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Old February 20, 2007, 03:10 PM   #1
renaissance7697
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RP Nickle Plated 357 Mag Brass

Came by a batch of > Headstamp = "RP 357 Magnum" Nickle Plated - Brass.

Tried to reload it on my 650.

All kinds of problems.

Hard primer seating - Sideways and upside down primers - Hard sizing - and >One Primer detonation on seating.

I had previously just finished a batch of mixed brass ( No nickle) without any problems.

Does "RP NIckle 357 Mag" by any chance feature "crimped primers" ?
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Old February 20, 2007, 05:49 PM   #2
XD-Guy
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Nickel brass is harder. It will split faster too
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Old February 20, 2007, 06:30 PM   #3
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Why would it split faster? It's just nickel plated.

I use nickel .38 Sp and .357 mag, with no problems.
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Old February 21, 2007, 01:17 AM   #4
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Why? Why indeed?

Sasquatch--Nickel plated brass is more brittle than straight brass. I shoot bullseye, and load all the brass I can get my hands on. The nickel plated cases just split earlier in their reloading lives than the all-brass cases. They are usually good for several reloadings before they split, and if they were free range brass to begin with, this is a Good Thing.

Exactly why nickel-plated brass should be so I leave to the engineers and metallurgists. But you hear the same thing from just about any pistol-ammo reloader you ask.

Renaissance7697--Guess yr Dillon just doesn't like R-P nickel-plated brass. I'd use something else were I you.

Unless you actually like exploring the vast, unanswerable questions of the universe, there's no percentage in fiddling with the "whys" of things like this. After determining that a thing does not work for you, you get an alternative, get it to work, and get on with your life.
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Old February 21, 2007, 01:35 AM   #5
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OK.

I have some Federal .38 Sp nickel brass which is on it 10th go-round, at least. Hasn't split yet.

My .357 mag cases have had 7 or 8 go-rounds........all still healty.

Guess I'll just have to take your word for it.
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Old February 21, 2007, 02:54 AM   #6
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I think durability is really up in the air. I have some .38 nickel brass that is on the 15th or so go round,


The original reason for nickel plating was to keep rounds from corroding in damp conditions, especially in damp conditions in leather gun belts. When i was a kid, a nickel case was "cop" ammo as they still carried the extras in belt loops. A brass case in a leather belt loop would be a bunch of green verdigris after a couple of weeks in summer, especially in pre A/C georgia or alabama. Nickel would not react with the leather and would remain chamberable even after extended duty in the belt.
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Old February 21, 2007, 08:43 AM   #7
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Nickel plated brass is annealed. When you anneal brass it gets softer, but all other metals get harder (like nickel) therefore nickel plated brass is hard and splits faster
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Old February 21, 2007, 09:12 AM   #8
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Not "RP".....but "AP" ????

I was taking micrometer readings of the "RP 357 Magnum Nickle plated" brass that was giving me problems.

Trying to figure out what might be "different" about it.

On closer Examination:
The Headstamp says "AP"......not "RP"

Armor piercing ???? I dont think so.

Noticed that the cases that got "wrecked" dis NOT appear to be "Flared" properly.

The NIckle brass dis not appear to be appreciably shorter than the Brass Brass....Checked my flaring adjustment....It was not loose

I think I will go with "Smokey's " Sage advise

Not to dwell on why....Just chuck it an go on with life!

But I AM Curious....................... "A" P ??????
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Old February 21, 2007, 09:49 AM   #9
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AP = Arms Corporation Of The Philippines or an unknown factory in France.
Ether way..... how in the heck did you find this stuff?
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Old February 21, 2007, 10:00 AM   #10
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How did I find "AP"

I shoot at an indoor range.
I reload
I do NOT pick up my fired cases EVERY TIME is shoot
I recover Brass every third or fourth time I shoot
(Whenever I'm in the mood)

When I DO sweep them UP...I sweep up everything within broom reach

I sort it all out when I get home

It was just "There"

Must have 100+ of it.

Want it ???? ( LOL )
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Old February 21, 2007, 11:45 AM   #11
Mike Irwin
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Generally nickle-plated brass will fail before all brass because nickle and brass "work" at different rates.

Simply put, that means that one is harder than the other, and when the round is shot or resized, the stress levels that the two materials undergo are vastly different.

Generally what kills nickled brass a LOT faster is flaring the case mouth and then crimping the case. That's probably because the raw edge at the mouth of the round is a natural place for faults to start.

If you keep flaring and crimping to a minimum you get a lot longer life out of nickle plated brass. You'll also get a lot longer life out of straight brass cases by reducing the amount of flaring and crimping.
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Old February 21, 2007, 04:12 PM   #12
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Here's my super duper easy solution to this problem. Don't use RP .357Mag NP brass anymore. LOL If it don't work why waste the time worrying about it? Plain brass is cheaper and works just as well anyway.
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Old February 21, 2007, 06:42 PM   #13
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Quote:
Here's my super duper easy solution to this problem. Don't use RP .357Mag NP brass anymore. LOL If it don't work why waste the time worrying about it? Plain brass is cheaper and works just as well anyway.
This is true!! But then what would we talk about?
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Old February 21, 2007, 10:56 PM   #14
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I load .38 SPL & .357 nickle plated brass & I haven't had any problems yet. Primers seat fine. I've probably loaded them only 3-4 times tho.
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Old February 21, 2007, 11:18 PM   #15
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I hate nickle plated brass!!!! As stated above, in my experiance it does split faster than plain brass. I'll load it if I have it but I much prefer plain brass.
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Old February 23, 2007, 09:40 PM   #16
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There is one post stating that the sizeing die on some of the Dillons can "collect" nickle and cause scarring of the subsequent brass...if you're having that problem, might be worth checking the sizer...this is just my opinion, and my wife frequently points out that I have been wrong before...
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Old February 24, 2007, 01:12 AM   #17
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I have oodles of nickel-plated brass, in nearly 24 different chamberings...

I love it for some applications, especially in outdoor hunting applications, but it does require kid gloves when reloading.

I have a big batch of R-P .357 Magnum nickel brass that's reserved for my Desert Eagle. It's a dirty gun, and the nickel brass cleans up rather quickly in my tumbler. However, when flaring the case mouth for bullets, I've had to go with as little flare as possible to prevent case mouth splits, which will happen with nickel brass long before plain brass decides to do so. It's the nature of the beast, since nickel is nowhere near as malleable as brass.

Likewise, I love using R-P nickel brass in my blackpowder .45-70 1874 Sharps and Rolling Block rifles. The plating is also on the inside of the case, and the blackpowder residue inside tends not to stick, cleaning out very nicely when I drop the cases in my ultrasonic cleaner with hot soapy water. Plain brass cases take considerably longer, don't always come clean, and typically retain that authentic blackpowder external staining, something I can live without. Again, excess case mouth flare is the early demise of even these big pieces of nickel plated brass, so be careful.
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Old February 27, 2007, 06:06 AM   #18
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I've got some Winchester nickel plated that have at least 12 reloadings from my RL550B. All are fine and I don't notice any difference between it and brass.

Was the RP brass new, or fired?
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Old February 28, 2007, 05:48 PM   #19
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I've reloaded my RP nickle cases several times with no problems. I use Lee carbide dies.
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