HuntHarder Report post Posted February 28, 2015 Long story short, Guy online did not advertise they were nickel plated cases in description and upon arrival they are. I usually shoot Winchester brass, and now I obtained some Winchester nickel plated casings. Will I see a difference in POI? I know they are a little harder on my dies, but I was wondering if my accuracy will suffer? These will only be practice rounds loaded to same specs as my hunting rounds. Should I limit my distance with these? Thanks for any advice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffro Report post Posted February 28, 2015 I have used nickel once. The necks were rough and therefor the extreme spreads were all over the place. I will never use it again for a longrange rig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sherman Report post Posted March 1, 2015 I have to use both for my 243 wssm and have never seen a change Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted March 1, 2015 I have a few for .223 and 7mm RM. Never seen a difference, but they are harder, so you need to make sure you anneal the necks. Case capacity should be very close I would assume. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1uglydude Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Lance, I have read in several place that you should never anneal nickel plated brass. The same process that softens and restores brass will harden nickel....or so the articles said. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Thanks for your answers, I think I will just load them up and see what happens. I thought about just selling the cases and getting brass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Lance, I have read in several place that you should never anneal nickel plated brass. The same process that softens and restores brass will harden nickel....or so the articles said. Good to know. I have never heard that. Maybe that is one of the biggest reasons they say nickel cases do not last very long. I know most people have the necks split after a few loadings. Great info! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted March 1, 2015 After reading about 5 articles, and 15 forums, it seems like it is about a 50/50 split on results. Some would think that means it could work, or it could not. What that means to me is with a 50% chance annealing will not work, I would never try it again. I am usually a "glass is half full" type of guy. But not with safety, or a $6k gun. I would either load and fire until they give up the ghost, or call it a learning experience and ditch them. I think for a hunting cartridge that might get shot a few times a year, they should be fine. For a round that will get shot a lot, burn them up and toss them after the first case neck split. For me, I will keep my 7mm rounds loaded, as they will only get shot a few shots a year, depending on draw results. The .223, I will use the nickel plated rounds as hunting loads, and after firing them, if I lose them in the field, no big loss. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted March 1, 2015 I am with you on that Lance. I found about the same results 50/50 split. I am going to load them, use them for practice and ditch them as soon as they start showing any signs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
452b264 Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Lance, I have read in several place that you should never anneal nickel plated brass. The same process that softens and restores brass will harden nickel....or so the articles said. Good to know. I have never heard that. Maybe that is one of the biggest reasons they say nickel cases do not last very long. I know most people have the necks split after a few loadings. Great info! Split necks was my experience with nickel cases, the cases didnt last as long as brass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Tell the dude you're not happy, send them back and find non nickle brass. No big deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcdinaz Report post Posted March 1, 2015 If you can't return it I am pretty sure you will get 3-4 loadings out of them anyway unless for some reason they are a big magnum caliber. I have used them in the past in .243 and not major issues. Also, it depends on which die and what material if it will wear your die faster. Most of us don't shoot enough to wear out a set of dies. Not saying you don't, just most of us don't shoot that much unless it is something like an AR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted March 1, 2015 I only paid 30$ for the brass, it is not worth my time or hassle to send them back. I told the guy I was unhappy, he apologized and we left it at that. No big deal, just learned to get pictures of items being bought off of forums instead of taking a guy's word. I doubt I will ever shoot this 300 wsm enough to wear out my RCBS dies. Thanks for the advice guys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted March 1, 2015 I am not sure if it was a coincidence or because of the nickel, but I had my first stuck case in the die in a long time today. It was a nickel case and oh yeah that was a PITA to remove. Noticeably more effort to size on the nickel too, but that could have been because they were fired In a different gun other than mine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted March 1, 2015 I have been REALLY lucky. I have only had one stuck case....knock on wood. A .223. Yes, a real PITA to get them out. Knowing the cases are .300WSM, I would think you could get 5-10 years out of them, if you shoot them as much as I shoot my .300RUM. I shoot it about 20 rounds per year. If you got more than 20 for the $30, you are doing pretty good. I wouldn't worry about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
