Nickle Cases?

[Luke MacGillie]

Hey Folks, Long time no post,

My googling has not turned up any source of nickled 45LC cases short of buying a few boxes of Hornady CD ammo.  I could shoot these thru my Marlin 1894 and then reload them for my pistols, but looking for a cheaper way of doing this.

Thanks,

Luke

[litl rooster]

from the leading manafacture of Brass casings


https://www.starlinebrass.com/order-online/nickel-plated-brass-cases.cfm


try googling once fired brass for sale. I have a limited amount I use myownself.

[yeti76620]

Li'l Roo is correct 'bout Starline brass.....  I REALLY like it myself!....

Problem w/ Starline Nickel direct from them is that ya have to buy a Boat load!  OK if ya got Pards' split'n the haul but for a few hundred or less try Midway USA:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1601278960/remington-reloading-brass-45-colt-long-colt

They have Starline nickel too if ya search hard 'nuff but on my "quick search" I found these Remmies....

Found Starline {be sure ya click on the Nickel Finish}:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/941195841/starline-reloading-brass-45-colt-long-colt

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[Pettifogger]

If you want cheaper reloads, then nickle isn't the way to go.  Nickle makes the brass cases brittle and the cases split much much quicker than brass cases.

[Shotgun Franklin]

I want some too. For my carry loads. You can leave plated brass in the belt loops.

[cal44walker]

+1 on the nickel cases splitting very easily.

For those interested the cause is one of, or both of, 2 things. Hydrogen embrittlement during plating that causes the brass (if it has a high content of zinc in it,about 30% being the usual) to lose its resistance to cracking. Not a lot to do about that unfortunalty. The hardness of the coating of nickel on its own is also blamed for cracking as it is an inflexable material and when it cracks, the split transfers straight to the base metal cartridge.  I'm in the process of changing out all my nickel shells out with brass ones to avoid the problem. I was using nickel plated Magtech brass to find a good load for my smokeless 38 special rounds and noticed a lot more splits after only 2 or 3 reloads. Probably does'nt help accuraccy that the crimp will also be inconsistant.

cal44walker

[yeti76620]

Have to humbly DISAGREE with ya fine folk.....      

Don't know 'bout 45 Colt..... Been shoot'n 357 MAG Nickel shells plenty regularly for the past two years and they ain't split'n or break'n any more then the non-plated brass did......      

HOWEVER!

I DO NOT SHOOT MOUSE LOADS!......    The brass gets hotter and gets FULLY expanded more evenly as I theorize because I've too many mouse fart shoot'n Pards who split brass way more often then I.....        .... One Gal will NOT use Nickle in her '73..... says it jams it up.....  

I DO AGREE that these cases are harder and I've messed up more cases seat'n slugs put'n the hard crimp to them as the sides crinkled up.......  Payed more attention to case length and have to keep'm trim'd....        

I DO get an ODD split with the Nickels once in a blue moon..... not along the side but AROUND the circumference to make a 38 Super Short....          

I load my "hot" loads into Nickel cases...    .................  too hot and the primer hole over expands....ooooppppsss  

[litl rooster]

my cull bucket got 10 brass cases  split to every 1/2 of a nickel one

+1 yeti


If you all don't like the nickel you can send them to me. I'll dispose of them properly for you no charge.

[yeti76620]

my cull bucket got 10 brass cases  split to every 1/2 of a nickel one

+1 yeti


If you all don't like the nickel you can send them to me. I'll dispose of them properly for you no charge.

Dang IT Li'l Roo you ARE the sharpest tack.......  I should'a toll'em to send ME those Nickel Cases.....   

[wildman1]

Had a feller at the range give me a box (20) of nickle 45/70s couple of months ago. Then at another range a feller was shootin 45 Colt (nickle) and jest left em. I told him not ta worry I'd police his brass fer him. He thanked me.  WM

[yeti76620]

Had a feller at the range give me a box (20) of nickle 45/70s couple of months ago. Then at another range a feller was shootin 45 Colt (nickle) and jest left em. I told him not ta worry I'd police his brass fer him. He thanked me.  WM

[cpt dan blodgett]

They do split sooner but sure makes it easy to separate 44 Mag from 45 colt.

