass well by reacting with it a bit, but I don't think that would happen with nickel in the absence of the stainless pins. My guess would be that simple near-neutral detergent like dishwashing liquids would be all you need.

lordmorgul · July 5, 2020, 11:27 AM

I use nickel 223 and pistol cases a lot, dry tumbling is adequate since they clean easily. I do wash first in dawn but then deprive and tumble. I have done citric acid with nickel with no adverse reaction, but not sure if it’s helpful or not. Too high acid strength does darker brass.

Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!

Paul B. · July 5, 2020, 02:23 PM

I run nickel plated .280 Rem. brass so I don't get it mixed up with 270 or 06 brass. Simple tumbling with walnut shells, a quick wipe down to make sure no dust from the media and load as usual. I even anneal after the fifth reload and they're holding up just fine. I've never had a problem with them flaking and damaging the sizing die like so many claim so I just keep using them and they work just fine.
Paul B.

308Loader · July 6, 2020, 05:54 PM

"The question is, why would you use citric acid with nickel?"

No particular reason, usual FART method dawn and lemi shine... dry tumble seemed to do just fine.

reynolds357 · July 6, 2020, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DukeConnor

I treat them the same as brass. necks seem to split quicker than brass.

Nickel plating has no effect on how fast necks split.

reynolds357 · July 6, 2020, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul B.

I run nickel plated .280 Rem. brass so I don't get it mixed up with 270 or 06 brass. Simple tumbling with walnut shells, a quick wipe down to make sure no dust from the media and load as usual. I even anneal after the fifth reload and they're holding up just fine. I've never had a problem with them flaking and damaging the sizing die like so many claim so I just keep using them and they work just fine.
Paul B.

Walnut and Corn Cobb are too simple. Everyone is into this messy wet crap now.

greentick · July 10, 2020, 04:28 PM

Thanks for the question and answers. Just found a small quantity of nickel plated 223 in a pile of once-fired I was gifted and figured it was the same.

July 4, 2020, 12:12 PM	#1
308Loader Senior Member Join Date: August 24, 2014 Location: Minnesota Posts: 639	Nickel plated rifle brass Bought some 7mm Mag brass from my local range. To my surprise all of them were nickel plated. Didn’t think much of it at the time, $1.50 per pound what could I loose ($3.00). Now it is time to load them. Haven’t ever used nickel plated for reloading. Any thing I need to do different with these? Can they go in the FART with steel pins? Any down side to nickel plaiting? Will the plaiting flake off after several sizing’s? Thanks for any input. __________________ Just a dude with stuff.

July 4, 2020, 01:41 PM	#3
Marco Califo Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2011 Location: LA (Greater Los Angeles Area) Posts: 2,598	Load them the same. Nickle resists corrosion and is used in most "professional" (think game wardens, law enforcement) applications where ammo and firearms are handled daily. They also interface better with leather. Same as regular brass: Deprime and clean/tumble/polish before sizing, and keep your dies clean, too. Clean dies before use, if needed. 7mm Mag do not last as long as other calibers. Neck sizing only after shooting in your rifle good idea. FART-ing is a good question: but I would follow F.A. procedure, wash first no pins, then tumble with pins no more than about one hour. Your plated brass will clean-up quickly. After firing on your rifle, I would not pin tumble again soon. I have used a lot of Nickle plated 40 SW cases and liked them. But not used in rifle. __________________ ............

July 4, 2020, 02:00 PM	#4
308Loader Senior Member Join Date: August 24, 2014 Location: Minnesota Posts: 639	Thanks for the replies. Dry tumbling the first batch of 100 with walnut now. Might FART with soap and water after just to see how dirty the water gets. Concerned with wet tumble, pins, citric acid and what it might do to the plaiting. Might be overthinking things as usual. Happy 4th, dont do anything I wouldnt do, but if you do... take a picture __________________ Just a dude with stuff.

July 4, 2020, 02:13 PM	#5
Marco Califo Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2011 Location: LA (Greater Los Angeles Area) Posts: 2,598	If you Deprime first, and then scrub the primer pockets with a tool (I have Lee and Lyman), you may eliminate the need for pin tumbling completely. Wear gloves; priming compounds have lead and tiny pieces of broken glass (by design). __________________ ............

July 4, 2020, 02:37 PM	#6
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,060	Search the forum on this topic. I recall it came up before and citric acid caused some kind of darkening reaction, but I can't recall if it was on the nickel-plated brass or on the plain brass tumbled with it. Stainless steel has nickel and chromium in it, so there may be a reaction due to confusing the ions about where they belong, but you'd have to try it to seen. The question is, why would you use citric acid with nickel? Do you have oxides showing on the nickel? It cleans brass well by reacting with it a bit, but I don't think that would happen with nickel in the absence of the stainless pins. My guess would be that simple near-neutral detergent like dishwashing liquids would be all you need. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

July 4, 2020, 01:16 PM	#2
DukeConnor Senior Member Join Date: May 6, 2016 Posts: 224	I treat them the same as brass. necks seem to split quicker than brass.

July 5, 2020, 11:27 AM	#7
lordmorgul Senior Member Join Date: August 18, 2016 Posts: 206	Nickel plated rifle brass I use nickel 223 and pistol cases a lot, dry tumbling is adequate since they clean easily. I do wash first in dawn but then deprive and tumble. I have done citric acid with nickel with no adverse reaction, but not sure if it’s helpful or not. Too high acid strength does darker brass. Andrew - Lancaster, CA NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!

July 5, 2020, 02:23 PM	#8
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,801	I run nickel plated .280 Rem. brass so I don't get it mixed up with 270 or 06 brass. Simple tumbling with walnut shells, a quick wipe down to make sure no dust from the media and load as usual. I even anneal after the fifth reload and they're holding up just fine. I've never had a problem with them flaking and damaging the sizing die like so many claim so I just keep using them and they work just fine. Paul B. __________________ COMPROMISE IS NOT AN OPTION!

July 6, 2020, 05:54 PM	#9
308Loader Senior Member Join Date: August 24, 2014 Location: Minnesota Posts: 639	"The question is, why would you use citric acid with nickel?" No particular reason, usual FART method dawn and lemi shine... dry tumble seemed to do just fine. __________________ Just a dude with stuff.

July 10, 2020, 04:28 PM	#12
greentick Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2011 Location: Deep South Posts: 261	Thanks for the question and answers. Just found a small quantity of nickel plated 223 in a pile of once-fired I was gifted and figured it was the same. __________________ nous défions