nickel plated bullets

flitemedic13 · April 11, 2013, 02:13 AM

I asked on another reloading site with no luck..quick questions -

1. ive noticed a couple of manufactures that have pistol/rifle ammo that use nickel plated bullets (or what seems to be nickel), but cant find any nickel plated bullets by themselves. Anyone know where to get any?

2. is there a reason why not many companies manufacture them?

3. Is there a pro or con to actually using nickel plated bullets - like bad performance, fouling, expense, etc?

Magnum Wheel Man · April 11, 2013, 08:02 AM

I will almost bet you they are not nickel... nickel is harder that the barrel material & would wear out a barrel in very short order...

... they may be Guilding metal, which is a reasonably soft alloy that is silver in color...

that is of course unless you are calling "cartridges" "bullets" which bullets is not the correct term for a loaded round...

there are several manufacturers that offer nickel plated cases, which I believe were 1st offered for police officers ( & cowboys ) to keep their brass from turning green while in leather cartridge belts, often cases of premium rifle ammunition are nickel plated to protect the brass in tropical climates... & make them look "pretty" to aid in prying the premium price out of your wallet...

there are no nickel plated "bullets" that are designed to actually shoot

Bart B. · April 11, 2013, 08:28 AM

Norma made several nickel plated match bullets in the 1960's. I shot over 600 of them in a .264 Win. Mag. It was a softer nickel and didn't wear out the barrel any faster than normal bullet jackets did. Other nickel plated bullets have been made.

Gilding metal is a copper alloy, comprising 95% copper and 5% zinc. Technically, it is a brass. It's copper colored in appearance. Most bullet jacket material is guilding metal.

Magnum Wheel Man · April 11, 2013, 08:32 AM

Nickel isn't an alloy, & its hard... so if the nickel was "softer", it was some sort of silver colored alloy, that may have had a minor percentage of nickel in it ???

**Mike Irwin** · April 11, 2013, 08:39 AM

At one time the standard bullet jacket material was an alloy of copper and nickel, called cupronickel.

As a jacket material it had some drawbacks, chief among them its tendency to foul the hell out of rifling and impinge on accuracy, which is what led to the development and adoption of gilding metal.

Pure nickel has a Mohs hardness of about 4, or roughly the same as elemental iron, which isn't particularly hard, and is probably in the realm of mild steel in some forms.

Jimro · April 11, 2013, 09:47 AM

Federal Trophy Tip: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoot...ion/740265.uts

They are advertised as nickel plated brass and bullet, but I assume that like a 5 cent nickel that the plating is a nickel/copper alloy (the 5 cent coin is only 25% nickel, and 75% copper).

I've not seen the Federal trophy tip bullets sold straight to reloaders.

Jimro

Jim Watson · April 11, 2013, 10:02 AM

The high velocity pistol Silvertips have copper (or gilding metal) jackets plated with nickel. It looks shiny enough to be straight nickel or a high nickel alloy. The low velocity rounds have aluminum jackets.

I once took an author to task for arming his heroes' troops with cupronickel jacketed bullets but he pointed out that the popular (in Europe) RWS bullets had them. I didn't get into a debate over the applications of a couple of shots fired at game versus a sustained firefight.

Magnum Wheel Man · April 11, 2013, 10:02 AM

I have Federal Premium with Trophy Bonded Bear claws ( mine aren't nickel )

I guess I stand corrected...

as I said before, I'd also suspect nickel is a minor ingredient the alloy they are plating with, but I guess at least Federal is calling it nickel...

Jimro · April 11, 2013, 10:45 AM

No better accuracy, but better corrosion resistance if that matters to you. If you are going to put ammo in a leather loop holder, nickel is your friend.

And sometimes ammo companies do something simply because it looks cool.

I still have a bunch of pulled turk 8mm bullets with the cupro nickel jacket. They are magnetic. I don't have any plans to shoot them currently, but I've never sold them off or traded them away either.

Jimro

mete · April 11, 2013, 10:57 AM

Jimro , have you taken apart one of those bullets ? Nickel is magnetic ,in fact at one time the Canadian nickel coin had so much nickel it would attract a magnet. I wondered if those bullets were steel core with nickel jacket or lead core with nickel jacket.

