Brass or nickel

[TEXASforLIFE]

What's your preference and reason?

 

[Tenbones]

Both work for me.

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

The good thing about nickel is that it is slick and improves function, at least in my firearms pistol or rifles.

 

[Roscoe]

I loaded the hunting /carry rounds, the stuff I was extra careful loading, in nickle. It is a little slicker and less likely to malfunction. The practice /plinking stuff went in brass.

 

[SMSgtRod]

From a reloading aspect: Brass is great all around, Nickel I have issues with. I seem to get very few times
around with Nickel. Sometimes on the third or forth expansion of the case mouth the case splits.
Many times I find split Nickel cases when decapping/resizing which means it split when fired.
Most troublesome in my book are the Starline Nickel cases.
I have little trouble with my reloads feeding as I clean the brass REAL well.

 

[Azmarlin39a]

For carry ammo I prefer nickel cases. This goes back to my old days with revolvers, and extra ammo in leather loops. It probably doesn't mean much today, but old habits are hard to break.

 

[RandomHero]

I use brass for practice. And for self defense, I use Federal HST in all pistol calibers as in 9mm, .40 Cal, and 45 ACP which is nickel plated

 

[Maks_Ameau]

For me, I don’t think either one is better than the other. I don’t reload and the harshest environment I go to is the mall....

 

[RandomHero]

This topic is well explained in this article.

Brass vs Nickel Plated Brass Cases for Ammo & Reloading

What's the difference between Brass and Nickel Plated Brass cases? We'll go over the pros and cons of each with regards to ammo and reloading.

www.pewpewtactical.com

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

Thanks for the thread!

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

It's on spot for sure. I haven't had any problems so far, but it is more finicky.

 

[southtex]

I practice with mainly Freedom Munitions and they are brass
Carry rounds are nickel

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

I practice with mainly Freedom Munitions and they are brass
Carry rounds are nickel

Are you in south Texas, because I'm in north Texas, not as in Dallas area. I guess it is really the panhandle.

 

[southtex]

Are you in south Texas, because I'm in north Texas, not as in Dallas area. I guess it is really the panhandle.

Yes on the gulf cost

 

[223kid]

I throw all nickel OUT. I ruined a die one time. Called the MFR., they said "did you read your paperwork that came with your die? They then informed me that they don't recommend using nickel in their dies. Only load brass. I reload MANY different calibers. Not fond of nickel

 

[Believer]

Yes on the gulf cost

I miss Aransas Pass and Rockport. San Antonio native, far removed

 

[Believer]

I throw all nickel OUT. I ruined a die one time. Called the MFR., they said "did you read your paperwork that came with your die? They then informed me that they don't recommend using nickel in their dies. Only load brass. I reload MANY different calibers. Not fond of nickel

I do prefer brass, more available and compatible with all equipment.

 

[Wayward Son]

you can leave nickle in a mag or whatever & it won't tarnish or turn nasty, where over time brass can. especially if it gets exposed to any moisture.

resizing it takes noticeably less effort than brass. I like it for pistol ammo, though I load/shoot a lot more brass than nickle. While it really doesn't matter to me, if the factory ammo I end up choosing for my daily carry is nickle I see it as a plus, but if it's brass that's not a deal breaker either. Reliable and accurate enough are the primary criteria for that, for me.

all the same things hold true for rifle brass, but trimming is a problem so I use only brass for all my rifle ammo.