Nickel Plated Brass vs Normal Brass

[Maplicito]

I'm wondering - what are the pros and cons of nickel plated brass vs normal brass?  For the most part I've stuck to regular brass, but I have tried some nickel plated in .338 win mag, and because my local store had no 45 LC except in nickel plated, I got some of that.  Is there a major difference in brass life?  Is it worth special ordering other brass, or should I just buy what happens to be available?

[huntswithdogs]

All but about 100 pieces of brass, for my 45LC, are Starline and nickel plated. Some folks will disagree ,but I love this brass. It cleans up easily, loads great and I've had no cases splitting at the crimp. I still have about 50 pieces of RP Nickel plated for my 243, but over the years I've lost pices of it to split necks. I can't say the it was because of the plating ,because I've thrown away just as many Brass cases for the same reason.

Comes down to what you want, as always.

I've had bad brass from different Manufacturers over the years. All of them weren't plated either...

[buckbeast]

Being new to reloading, this was a question I wondered also. I have tried to do some research on nickel plated brass and the only thing I have been able to find is the following disclaimers in the Technical information section of the below link.

Nickel plating will crack if it's worked excessively during reloading.

Nickel plating has been known to be very abrasive on reloading dies.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=401768

[Troyboy]

At the gun club saturday one of the range officers told me to stay away from nickel brass. He said it wears out dies? Just passing it along. Myself i like the way it looks. I was gonna get a bunch but what he said is making me rethink. I believe more info is needed.

                                                                               Troy

[calvon]

Nickel plated brass is pretty.

Its advantages stop right there.

Multiple trips through a sizing die is apt to peel off some of the plating which will mess up the interior of your dies.

I posed the question to Starline Brass a few years back and they replied that the plated brass offers no advantages. They make it and sell it but don't recommend it.

[charles p]

I'm guessing it has a marketing ploy.  Maybe the manufacturers can charge more for it because we consumers think it must be better.

As a reloader, I prefer brass cases.  Seems most of the nickel cases have been been manufactured in premium offerings.  In my opinion, they have no advantage at all.

[Siskiyou]

Back in the day when I carried a Model 19 as a duty weapon with two speed loader pouches, and a cartridge slide with loops for twelve rounds I favored nickel-plated brass.  Not because of its looks but because of the anti corrosion properties.  While I rotated the ammunition on my belt down range many officers did not.  I have seen ammunition corrode in leather pouches and leather loops. 

Nickel-plated brass serves a purpose.  I have reloaded a truckload of it without any real problems.  One of the basic premises of reloading is to inspect your brass, and discard the bad stuff be it nickel or plain brass.

I am aware that some officers carried a few specialty rounds, and having different cases allows for quick identity of loads under stress.  I guess this would not be a concern of professional paper punchers.

Over the years I had the opportunity to remove rounds from suspect weapons.  The only weapons I found in use with badly corride ammunition in them were loaded with brass cases.

[Maplicito]

Thanks for the responses guys.  I'll use the nickel plated stuff I already have... I might special order brass cases for my 45... gotta wait who knows how long for the special order to come in, but at least they're cheaper than the nickel plated stuff.  On the other hand... my dies for the 45 are Lee dies - it's not like they're expensive to replace down the road if nickel does happen to wear them out a bit faster.