Split nickel cases

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Here’s the facts:

38 special 158grain LSWC from Precision Delta
Unique 4.4g
WSP primer
COL=1.533
Roll crimp ¼ turn of RCBS die into groove.
Nickel plated brass R&P. “Reportedly” once fired.
Fired from S&W 686 .357 mag. I only shoot these from this gun.

I’ve shot this load about 1000 times without problems but had 4 out of 50
cases split on the last outing. The split was from the neck back about half way.
All rounds shot well otherwise.
My first thought was the nickel brass and maybe it wasn’t once fired.
No other signs of over pressure were apparent.
Is this dangerous?
Should I just write it off as the nickel brass, should I change something
in my recipe, or should I never use other people’s brass? Any guidance would be appreciated.

[220combat]

That's not a hot load. From what I understand the Nickel coating is harder than brass, and does not handle repeated firing/resizing as many times as brass does. I would just insect all the brass, and throw out the splits as they happen. You never really know that any brass from another person is once fired.

[AlaskaMike]

I agree--just dump them as they crack. This is why I avoid nickel cases.

Mike

[wingman]

I agree--just dump them as they crack. This is why I avoid nickel cases.

Ditto; I toss them.

[CraigC]

Nickel plated brass is typically brittle and prone to cracks and splits. I say "typically" because I have a batch of nickel plated Speer .44Mag brass that has been used so many times the nickel has all but completely worn off them. I have yet to lose the first case.

[GeauxTide]

Hate nickel plated. Don't use them anymore.

[Doodlebugger45]

What exactly is the good thing about nickle plated brass anyway? It seems to me the first time I ever saw it was on some Winchester Supreme ammo for my 7 mm mag about 20 years ago. If I remember right, it said something about chambering more smoothly. I didn't notice any difference in that regard though. Other than that, is there some reason why the brass makers keep churning it out? I don't remember hearing anything good about it from reloaders.

[Unclenick]

Nickel plating originally came about as a way to let LEO's carrying revolver cartridges in leather belt loops not develop verde gris around every loop and to have to change their cartridges out every month or two to keep looking sharp. AFAIK, that's the only purpose: weather and leather resistance. I suppose it is mainly that leather absorbs moisture that it holds against the case, but will leave that to a chemist to comment on. I've certainly seen brass keepers on leather slings go greasy green, so some mix of verde gris and leather conditioner must have been involved?

As to reloading, my experience matches Craig's. I've had nickel flakes come off some rounds and others wear until they look like brass except at the head. The ability of the manufacturers to get the nickel well-adhered to the brass seems to be variable. You read many complaints about nickel plating chips lodging themselves in steel sizing die surfaces, creating a permanent scratching claw that marks all brass cases that subsequently go through the die. They mark nickel cases, too, when that happens, so perhaps it doesn't lodge in the die, but rather conspires with a bit of grit to help kick up a burr in the steel? You can polish them out, but why get them in the first place?

[mapwd]

Nickel is also more slippery than brass and aids in feeding of rounds in semi-autos. I like reloading nickel cases, but I do end up tossing them sooner than brass.

[Russ5924]

I gave up on the Nickle cases a long time ago, way to many were cracking and splitting. Have no problems with my brass cases

[drail]

Nickel cases were designed to withstand one firing at high pressure without sticking to the chamber walls upon extraction. This is what a manufacturer's rep told me. They are not intended to be reloaded over and over. As people have pointed out the plating will flake off after enough expansion and resizing has taken place. They are reloadable but they won't last long and will make a mess of your dies. If you're going to reload stick with brass cases.

[Sport45]

Nickel cases get thrown in with the rest at my bench. And just like the rest, they get tossed after they split.

[cornbush]

+1 Sport45

[CraigC]

I didn't point out that the nickel plating had flaked off, it wore off. As in, the tumbler eventually polished it away after enough cycles. None of it flaked off.

[The Bolt Man]

I must be one of the lucky ones. I have been shooting 9mm, 38 Spl., 357 Mag., 44 Mag, 45 colt and 45 ACP with mostly nickel brass and haven't lost more than five to ten total to splits. Much of the older 44 mag, 45ACP and 45Colt nickel brass is so old it is starting to look like yellow brass.

I did have a few Remington 357 Mag casings start to flake at the case mouth, but not many. I had that happen with some Remington small pistol primers also. The nickel would flake off during the seating operation.

[BillCA]

As others have said, the nickle plated brass is more prone to being brittle than unplated brass.

When I was reloading, once I was happy with a good hunting or defense load that I'd worked up, I'd load it in new nickel brass so I knew that they were "best" loads and not range fodder.

When reloading brass cases, you should first make sure they are clean. Tumbling abrades the nickle and can cause it to flake or peel. There are some cleaning solutions that work better for nickel. Once clean and dry, the cases should be lightly lubed for resizing unless you have carbide dies.

I've noticed that the heavier the roll crimp given on reloads, the shorter the life expectancy. Generally I averaged between 5-7 reloads with nickel brass before they split. Brass cases will do the same thing, but only have many more cycles of reloading.