I see some custom shops in USA have .338 plated brass for close to $60/100-WOW has that price ever gone up high !!!!!!!!
Only a few main advantages to nickel-it just does'nt corrode when wet/dry like brass will. And it looks different and for safety reasons if you have two calibers in your truck and grab the wrong gun .....the shiny nickel tells you what you have in your hand and this alone could save your life. Some guys say they don't like the nickel plate as it's a heck of allot harder case on the inside/outside and in the primer pocket too and they say it could wreck or damage chamber or what ever. Some say it chips off during resizing and I don't ever remember seeing that in my dies. I doubt it in any regard and why would they have made it for so many years ???? Most gun chambers are alloy steel or 17-4 pH or 416SS and I don't think it will hurt anything. May help the brass last longer after repeated firing/reloads as the plating is very corrosion resistant. Will not corrode under normal conditions and that is a fact. Brass turns green when you get it wet and dry and those oxides like that could likely wreak havoc in your chamber eventually so that's again another good reason to use plated brass I guess. (Silver bullets !!!
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Why we can't get it anymore is a question that someone should answer ......... maybe not much demand and thus why sell it !!! I miss it though !! Used to be very available a few years ago in most calibers from a few of the OEM's that make ammunition/reloading components. Now nothing in the stores and we've looked hard in many places. Would cost them a bit more to make it and that's for sure but generally did not cost that much more. But price of nickel really went up last few years and that may have made it too expensive too and no one would pay the added price ??? I doubt that too since the plated thickness is likely only a few thousanths and that would not cost much. If you have the answer let us know !!! Call Federal or Remington and find out !!!
A few guys here are talking about it too:
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbu...ad.php?t=19645