catwrench Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 what are the advantage to nickel over brass or is it personal prefrence ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_SC Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Nickel is better for defensive ammo that is carried a lot because it resists corrosion, but it's a little more brittle so it will split with fewer loadings than brass and the nickel plating may start to flake off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astephenson Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Nickel is better for defensive ammo that is carried a lot because it resists corrosion, but it's a little more brittle so it will split with fewer loadings than brass and the nickel plating may start to flake off. Beat me to it. This is what I understand also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robphillips00 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 My understanding is brass lasts longer. Nickel is harder, more prone to splits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Nickel also tumbles clean a lot quicker and is a lot slicker, which helps for feeding out of the mag and into the chamber. Not sure if it's a big difference or not but it definitely wouldn't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwrench Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 thanks a lot guys ,i think i will stick with brass as for i just target shoot and wis hasn't set rules for concealed carrie. i have heard so many pros and cons about reloads for cc so i'am going to wait a see what the rules are and go from there .not that i would need cc in the little town i live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round_Gun_Shooter Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Nickel is easier to find on the ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 believe it or not! Nickle feels a little different than brass. When i was shooting open, I could feel the difference between brass loads and nickle loads. In fact you could load a mag full of mixed brass and nickle and I could tell you if it was nickle or brass being fired, it had a different impulse. For me my timing would get off shooting nickle and then going to brass, seemed as if the nickle cases were feeding alot faster than the brass....I don't know go figure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Nickel cases are also going to be a bit harder on your reloading dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwrench Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) thanks guys lots of good info here,been reloading for 4 years in winter months when laid off ,seems like thats the only time i have for reloading and target shooting.work constrution trade long hours. Edited August 3, 2011 by catwrench Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g56 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 The ammo companies started nickel plating brass because plain brass really interacts with leather, put plain brass cases in a leather cartridge belt and they will quickly start corroding, you get a lot of green crap called verdigris, nasty stuff, nickel plated cases don't do that. Back when I was a Deputy it was in the revolver days, and since we were often out in the boondocks we carried more ammo than most city officers, 6 in the revolver, 2 speedloaders, and 12 cartridges in cartridge loops, you had better have nickel cases in those or pretty quickly you have a nasty green stuff all over the place. At one point I found a load of verdigris in my speedloader pouches, I had nickel cases, but the copper jackets on the hollow points were reacting to the leather, so I had to get some plastic and cut a plastic bottom to go in the bottom of the speedloaders, and isolate them from the leather. These days its used because of its corrosion resistance, it stays slick, instead of corroding and not as easy to feed in the semi autos. Nickel is good for self defense ammo, but not great for reloading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwrench Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 i found this info to be very intresting ,wondered what that green was call , catwrench Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old506 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I have some Nickel Winchester .38 special brass. I bought it in packs of 50, new/primed for $1.00/box. The boxes looked like they were military surplus, I have never seen anything like it. I wish I would have kept a box, I think that they had a mark on them that put them manufactured in the 50's but I am not 100% sure about this as I bought them about 20 years ago. The gun store owner suggested that I de-prime and put new primers in but I snapped a couple in my 686, they all fired so I loaded them up and they all worked after all those years! I bought a ton of these and still have a ton, I bet I have shot them every bit of 10+ times, probably more. Every once in awhile I will get a split case but I just keep loading and loading and loading these things. for the most part my loads are light, win231 behind lead 158gr RN but I do remember loading some +p's just for the heck of it and I don't remember any problems loading +p. I wish that I would have bought the whole shelf, I went back to the store latter and they were all gone. I guess what I am saying is that I love the darn things, they have lasted forever, they clean great, and if they they were manufactured in the 50's (again I can't 100% recollect) they are old! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robphillips00 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 believe it or not! Nickle feels a little different than brass. When i was shooting open, I could feel the difference between brass loads and nickle loads. In fact you could load a mag full of mixed brass and nickle and I could tell you if it was nickle or brass being fired, it had a different impulse. For me my timing would get off shooting nickle and then going to brass, seemed as if the nickle cases were feeding alot faster than the brass....I don't know go figure... That's a pretty interesting analogy. I haven't shot enough nickel to notice the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwrench Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think i will pick up a box of 9MM or 40 S&W nickel shoot them and reload them to see if there is any advantages for me,if not just for the learning curve .for what i do ,just plink at the range brass has worked the best for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdm74 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 For some reason, I have never had a nickel that didn't case gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g56 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 When I was a Deputy we had to cycle our duty ammo to make sure what we carried was fresh, so every few months I would shoot up that "older" ammo. I found that it wasn't unusual for a couple of the nickel cases to split after the first firing, and every time they were reloaded and fired, I or 2 more would split, so I had to keep a spare box of nickel empties because every time I shot a box of 50, I might only have 48 usable cases left. I might mention that the ammo we were issued varied by brand, so I'm not just writing about one brand, but virtually all the major brand names of ammo, and not just one revolver either, I would do some horse trading from time to time. It didn't take too long to figure out that nickel cases weren't very good for reloading. I've seen other people post about having good luck with nickel plated cases, more than likely I was exposed to a lot more nickel cases than most people, but your results may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1911 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Nickel is easier to find on the ground Yup. I also find that it is easier to reload -- less force is required in the sizing die. I'm shooting a revolver, and the nickel-plated brass seems to be less likely to hang up in the chambers than brass after the chambers start to get dirty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southtexaswoman Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Okay guys, I too had heard that brass holds up longer than nickel but I was also told the nickel is a coating over the brass so that does not make sense to me. I do know that I have had old nickel brass that begins showing the gold color. Please educate me as to what this is all about. Nenette McHenry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 When the brass is plated it causes it to get more brittle. I believe it is called 'hydrogen embrittlement'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southtexaswoman Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Now that makes sense....the making the brass more brittle. Thanks for that answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahK Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) Grr, wish I'd had the foresight to check here before ordering up 1000 9mm nickel cases last night (facepalm) Edited August 20, 2011 by NoahK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Grr, wish I'd had the foresight to check here before ordering up 1000 9mm nickel cases last night (facepalm) I feel your pain. Send them to me. You'll feel much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waterfowl-widowmaker Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Nickle is a little more brittle and harder to resize but it's fine. I have some I've loaded 7-8 times at 175pf with no problems. They are a lot easier to clean and stay cleaner longer. Seem to feed a little better than the brass cases. And are much easier to spot hiding in the grass when your picking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineshootah Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 What ever you do... Don't mix brass with nickel in your mags. Either all nickel or the first one nickel, then all brass. You can get away with ending on nickel... But you are pushing you luck. Bad juju.... Baaaaad juju. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now