Jimro · April 11, 2013, 12:30 PM

Mete, lead core, cupro-nickel jacket, no sparks off of the jacket when grinding.

Jimro

dbooksta · September 14, 2017, 11:15 AM

Just saw a batch of demil'ed "nickel-coated" 220gr SMKs appear at American Reloading. I thought they must be mistaken about the coating (maybe moly) and called, but they confirmed that it really is a thin layer of nickel over the copper jacket:

They did note that it is so thin that you can see the copper through the nickel layer on rounds that had been subject to more handling.

The only benefit I can imagine that layer offering is corrosion resistance.

hdwhit · September 14, 2017, 11:23 AM

America reloading.com had nickel plated bullets in several sizes when I checked them earlier in the week.

DaleA · September 15, 2017, 02:20 AM

Well it is a four year old thread and we scared the original poster off but those nickel plated bullets are really interesting.

Thanks for posting.

P.S. Anybody else want to chime in on the reason for the nickel or does everyone agree it's a corrosion thing?

disseminator · September 17, 2017, 08:41 PM

I have been loading the Federal Trophy Bonded Tipped for my 308 and I guess I just assumed the plating was cosmetic. It looks good.

My Dad loves his Winchester 308 with the black coated ballistic tip and nickled brass. That sells ammo.

I suppose it would keep the bullets from tarnishing as well but that is probably secondary to looking cool.

hdwhit · September 17, 2017, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Dale A wrote:
P.S. Anybody else want to chime in on the reason for the nickel or does everyone agree it's a corrosion thing?

Personally, I think it's more likely to be a cosmetic and appearance thing more than anything functional.

hdwhit · September 17, 2017, 09:14 PM

Quote:

disseminator wrote:
My Dad loves his Winchester 308 with the black coated ballistic tip and nickled brass. That sells ammo.

With that testimony, I'll rest my case.

Marco Califo · September 17, 2017, 11:15 PM

OP's one and only post. When I read it, I immediately thought must mean nickle plated brass, and that I didn't think OP new the difference between brass, ammo, bullets, and cartridges.

sixgunluv · December 2, 2017, 10:59 PM

What about platinum?

Gary Wells · December 3, 2017, 05:08 PM

Federal advised as of about 1 year ago that they were no longer selling reloading components and had no intention of doing so in the future. I tried buying some of their premium Gold Medal Match components and no cigar.

April 11, 2013, 02:13 AM	#1
flitemedic13 Junior Member Join Date: January 30, 2013 Posts: 1	nickel plated bullets I asked on another reloading site with no luck..quick questions - 1. ive noticed a couple of manufactures that have pistol/rifle ammo that use nickel plated bullets (or what seems to be nickel), but cant find any nickel plated bullets by themselves. Anyone know where to get any? 2. is there a reason why not many companies manufacture them? 3. Is there a pro or con to actually using nickel plated bullets - like bad performance, fouling, expense, etc?

April 11, 2013, 08:02 AM	#2
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	I will almost bet you they are not nickel... nickel is harder that the barrel material & would wear out a barrel in very short order... ... they may be Guilding metal, which is a reasonably soft alloy that is silver in color... that is of course unless you are calling "cartridges" "bullets" which bullets is not the correct term for a loaded round... there are several manufacturers that offer nickel plated cases, which I believe were 1st offered for police officers ( & cowboys ) to keep their brass from turning green while in leather cartridge belts, often cases of premium rifle ammunition are nickel plated to protect the brass in tropical climates... & make them look "pretty" to aid in prying the premium price out of your wallet... there are no nickel plated "bullets" that are designed to actually shoot __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...

April 11, 2013, 08:32 AM	#4
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	Nickel isn't an alloy, & its hard... so if the nickel was "softer", it was some sort of silver colored alloy, that may have had a minor percentage of nickel in it ??? __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...

April 11, 2013, 08:39 AM	#5
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	At one time the standard bullet jacket material was an alloy of copper and nickel, called cupronickel. As a jacket material it had some drawbacks, chief among them its tendency to foul the hell out of rifling and impinge on accuracy, which is what led to the development and adoption of gilding metal. Pure nickel has a Mohs hardness of about 4, or roughly the same as elemental iron, which isn't particularly hard, and is probably in the realm of mild steel in some forms. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower. Last edited by Mike Irwin; April 11, 2013 at 08:45 AM.

