357 Nickle cases

[Duskykiller]

Everything being the same will a nickle 357 case generate higher pressure than a brass case? Will either one of the cases nickle or brass be more or less prone to hard extraction?

[OKFC05]

Everything else being equal, the case with the smaller internal volume will have the higher pressure, regardless of finish.

Cases that are hard to extract because the case over expanded show the specific load in that specific chamber needs to be reduced. You can't just use the max load out of a table and assume it is OK.

[john traveler]

Nickle-plated cases are slicker than brass cases, and extraction force is less.

[Duskykiller]

I am not using a max load I am using a load I have used before. The only difference is the nickle case. Purchased 1000 Nickle Remington once fired cases. They show no pressure signs in my 627 but will not extract from a 28-2. The actual load is 9.2 grains of unique with a 125 XTP with mag primer. I will reduce the load to 8.5 grains and try again with the nickle case.

[OKFC05]

Been shooting .38s in the 28?

Are the chambers totally clean and dry?

[Duskykiller]

Have shoot some 358 but did a good cleaning before the 357.

[harry carey]

my experience is that nickel cases are brittle and thinner.

[jrm53]

Years ago when law enforcement folks carried .357's I thought the nickel case were for them so they wouldnt turn green in their belts like brass ones would, this was just what I thought no one ever said that.

[n4zov]

I like nickel plated cases but they are a little more prone to have split necks after a few loadings. Trimming the cases very slightly before loading the first time seems to greatly reduce this problem.

[BUFF]

The ammo makers load their premium hollowpoint pistol rounds in nickel cases becaue they are 'more slippery' and extract easier. The practice started with .357 Magnum rounds in the 1970's. By the mid 1980's it was hard to find factory-loaded .357 jhp ammo with plain brass cases.

If the nickel cases you have are harder to extract than a brass case in the same gun, the difference is something other than the nickel plating.

[leas327]

I always thought the nickle cases were for corrosion resistance. The the slippery extraction makes sense though.
I do know that nickel cases will wear out dies faster because the nickle is a lot harder than brass. I doubt that its a big deal on carbide resizers.
Also when brass work hardens it gets brittle and cracks but nickle (like all ferrous metals) will get softer.

[Drail]

One of my very old reloading books states that nickel plated brass was designed to withstand the higher pressures of magnum cartridges for one firing. But if the cases are expanded on firing and then resized to reload the nickel and the brass will begin to separate because the bond weakens with all that stretching and compression. They were never intended to be reloaded. Most of the ammo producers would much rather nobody reloads ammo. They do not care one whit about how corrosion resistant your cases are. I avoid reloading nickel cases because I have seen the plating flake off and stick to resizing dies.

[chriske]

The only diference I ever noticed is that I can reload regular brass cases more often than nickeled ones.
The nickeled ones start splitting at the mouth sooner. Sometimes the nickel starts "peeling of" as well,