Nickle Cases

[Jester896]

I have had a couple questions about reloading nickle cases recently, especially on annealing them, and I thought it might be a good idea to get some thoughts on it from everyone.

I use them in pistol loads for stuff I put up, for the corrosion resistance and a few rifle cases for the same reason. And not so much after a second firing.

I have seen things written about annealing them. Like the 2 materials need to be annealed to different temperatures...600 for the brass and 800+ for the nickle then quenched. Some say it causes the nickle to come off of the case case neck in a short time. Also that the nickle acts as a sandpaper on the inside of the neck when the bullet is released. I guess the best way to determine that for sure is to pull a bullet from a brass case and one from a nickle case to see the differences in markings on the pulled bullet

Also seen... for the most part...you usually only get 5-8 reloadings before the necks start to split

What are some of your thoughts on this?

 

[fauxferret]

I would say that on most nickel plated cases the thickness of the plating is so thin that having to do a differential annealing would be almost moot. I reload a lot of 38 and 357 and have loaded nickel plated cases to the point where the plating wears off. Usually my neck cracks are derived from them being work hardened. I don't believe that nickel would act as an abrasive on a bullet or copper jacket. Seeing that nickel is used and marketed as having increased lubricity and less likely to get stuck in a dirty chamber. I would also reason that nickel plating inside the case would also be much thinner than what's on the outside. Sorry I can't be more help about annealing most things I shoot in any quantity I have enough brass to replace what I lose. But it still is painful when I lose or damage hard to replenish brass.

 

[Dub]

Interesting question.......






I've watched the following video several times....they don't cover the matter......but I watch it again anyway for some reason.

 

[Dub]

Now.....for a more serious attempt at actually contributing to the actual topic at hand.......I'm blissfully ignorant of how to approach nickel annealing. 95% of my nickel plated brass is in .45acp so it hasn't been a thought.

Great question, though.



I checked over on the A.M.P. annealing website and looked at their listed settings......there wasn't anything listed separately for nickel.


Checked their FAQ's and saw this:

Can I anneal nickel plated cases?​

Yes, you can treat nickel plated cases just like regular brass, both when sacrificing in AZTEC and when annealing.






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Now, back to watching Rosie do her thang....

 

[Lilly001]

Doesn’t Underwood ammo have a written bit on how their nickel is different and why?

 

[Jester896]

Doesn’t Underwood ammo have a written bit on how their nickel is different and why?

can you share a link to it?

Now, back to watching Rosie do her thang....

at least she knows you have to lube the case before you put it in the die


@Dub I don't give straight walled or tapered pistol cases much thought...just do it until they fail. I guess I should have been clearer that I was really only concerned about bottleneck cases.

I am a little apprehensive about fauxferret's statement, in the sense that the nickle is probably thinner inside the case or neck, and once it is annealed a time or 2, if the nickle starts to come loose, that is where it would come loose first creating the abrasion or slow the bullet release to a degree.

 

[bullgator]

I believe the other purpose for nickel plated cases is the lubricious advantage for feeding and extraction of the chamber.
Since the cases are still brass, and only nickel plated, I would guess that it’s still the brass that needs annealing for the purpose of resizing. I would also guess Dub had it with his AMP reference.

 

[Dub]

can you share a link to it?

at least she knows you have to lube the case before you put it in the die


@Dub I don't give straight walled or tapered pistol cases much thought...just do it until they fail. I guess I should have been clearer that I was really only concerned about bottleneck cases.

I am a little apprehensive about fauxferret's statement, in the sense that the nickle is probably thinner inside the case or neck, and once it is annealed a time or 2, if the nickle starts to come loose, that is where it would come loose first creating the abrasion or slow the bullet release to a degree.

I knew you were talking bottleneck.


I was saying that my only nickel plated, or most of it, is simply .45acp so I've never given the matter of annealing nickel plated any thought.


All my bottleneck cases are brass.



Glad you brought the matter up. I may very well run across some leftover once-fired rifle brass in the closet or old gun locker once I clean each out.

 

[Lilly001]

can you share a link to it?

at least she knows you have to lube the case before you put it in the die


@Dub I don't give straight walled or tapered pistol cases much thought...just do it until they fail. I guess I should have been clearer that I was really only concerned about bottleneck cases.

I am a little apprehensive about fauxferret's statement, in the sense that the nickle is probably thinner inside the case or neck, and once it is annealed a time or 2, if the nickle starts to come loose, that is where it would come loose first creating the abrasion or slow the bullet release to a degree.

I’m not computer savvy enough to link.
In Midway USA add for Underwood .38 special ammo the bottom paragraph in the description details their plated cases.

 

[Jester896]

I’m not computer savvy enough to link.
In Midway USA add for Underwood .38 special ammo the bottom paragraph in the description details their plated cases.

Got it...this is the statement from MidwayUSA site:

The Underwood nickel plating process provides several key benefits including; improved feeding in all actions of firearms, enhanced corrosion resistance over traditional brass, improved cosmetics, and ease of cleanup during reloading. Nickel plated casings will not tarnish like brass during storage or when in contact with foreign materials such as leather, moisture, and other metals. Until the development of the Ducta-Bright 7a process, nickel plating casings often limited the number of reloads as compared to raw brass. It was claimed that nickel plated brass casings embrittled the brass therefor making it less desirable for reloaders despite the ease of cleanup that nickel plating offers. In addition, ammunition engineers raising concerns of using nickel plating in very hot +P or magnum loads found that traditional nickel plating often cracked deep-drawn cases, or worse, lead to a total failure. This new process eliminates any concern, to the shooter or reloader, of hazard or ability to re-use the brass.

Nickel Plating of Shell Casings | Ducta-Bright 7a®

Advanced Plating Technologies is a leading provider of nickel plating of shell casings within the ammunition and defense industries offering a proprietary ductile nickel system called Ducta-bright 7a® Nickel.

advancedplatingtech.com

thanks for that info!