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Brass versus nickle plated brass

2K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  Brassguy 
#1 ·
I might have asked this before but if I did, I slept since and forgot so......

I'm finally getting around to reloading some .357 and .38 now and have about a 50/50 split of brass and plated brass which I assume is nickel plated.

Anything I should be concerned about, or do differently between the two?

I will be putting a roll crimp on the .357 brass and if I had to guess, the nickel plated brass might need a bit more of a crimp since the plating could make it a bit harder........ but I'm just guessing and would rather hear from some experienced loaders.
 
#3 ·
Agree with George. They came up with the nickel-plated stuff, so it would not turn green in cartridge belts. But nickel is harder than brass, and the plated stuff will fail sooner.

Aside from that, I load it all the same.
 
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#7 ·
Highboy claims to have reloaded some nickel plated 357 brass so much that the plating is worn off. That makes more sense to me than the brass becoming brittle by a microscopically thin plating, but I have no experienced yet as my nickel plated 357 still looks like new.
 
#8 ·
I have loaded some nickel 38s until the nickel has worn off. I have also had dozens, if not hundreds, of nickel 38s that split. Usually longitudinal body splits.

I've had a few - very few - brass 38s split, and they have all been minor mouth splits.
 
#11 ·
I have found that all nickel plated brass is not the same. Some is plated thicker (mostly the older stuff) and some has a better bond between the nickel and the brass. I have had plated brass that can be loaded so many times the nickel wears off and other brass that the plating will chip off and still others that will crack after just a few loadings. Its mostly a crap shoot and can vary from lot to lot and brand to brand. But none of that changes the loading procedures in any way.
 
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