April 11, 2013, 09:47 AM	#6
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	Federal Trophy Tip: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoot...ion/740265.uts They are advertised as nickel plated brass and bullet, but I assume that like a 5 cent nickel that the plating is a nickel/copper alloy (the 5 cent coin is only 25% nickel, and 75% copper). I've not seen the Federal trophy tip bullets sold straight to reloaders. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

April 11, 2013, 08:28 AM	#3
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	Norma made several nickel plated match bullets in the 1960's. I shot over 600 of them in a .264 Win. Mag. It was a softer nickel and didn't wear out the barrel any faster than normal bullet jackets did. Other nickel plated bullets have been made. Gilding metal is a copper alloy, comprising 95% copper and 5% zinc. Technically, it is a brass. It's copper colored in appearance. Most bullet jacket material is guilding metal.

April 11, 2013, 10:02 AM	#7
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,546	The high velocity pistol Silvertips have copper (or gilding metal) jackets plated with nickel. It looks shiny enough to be straight nickel or a high nickel alloy. The low velocity rounds have aluminum jackets. I once took an author to task for arming his heroes' troops with cupronickel jacketed bullets but he pointed out that the popular (in Europe) RWS bullets had them. I didn't get into a debate over the applications of a couple of shots fired at game versus a sustained firefight.

April 11, 2013, 10:45 AM	#9
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	No better accuracy, but better corrosion resistance if that matters to you. If you are going to put ammo in a leather loop holder, nickel is your friend. And sometimes ammo companies do something simply because it looks cool. I still have a bunch of pulled turk 8mm bullets with the cupro nickel jacket. They are magnetic. I don't have any plans to shoot them currently, but I've never sold them off or traded them away either. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

April 11, 2013, 10:57 AM	#10
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Jimro , have you taken apart one of those bullets ? Nickel is magnetic ,in fact at one time the Canadian nickel coin had so much nickel it would attract a magnet. I wondered if those bullets were steel core with nickel jacket or lead core with nickel jacket. __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

April 11, 2013, 12:30 PM	#11
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	Mete, lead core, cupro-nickel jacket, no sparks off of the jacket when grinding. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

September 14, 2017, 11:15 AM	#12
dbooksta Member Join Date: March 14, 2009 Posts: 49	Just saw a batch of demil'ed "nickel-coated" 220gr SMKs appear at American Reloading. I thought they must be mistaken about the coating (maybe moly) and called, but they confirmed that it really is a thin layer of nickel over the copper jacket: They did note that it is so thin that you can see the copper through the nickel layer on rounds that had been subject to more handling. The only benefit I can imagine that layer offering is corrosion resistance.

September 14, 2017, 11:23 AM	#13
hdwhit Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2017 Posts: 1,011	America reloading.com had nickel plated bullets in several sizes when I checked them earlier in the week.

September 15, 2017, 02:20 AM	#14
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,317	Well it is a four year old thread and we scared the original poster off but those nickel plated bullets are really interesting. Thanks for posting. P.S. Anybody else want to chime in on the reason for the nickel or does everyone agree it's a corrosion thing?

September 17, 2017, 08:41 PM	#15
disseminator Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2016 Location: Minnesota Posts: 960	I have been loading the Federal Trophy Bonded Tipped for my 308 and I guess I just assumed the plating was cosmetic. It looks good. My Dad loves his Winchester 308 with the black coated ballistic tip and nickled brass. That sells ammo. I suppose it would keep the bullets from tarnishing as well but that is probably secondary to looking cool.

September 17, 2017, 11:15 PM	#18
Marco Califo Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2011 Location: LA (Greater Los Angeles Area) Posts: 2,602	OP's one and only post. When I read it, I immediately thought must mean nickle plated brass, and that I didn't think OP new the difference between brass, ammo, bullets, and cartridges. __________________ ............

December 2, 2017, 10:59 PM	#19
sixgunluv Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2008 Posts: 200	What about platinum? Last edited by sixgunluv; December 2, 2017 at 11:08 PM.

December 3, 2017, 05:08 PM	#20
Gary Wells Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2009 Posts: 180	Federal advised as of about 1 year ago that they were no longer selling reloading components and had no intention of doing so in the future. I tried buying some of their premium Gold Medal Match components and no cigar.