Nickel Plated Brass Question

[Dave B from western NY]

I have bought new Winchester nickel plated brass cases for loading for my Savage 308 bolt gun. I'll continue using regular brass cases for my M1a.

Aside from straight walled 38 cases I have not reloaded nickel plated brass.

Is there any special considerations for reloading the .308 nickel plated brass - I'll size, trim, etc prior to loading.

Thanks.

Dave

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[Litt'le Lee]

but they won't last long

[William T. Watts]

I have bought new Winchester nickel plated brass cases for loading for my Savage 308 bolt gun. I'll continue using regular brass cases for my M1a.

Aside from straight walled 38 cases I have not reloaded nickel plated brass.

Is there any special considerations for reloading the .308 nickel plated brass - I'll size, trim, etc prior to loading.

Thanks.

Dave

Nickle will eventually scratch your resizing die, I no longer use nickle cases for any reason because of the damage they can and will do. Be especially careful with cases that have started to flake, those flakes may embed in your die!! The cases look good, that's about the only thing good I can say about them. Yes, I have damaged/ruined resizing dies before!! William

[joem]

The nickel wil also dull the heck out of you trimmer cutter.

[Matt Anthony]

Many reloaders do not use plated brass due to the plating being harder than the brass. If the plating flakes, when seating a bullet, the plating can scratch your bore. This usually happens after many reloads. You can check out this link on Varmint Al's website. Very informative. After reading this you can decide yourself on if you want to continue to use it.

Varmint Al's Handloading/Reloading Page

[RicinYakima]

I agree with the others: keep them really clean, recycle them when they start to flake, beware of case neck cracks. Ric

[RayP.]

Here's a good explanation and method of how to do it.
http://www.lasc.us/CartridgeCaseAnnealing.htm
you can anneal without a lot of fancy equip,although I admire this set up.

RayP.

[Former Cav]

I've been loading .243's (prairie dog bolt action rifles) and a .308 target rifle (bolt action pre 64 winny action with 1 in 10 twist SS Krieger barrel).
I have had NO problems so far. I haven't had any rounds "flaking". all my nickel brass is Remington Peters brand and is headstamped RP.
On some of the .243 rounds (4 reloads) the nickel is getting "thin" in the center of the case. After 4 loads I scrap ALL brass.
I originally went to the nickel brass for two reasons. 1) it was easier to find in the grass in MN, and 2) it requires less force on the press to reform as the nickel acts like a lube in the die. You still NEED to use case lube though.
HTH
Bob

[mold maker]

Size the least amount possible for function.
The problem arises because the nickel and brass have different stretch/compress qualities.
Brass is more mailable than nickel. As the case expands, it creates tiny stretch lines in the nickle. Brass however expands evenly under the plating.
Sizing returns the brass much easier than the nickel. Over several cycles, the lines become cracks and the nickel to brass bond is broken which causes the flaking. The cracks in the nickel also leave thinner lines in the case metal which speeds the problem of cracked, and split brass.
The only advantage to plated brass is to retard the effects of tarnish(oxidation) of the cases. It originated as an attempt to cut down on the reaction of leather shell holders on the brass, which turned green and grew oxidation scale from the chemicals used to tan and finish the leather.