brass versus nickel cases

Hi All, I'm getting ready to load up some .45ACP and have a question. I inherited a bunch of nickel cases in excellent shape. Are there any pros/cons reloading brass versus nickel??
Thanks,
Phil

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein

I have found the nickel plated ones don't last as well as the brass (they seem to crack sooner).That having been said I don't have anything in .45 acp. But I have found it to be true in .38 spec. .357 mag. .40 S&W .44 mag. and maybe something else I forgot. YMMV

Old retired guy in Baton Rouge.

Boolit Master Join DateDec 2011LocationWest central WyomingPosts175

I see the same thing, more cracks with plated brass.
I never keep track of cases like straight walled handgun stuff and I know a lot of the plated brass I used was pretty old and have no idea how many times I reloaded it.
Also had some peel off bits of nickle plating, but I never saw any die damage from it.
Finally accumulated enough plain brass cases that I don't even use the nickle stuff anymore.

good thing about the plated is it goes early.
I have some that has had the plating all but worn off from reloading it so many times.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Imho the nickel plated ones are more brittle and do not expand (in german we say "lidern", sorry I don't know the english word) in the chamber as good as the pure brass.
And the plated ones get broken earlier.

I have a couple of 3-lb coffee cans full of W-W nickle .45's that have been reloaded so many times the cannelure is ironed out I have had NO trouble with nickle .45's. YMMV...

Echo
USAF Ret
NRA Patron
O&U
If a man is in the desert, and says something, and there are no women around to hear him, is he still wrong?

All nickel go into my scrap bucket. They may or may to give trouble, but it ain't worth it to me.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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