[Virginia Gentleman]

I use nickel cases for show, but shoot yellow brass.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

For my good pard Rooster and Yeti:

You pards are REAL lucky if you get as much loading out of your nickle cases as you do plain brass.  I do have some 45ACP and 38Spl nickle plated cases that have been reloaded so many times that around  HALF the nickle has been worn off by the carbide sizer, but typically, I get 3 or 4 times the life from plain brass than i do from plated cases.  Nowadays I load more 45 Colt than all the others put together.  My loads are 99.9% BP, but every once in a while (when I want to shoot my Remington 1875 that doesn't seem to like BP, even with BigLube boolits) I'll load some smokeyless rounds. 

I don't have any Starline Nickle cases, however.  If their N plated cases are of the same quality as their non plated cases -  and I have no doubt that they ARE - they might be better plating and wear better.  Most of my experience has been with once-fired Remington 45 Colt cases and factory new Rem. Nickle 45-70 (NOT fired previously) cases.  Several of the 45-70 cases that I loaded with Cartridge BP by Goex, split the first time I sized them.  At THAT time, I was still full-length resizing, which I quit doing after I heard about "neck-sizing" 45-70 fired cases using a standard sizing die.  I have been neck-sizing bottle-necked cases used in my bolt rifles for decades with specific N/S dies, but when I started loading 45-70 - which is almost/somewhat a straight-wall case, I hadn't grokked how to neck size using a F/L die as most of them are for 45-70.  (I believe that N/S dies for BP 45-70 do exist, I just hadn't seen them, so when I bought my dies they included a F/L sizing die.)

Like Shotgun Franklin mentioned, plated cases can be left in belt loops, while brass cases can't be left for long.  I did have a leather expert tell me that ONE of the tanning processes doesn't react with the brass, which produces the verdigris.  (Green crap)   He also said that that type of tanning isn't done as much.  (Vegetable tanning vs. chrome tanning?  Or vice-versa?  Or another type altogether, like brain tanning?  I don't remember WHICH type he mentioned - sorry!)

Most "Combat Ready" ammo comes with nickle cases, as I'm sure most of you know.  Less chance of verdigris, feeding issues, etc. make it "carry ready" preferred.

As suggested, Luke, try Midway. 

[yeti76620]

WWwooooHHoooo...YES... Just been "gifted" 200 NICKEL 357 mag Brass w/ PRIMERS!       

Don't mean to move in on Li'l Roo's or Luke's action but I'll take any of those 357 or 45 Colt no-good fer nut'n "Show Brass"!

[Fingers McGee]

I generally shoot starline nickel 44-40 with full case of BP and lose more cases to the brass gods on the range than I do to split cases.  When I use brass, the loss vs split ratio seems to be about the same.

[cpt dan blodgett]

Strange, one would think the nickles would be easier to find or sort out at the un loading table when the guy shooting after you gets his brass dumped on the table.

[Fingers McGee]

Strange, one would think the nickles would be easier to find or sort out at the un loading table when the guy shooting after you gets his brass dumped on the table.

It's not at the unloading table.  They get lost in the grass and/or gravel on the firing line and never make it that far.  Of course, sometimes it's due to lazy brassers.

[cpt dan blodgett]

Grass, what is that?  We dont have anything like that on the firing lines out here Phoenix way.

[Karl]

Thank you all for the links above for new nickle plated brass. 

 I have had a bit more luck with nickel plated brass holding up.   My wife shoots .38 S&W and Special loaded with a black powder substitute and very little of her brass has split.  .38 S&W is not exactly the highest pressure load though.  I am surprised at how much nickel plated .38 S&W that I have scrounged over the years considering that it is not that common a round now.   Black powder cleans off the nickle with much less tumbling but still some of her brass has been reloaded enough times that the plating is wearing off.

Her new favorite show rounds are copper plated .38 S&W shells.  At least I assume that they are copper plated brass.  The local gunshop had them traded in primed and ready to load.  They look almost read next to regular brass.  Does anyone happen to know the back story on these copper plated brass hulls? 

I barely scrounged enough nickel plated .45 LC brass to fill my gunbelt loops.