Reloading Nickel Plated brass?

hunt0168

hunt0168

Well-known member
Hey guys, I don’t reload (yet) but have saved a lot of brass from my 204 Ruger. A lot of it is from Federal loads and are nickel plated. I’ve done a little digging and found mixed feelings on reloading plated brass and to go a little deeper, many say that Federal brass sucks.

Is this stuff worth hanging onto for reloading purposes should I make that investment? Just curious to hear your thoughts and give us something to chew about!
 
hunt0168 said:
Hey guys, I don’t reload (yet) but have saved a lot of brass from my 204 Ruger. A lot of it is from Federal loads and are nickel plated. I’ve done a little digging and found mixed feelings on reloading plated brass and to go a little deeper, many say that Federal brass sucks.

Is this stuff worth hanging onto for reloading purposes should I make that investment? Just curious to hear your thoughts and give us something to chew about!
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How about get rid of this heat wave we are going through in the SE and I'll post some stories and pics of some dead coyotes.
 
I've never had any issues loading nickel plated brass, pistol or rifle.

I've also loaded a lot of Federal brass over the years in .223 and .308 w/o issues, I too keep seeing where people don't like Federal brass but I've simply not had any negative experiences using it.
 
Bowhntr6pt said:
I've never had any issues loading nickel plated brass, pistol or rifle.

I've also loaded a lot of Federal brass over the years in .223 and .308 w/o issues, I too keep seeing where people don't like Federal brass but I've simply not had any negative experiences using it.
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Seems like the most common gripe is that it can flake off and get hung in dies or scratch die surfaces or something? Then there was mention of it being harder to resize.

At some point I’ll have close to 200 rounds of Nosler 204 brass as well if I ever shoot my supply up. I’ve read where people don’t like Nosler brass either. I would have thought those would be great for reloading?
 
hm1996 said:
Nickel plated brass is a bit harder than unplated brass. Federal brass is a bit softer than other other cases and will develop loose primers quicker than most other cases IME.
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Going on your reply, would the plating possibly help with the primer pockets loosening up? Or would that seem an insignificant factor as the pockets themselves wouldn’t be plated?
 
The pockets are plated, perhaps not as heavy as the outer case, but I don't think the plating itself would add any support. I never annealed my brass, had a good supply of brass when I was shooting competition so usually only reloaded 3-4 times. I did seem to notice some case neck splitting more on the plated cases than the brass ones and as someone stated, the plated cases were a tad harder to resize. I don't recall any flaking of plating, but maybe didn't run the brass that long.
Never had any issues with primer pockets loosening on the plated 308 brass, but didn't have an issue on the brass cases either because I was shooting mild target loads. Where I noticed loose primers was with some Federal 223 brass where I was loading on the warm side and primers would loosen up on third or 4th reloading.
 
I agree with hm, Federal brass wouldn't be a first choice if buying brass. But it's once fired brass from your rifle, that is a plus. I run NOTHING but nickel plated rem brass in my custom barreled 17 rem. I always clean the outside of nickel brass, make sure die is clean. I have reloaded Fed nickel 204 brass, no issues. Keep it clean, maintain proper headspace clearance.
 
I have reloaded plenty of nickle plated brass. However, having said that, I did stick a .308 case in my die once, bad! I tried everything to extract it, using all the tried and true methods to no avail. I contacted RCBS, and sent the die in. I promptly received a new die, with a nice new copy of the die directions. In those directions, was a bright highlight over the section that said " do not use with nickle plated brass". :)
Of coarse the replacement was free with the nice little reminder.
I no longer resize plated brass, not worth my time.
If it works for you, carry on. Just know, that at some point, you may wish you didnt.
 
I have reloaded plenty of nickle plated brass. However, having said that, I did stick a .308 case in my die once, bad! I tried everything to extract it, using all the tried and true methods to no avail. I contacted RCBS, and sent the die in. I promptly received a new die, with a nice new copy of the die directions. In those directions, was a bright highlight over the section that said " do not use with nickle plated brass".
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That's interesting, baitpile! Thanks for the heads up.
 
I looked and could not find my paperwork from that stuck case incident. But I did locate this in the current instructions that come with RCBS dies...
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Yep, make sure the outside of the case is clean(and die bore is clean). I don't use expander/decapper in my sizing die. Than no worry about carbon, powder residue contaminating the die body.
 
I’ve been loading nickel plated federal brass in my RCBS SB 223/5.56 dies for years and have had no issues. I use imperial sizing wax and clean it thoroughly in my tumbler before loading. I also load a $hit ton of nickel plated pistol brass in my carbide dies in my Dillon presses and have had no issues. The nickel plated Winchester brand .357 splits fairly quick compared to other brands. Warm to hot loads using federal brass in my bigger bottle necked cartridges usually loosens primer pockets faster. Federal rifle brass is softer than say Winchester but I still use it.
 
I used to load nickel cases, but stopped when I figured they dulled the RCBS case trimmer cutter head.

I have since switched to a carbide cutter head, but I also do not load nickel cases any longer.
 
I have bags and bags of once fired LER nickel Speer 223/556 brass. Universal deprime, clean it, lube it, size it. Easy to find out shooting prairie dogs in the grass. Also have a dedicated supply of nickel 17 rem for my Lilja barreled hunting rifle, zero issues. Just ALWAYS clean plated brass.
 
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