Nickle-plated ammo - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

crushert · 12-20-2005, 08:32 AM

Just curious, but what benefit does nickle-plated ammo (casings) have over brass? Seems the plating is touted as a benefit to aid in feeding, but how exactly does that work?

BigBob68 · 12-20-2005, 09:11 AM

Slicker finish. TAP is some good stuff.

JD McDorce · 12-20-2005, 09:36 AM

I use them because they look pretty.

Glancing around the web, I see:

improved feed
improved extraction
better chemical resistance than brass or aluminum

I can see the possibility of improved extraction, either due to higher hardness or a lower coefficient of friction - although I would expect that one would need a pretty crudded up chamber to notice a difference. Feed has me a bit puzzled, since most of the feed issues that I have seen are related to either the bullet or the lip of the case hanging up during feed (okay, there was the one time where the case dimensions were out of whack when I didn't have the dies set right). I suppose that if one had a situation where something was "digging into" the case during feed that a nickel plated case might feed better. It certainly has become a way to visually differentiate product.

SLCDave · 12-20-2005, 09:44 AM

The Nickel plated cases don't tarnish as easily or quickly as brass. On a duty belt, that might be a consideration.

mr0w1 · 12-20-2005, 10:30 AM

They also get very scratched up when reloading them in non-carbide dies.

mullanman · 12-20-2005, 02:04 PM

1. Do not tarnish
2. cycle easier in my dillons with both lee and dillon dies
3. Slicker action in the gun.

creepyrat · 12-20-2005, 03:44 PM

they dont tarnish and stick in the chamber if you neglect to unload the gun for a long time.

JesterXD40 · 12-20-2005, 04:32 PM

something for the rifle reloader and nickel plated is it takes up space inthe case if your rinning a compressed load, it might up the chamber pressures to much.

It stores really well. I keep all my long term loads in nickel.

darkfire · 12-21-2005, 02:31 PM

Can you buy this stuff anywhere ammo is sold or is it less available?

JD McDorce · 12-21-2005, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkfire

Can you buy this stuff anywhere ammo is sold or is it less available?

For factory ammo, nickel plated casings seem to be most common on some of the high-end defense ammo (Federal Hydra-Shoks as an example). The only target/plinking grade ammo that I've seen with nickel plated casings is Ultramax remanufactured ammo where there were a few mixed in amongst the conventional brass casings.

For handloading/reloading, availability of nickel plated brass depends on where you shop and what they carry. I don't see much locally - my inventory of nickel plated brass was ordered from Midway (with the exception of the spent Ultramax and Hydra-Shok cases).

12-20-2005, 08:32 AM	#1
crushert XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 274	Nickle-plated ammo Just curious, but what benefit does nickle-plated ammo (casings) have over brass? Seems the plating is touted as a benefit to aid in feeding, but how exactly does that work? __________________ XD9 Service Model "The State is the great fiction by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else." - Frederic Bastiat, 19th century philosopher-economist

12-20-2005, 09:36 AM	#3
JD McDorce XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Westland, MI Posts: 1,267	I use them because they look pretty. Glancing around the web, I see: improved feed improved extraction better chemical resistance than brass or aluminum I can see the possibility of improved extraction, either due to higher hardness or a lower coefficient of friction - although I would expect that one would need a pretty crudded up chamber to notice a difference. Feed has me a bit puzzled, since most of the feed issues that I have seen are related to either the bullet or the lip of the case hanging up during feed (okay, there was the one time where the case dimensions were out of whack when I didn't have the dies set right). I suppose that if one had a situation where something was "digging into" the case during feed that a nickel plated case might feed better. It certainly has become a way to visually differentiate product. __________________ XD9 Service/XD9 Tactical/XD40 Tactical/XD45ACP Service Colt Series 80 GCNM/Springfield Black Stainless/Browning Hi-Power Practical/SIG P220

12-20-2005, 09:44 AM	#4
SLCDave XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 1,983	The Nickel plated cases don't tarnish as easily or quickly as brass. On a duty belt, that might be a consideration. __________________ We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate. Thomas Jefferson Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

12-20-2005, 10:30 AM	#5
mr0w1 XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,525	They also get very scratched up when reloading them in non-carbide dies. __________________ guns.freaksho.net - My awesome gun website! More guns than ever! (Last updated: July 24, 2006)

12-20-2005, 02:04 PM	#6
mullanman XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,909	1. Do not tarnish 2. cycle easier in my dillons with both lee and dillon dies 3. Slicker action in the gun. __________________ USPSA L2683

12-20-2005, 09:11 AM	#2
BigBob68 XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Missouri Posts: 518	Slicker finish. TAP is some good stuff.

12-20-2005, 03:44 PM	#7
creepyrat XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: MI Posts: 297	they dont tarnish and stick in the chamber if you neglect to unload the gun for a long time.

12-20-2005, 04:32 PM	#8
JesterXD40 XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Pulaski Pa Posts: 411	something for the rifle reloader and nickel plated is it takes up space inthe case if your rinning a compressed load, it might up the chamber pressures to much. It stores really well. I keep all my long term loads in nickel. __________________ 1 4\" 40 1 M&P .40 M&P Forums

12-21-2005, 02:31 PM	#9
darkfire XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 142	Can you buy this stuff anywhere ammo is sold or is it less available?

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