reloading nickle brass...advice required

sean12345

Well-Known Member
as title. advice required on reloading brass that has been nickle coated.

Is it possible?

Does it damage the die?

The brass is large bottle neck cartridge.
 
Just reload same as you would brass i find they last longer as the cases dont move as much as brass !
 
Yes they can be reloaded ok but they CAN damage the internal surface of the die. In my opinion with the low cost of brass these days dont touch them, its cheaper to buy premium Lapua cases than to keep replacing your set of dies especially if you have good dies.
 
Loaded nickel cases in .243W & .25-06Rem for years & years without any problems. Treat just like brass with your case prep.
No problem at all.
Cheers, :tiphat:
 
make sure you give inside of the neck a good chamfer coz if you dont they strip some of the copper off the head when seating,have had it with my 25-06,never did it with brass,think nickel coating makes the case harder,not sure though,a few of mine split pn 2nd firing,upside they are easy to clean,heat marks on edge of the neck takes some getting off,wire wool removes it.
 
Yes they can be reloaded ok but they CAN damage the internal surface of the die. In my opinion with the low cost of brass these days dont touch them, its cheaper to buy premium Lapua cases than to keep replacing your set of dies especially if you have good dies.

It's interesting how different people assess value.

Any sort of brass is far from cheap nowadays, and Lapua is the most expensive of all at around £60 - £70 a box. I doubt that premium dies are essential for sporting calibres, but good luck to those who can afford them. I'm happy with the 1-inch groups that RCBS, Lyman, and Lee deliver. A fox isn't worth a £2000 rifle and reloading kit of benchrest-standard to me.

I at first believed the rumour that nickel cases would scratch dies, but it's proved a myth. Most of the nickel plated cases in the 5 calibres I've used are Federal and Winchester, but all of the makers seem to be turning to them for the top-end loads with 'technology bullets'.

In Federal .308, both brass and nickel-plated weigh the same so the plating can only be microns deep.... no threat.

I've noticed that the resizing effort is higher, so lay on a bit more lube. Apart from that, they don't tarnish or get pitted in damp cardboard boxes, so they're low maintenance and always look sharp. Ideal for lazy loaders.... what sort are you?:-|
 
I dont think £70 for 100 cases that will probably see 10 loadings so 1000 rounds is a lot of money? One Red deer and they are paid for. For the past three years i have been using Redding Competition dies (now i am using factory loads) and i would not let them see a nickel plated case, why do you think there is more force needed to resize? Its because the plating makes them harder, they are noticably harder to trim, harder surface = more chance of damaging the components used to reload them.
 
I dont think £70 for 100 cases that will probably see 10 loadings so 1000 rounds is a lot of money? One Red deer and they are paid for. For the past three years i have been using Redding Competition dies (now i am using factory loads) and i would not let them see a nickel plated case, why do you think there is more force needed to resize? Its because the plating makes them harder, they are noticably harder to trim, harder surface = more chance of damaging the components used to reload them.

RPA6mmBr

Bully for you, as I said. If you have expensive kit then this is something to fret over, which is understandable.

'Harder' in this context may just mean that there's a different degree of friction between moving surfaces.

There's no definitive answer to the dangers (or not) of nickel plated brass, but I did find this.

Stainless steel is a steel-chromium alloy that is more resistant to corrosion than carbon-steel or other steel alloys. As with all steel, it strength depends on its grade; but overall the strength difference between carbon steel and stainless steel is negligible

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_stainless_steel_harder_than_steel#ixzz1mwxGWDG5aere's
 
RPA6mmBr

Bully for you, as I said. If you have expensive kit then this is something to fret over, which is understandable.

'Harder' in this context may just mean that there's a different degree of friction between moving surfaces.

There's no definitive answer to the dangers (or not) of nickel plated brass, but I did find this.

Stainless steel is a steel-chromium alloy that is more resistant to corrosion than carbon-steel or other steel alloys. As with all steel, it strength depends on its grade; but overall the strength difference between carbon steel and stainless steel is negligible

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_stainless_steel_harder_than_steel#ixzz1mwxGWDG5aere's

Do you know what i am bloody sick to death of people on here ready to have a go! Why did you have to start your post with "Bully for you"? I was not having a go and i was not bragging about having expensive kit (i am bloody skint and they were a LOT of money for me to afford). All i was saying is that most of the people i know that are serious reloaders wont go near nickel cases and not having a go at you.
 
No bullying intended. It was meant as 'good for you'... so not having a go.

Just a different perspective. I've had some experience of these now, so wasn't dismissive.

Serious reloading doesn't necessarily equate with pounds spent either. Others think differently .... so good for them.
 
Fair do's, like you say its differing opinions, but that is what the forums are for so that people can come together with their experience to help each other out. Everyone has different ideas and thats a good thing (sometimes). I am not saying my way is the right way, but for me i would never use them for the reasons already stated. They look pretty and as in fishing the tackle tends to catch the fisherman rather than the fish.
 
You got that right about the fisherman being caught,I only ended up with nickel ones coz that's all Norman Clarke had at a game fair last year,he sold them to me for same price as the brass ones.
 
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