Nickel plated cases?

[NapaCountyShooter]

I was just gifted an old rockchucker by a friend as he is moving to a smaller place in SF and won't have time or space to reload anymore. It 's my first press. It came with all the accessories and everything for .357/.38 and .308. My question is this. He gave me about 200 once fired .357 mag cases. About 25 of them were brass and the rest were I'm guessing nickel. Don't think they were aluminum. They were a mixture of mostly PMC and Win. Super mag cases. I seperated them but was wondering if the nickel cases are any good for reloading or if I should just chuck em. Can't wait to get my carbide .45acp die set so I don't have to go searching anymore. Thanks in advance.

[stewiegriffin]

Nickel Cases

You can reload them but inspect them, just like you would any other cartridge. Nickel cases do not last as long as brass.

[Sabot]

Don't chuck 'em, nickel reloads just fine. I prefer them over brass because they clean-up better in my tumbler.

[Memnok]

Yup, nickel is good to go. Just don't reload the aluminum.

[Memnok]

Wow, ya gotta be fast around here.

[NapaCountyShooter]

Thanks guys, I don't think any of them are aluminum. None of them are Blazer and they all have some nice weight to them. I'll reload them as well.

[Low-Pressure]

As mentioned above they clean up real nice. Most of my nickel brass are marked +P, and I use them for my defensive round (hot loads).

[Fyathyrio]

Nickel is great! I use nickel for .357 (Don't shoot that often) and brass for .38 (Frequently shoot) for a quick and easy distinction between the two cases, makes reloading easier.

[Full Clip]

I use nickel for my lead-free reloads in .223, 30-06 and .303 Brit.
Again, easy distinction from other my ammo.

[shooting4life]

You have to make sure the nickle does not stare to flake off. If you get nickle flack in your dies it could mess up the die/brass afterwards.

[sargenv]

I've never had nickel flake off of cartridge brass. It does eventually wear thin and expose the brass if you are shooting low power catridges like 38 spl or 45 acp, but usually it just splits the case due to dis-similar metals. I have several 38 spl cases that are still loadable that have been reloaded so many times that the brass is showing through the nickel plating.

[jumpthestack]

It's very easy to tell the difference between nickel and aluminum. Nickel is shiny, aluminum cases are dull.

[Cowboy T]

Nickel is great! I use nickel for .357 (Don't shoot that often) and brass for .38 (Frequently shoot) for a quick and easy distinction between the two cases, makes reloading easier.

Hey, that's how I do it, too!

I've got this great pair of loads for .38 Special. One's a Keith-style "HV" load using 2400, and the other's a powder-puff load using Bullseye. The light load gets yellow brass, and the HV load gets the nickel. It also helps that all of my nickel cases are actually marked .38 Spl +P. :-)

Use them thar cases, pardner, and get to reloadin'!

[Southpaw45]

I got nickel cases mixed up in my 45 Colt supply and they have been loaded so many times that most of the nickel plating is gone. They almost look like a brass case again. I load my brass for 45 Colt until the case splits but the loads are light...