When I was developing loads for my 2" 12 gauge, I got some nickel plated shot from precision reloading for grouse loads. This, despite being warned by GLS that it may not pattern well. I should have listened. It performed quite poorly on the pattern board in fiber-wad loads. I went back to unplated magnum lead. YMMVBMN.
This is curious since PR claims their Ni plate starts as 6% Sb shot.
BPI, the only other vendor of Ni plate I'm aware of, also claims they use a thick plated coating on their shot but they don't mention the initial hardness before plating.
I've used Ni plate #5 from BPI with perfect satisfaction in pheasant loads, the shot obtained many years ago when I believe they stated it was sourced from Italy.
How it can pattern poorly would seem a mystery... the harder the better as far as pattern percentage.
In fact, in my experience steel shot does not respond to choke at all. It simply prints Full, which in my opinion rather refutes any of the 'vector' nonsense explanations about how choke works.
