.45 Colt Nickel Plated Case Warning

T

thedane

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2009
Messages
276
Reaction score
48
I recently fired some handloaded .45 Colt Cartridges in my Smith 4" 25-5. The load was 8.5 grs. Unique behind a Speer 250 gr. swaged lead bullet. The cases were new R-P nickel plated brass. In 50 rounds, I had 9 lengthwise split cases and 5 cases where the nickel peeled off the front of the case. The lengthwise split started about 1/4" from the case mouth and extended to about 1/4" from the case base. Some of the remaining 36 cases had some minor nickel peeling at the case mouth. I haven't had a drastic case splitting problem when using solid brass cases.

I just read the reviews on the Midway web site about R-P .45 Colt nickel plated cases and this seems to be a common problem.

I don't know what causes this problem but I thought members should be aware of this.

I have handloaded other calibers with nickel plated brass and have never had any problems.
 

Attachments

  • Colt Nickel Case.jpg
    Colt Nickel Case.jpg
    46.6 KB · Views: 362
Register to hide this ad
Nickel Plated cases / ammo looks nice but when I was reloading a lot of .45 ACP I learned real quick to use regular unplated brass. I got much better case life and less problems.
I don't think nickel plated cases were brought out with re-loading in mind.
 
If this happened the first time you reloaded the cases I'd contact the manufacturer. Looks like a plating issue...
 
brass

i had a lot of federal 32 mag. brass that would crack 3/4s the way down on the first reload, the brass was made when the cartidge first came out, i switched to starline and never had any more problems, this brass was nnot nickle plated.
 
I get more length-wise splits in the case body with Remington brass than any other brand, by a factor of 10 I bet, and it happens with their loaded handgun ammunition as well as their new brass. I never buy Remington brass or loaded ammo unless it is in a caliber nobody else makes, like .350 Rem Mag, .22 Rem Jet or, formerly, .45 Auto Rim. It just doesn't hold up.
 
the only time I had problems with nickel plated brass was the Remington 45 Colt a long time ago and it would appear there is still a problem. I have used nickel plated brass from Winchester and Federal without any problems.
 
I've reloaded a LOT of .357 nickel plated brass, haven't seen any undue problems. But I have heard that cracking does occur in other calibers.
 
I called Midway and they said to call Remington. I called Remington and they gave me an e-mail address to send my concerns to. I e-mailed Remington and I'll let you know what happens.
 
I load nickel cases (range brass) in .38, 9mm, .357 and .45 acp. They split no more or less often than plain brass... so far.
 
If that is brand new brass, then yes something is not right. Remington should take care of it for you.

I have nothing but nickle brass for my 357 Mag of all mixed headstamps and unknown how many times it's been reloaded.(a lot)
I have had a few split here and there, but never peel like that.
 
The only time I'll load nickle-plated brass is when I intend the cases to be put up for long-term storage. My regular practice and carry loads are all plain brass. I won't use nickle cases unless I can get them for free.

If you wear ammo in belt loops on a leather belt, they eliminate the corrosion problem.
 
I load nickle cases in .357 and have found they have about 75% the reload life as plain brass. I care not though as I got a whole bunch for a rediculous price. ;-)
 
In most 'old time' calibers such as .44-40 , .45 Colt and .45/70 , I use nickeled brass for my black powder loads. Cleans up easily and readily identifies it. Never had a spliting problem with Federal , Remington , Winchester or Starline.
 
I have 100 45 Colt R-P Nickel Plated cases some one gave me a few months back. I was told they were once fired.

I was prepping them to reload week before last and I had two of them split exactly as pictured in thedane's post while full length sizing them.

I looked the rest over closely and primed them. I think after I reload them and use them once, I'll toss them in the scrap bucket.
 
I've had trouble with 44 magnum and 44 special remington nickel plated brass too. It doesn't split but it really messes up my sizing die. No matter how clean I get the brass, it leaves some nickel in the die that scratches the regular brass when I go back to use my dies. So I have a separate sizing die I use for only plated cases. But I too only use the plated stuff for carry and long term storage. The 210 silvertips and nickel brass stay clean a long time.
 
I have 500 RP nickeled 45 Colt cases that I have been using for a couple of years or so. No issues like this. However, I learned early on that to load 45 Colt cases without sizing difficulties; I needed to lube the cases. I learned this after getting some cases stuck and having issues with plating being scraped off. After I started case lubing, no further issues and the cases go right through the sizing die. Even non-plated cases are difficult to get through the sizing operation without lube.
Try case lubing and see if it resolves your problems.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
.45 Colt Chamber Pressure for Model 25
2 3 4
Replies
70
Views
4K
steelslaver
steelslaver
J
45 colt
Replies
13
Views
692
Wyo
Wyo
Kyler Hamann
10mm Magnum Starline brass now available
Replies
1
Views
610
BLUEDOT37
BLUEDOT37
jsfricks
Berry 45 230gr. RN for 45 Colt?
Replies
11
Views
756
jsfricks
jsfricks
S
RCBS 45 ACP Shotshell Dies
Replies
4
Views
535
Sam McCord
S

Latest posts

Back
Top