Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Nickle or Not?

After many years of owning 7mm-08 and 7mm Rem Mag's, outstanding cartridges, I'm planning to pick up a .280 Mtn Rifle from a guy on the forum.

Looking at brass to fuel the purchase, I found that my favorite, Winchester, is only available in nickle, at $20/50.

My experience with .38/.357 nickle is that you need to polish/remove the nickle from the die at regular intervals to keep the build up from scoring cases.

Remington brass is through the roof for their own .280, should I just go with the Win. stuff, or pay the extra for Remington?

i have not had any trouble with reloading nickel brass

+1

No problems with nickel.

no probs here either ...

I use nickle all the time in my 6/06, no issues.

Dober

don't know that I'd purchase it new, but I've used it in a couple calibers for years with no issues.

Never had a problem with nickel. A little harder to trim but never need to be cleaned.

I guess I'll be the first dissenter. I bought some Winchester 300 WM brass for my then new rifle. I don't like it. It sizes harder, and it is more brittle IME. It looks way sexier, but at my age, build and religious persuasion ( ) that ain't a real drawing card for me anymore.

I have also reloaded at least a gazillion pistol rounds in various chamberings, and found the nickle brass there didn't last as long, and was harder to resize. Now, I use a rockchucker, and the "harder to resize" thing is not like impossible, but it requires more effor, and it "feels" like the casings are rougher, or something.

I don't use them at all any more. YMMV (and obviously for most of you, it does.)

+2 Iuse 338WM Rem Nickel with no problems

I've never really had any problems with it, but I have had the plating start to come off after several reloads on a few nickel cases. Never had any problem with nickel in pistol cases. It's alot easier to see expansion rings in bottle necked Nickel brass IMO torwards the end of it's life.

Good Luck

Reloader7RM

This is all good to hear as I have a ton of nickle 7 mm Rem mag cases about to be resized to .264 WM.

what I like about my nickel brass, is that it helps keep things sorted out between loads ... meaning, I only have about 150 nickel .223 cases ... I use those for my 75g Amax loads ... I use normal brass for the 50g Vmax loads ...

besides that, the nickel brass and the moly coated 75g Amax's look sinister as all get out ... (grin)

Here is some info I found on the subject.
http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm#Nickel_Brass

Thanks a lot guys, turns out I got there, and looked at a Stainless M77 Mtn. rifle in 7mm-08, NIB, and I grabbed it and ran for the door.

But HUNTER718's .280 was, in fact, in mint condition.

I use nothing but WW nickel in my 280AI. Through the fireforming process and so far up to 6 firings with some brass, not a flake. No problems that I can see!

IME, Nickel lacks consistency, particularly in neck thickness, compared to same manufacture brass. FWIW.

I've used nickel plated brass for 8 to 10 different calibers. Never had a problem. The nickel takes less time to polish. Calibers range from the 223 right up to the 300 Weatherby. Finished product always looks like Federal good stuff.

Ken