[blackdog]

What is the advantage of nickle plated brass for streight wall hulls like 357 and 44mags? I am new to metalic reloading but have reloaded many shotgun shells. Does the plating increase the diameter of the hull? Will the nickle flake or chip? Does the nickle increase the life of the Hulls?

 

[Fuelburns2]

I always assumed it just made the cartridge load and extract with less friction. One thing I do know is that the nickel plated brass can sit in a gun without tarnishing the way brass tends to. I've had the same ammo in my Ruger SP101 for two years and it still looks brand new. The brass ammo I carried in it before tarnished and got a rough external surface to it. This was also over an extended time though.

 

[Dave375hh]

Blackdog,

I have used lots of nickel plated handgun brass in the past. My experiance has been that nickeled cases split much sooner than brass finished cases. There may be some truth to the lack of discoloration and/or corrosion with the nickel cases but mostly it was a sales, or appearence upgrade to sell higher priced ammo. In rifle ammo it does help smoother chambering to some extent, and prevent corrosion in tropical settings. Other than that I feel it's just a sales gimmick usually applied to premium grades of ammo.

 

[huntswithdogs]

I prefer the nickel stuff to the brass. It cleans up easier and is easier to work in the press. If you leave brass cases in a leather cartridge belt they'll turn a real pretty color of green. Not so with nickel. As for the necks splitting, I split the first one(nickel) the other day after a whole bunch of loads. The only reason it split was due to extremely heavy crimps.

HWD

 

[blackdog]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[J-Cat]

Nickle brass imparts a greater degree of friction onto the bullet jacket (holds onto the bullet much better). This is very desirable in short-necked pistol rounds such as the 357 Sig where bullet setback is often a chronic problem.