WHAT DOES ANNEALING DO?

[leeloader]

IM NEW TO RELOADING BUT WANT THE MOST ACCURATE LOADS I CAN MAKE. WAS WONDERING IS ANNEALING IS WORTH THE TIME AND WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT DO.

[bigt73]

brass can get work hardend after so many fl sizings, so some people annel the brass to soften it back up to, stop it splitting. think you usually get 4-5 firings before you need to do it.
i always just neck sizing if i can, if my bolt does not drop with a slight touch then i fl size the case, usally just knocking the shoulder back about 2 to 3 thou....
thats my take on it.

[Bill K]

Annealing basically is the process to keep metal, in this case, your brass in the neck area plyable. So it does not get brittle and crack as fast. i.e. more life out of a given case from reloading and working the brass, along with the shooting of said case. Get, most any good reloading manual, and usually in the front they tell the process to reload and also will discuss and show how to anneal a case. Bill K

[DoubleUp]

I have routinely annealed cases after 3 firings for a long time. I've never had a split neck on a case. Actually I'm thinking about just annealing after every firing because it doesn't take that much time. I just use a cordless drill with the appropriate sized socket and a propane torch.

[wirelessguy2005]

Here is a link to our website that shows our annealing tools as well as a video about annealing. Take a quick look and you will get a better idea of the annealing process. http://www.customreloadingtools.com/crt_006.htm

[leeloader]

THANKS FOR THE INFO AND VIDEO THAT SOMETHING I NEED TO DO. IT WOULD BE WELL WORTH IT TO EXTEND CASE LIFE

[jo191145]

FWIW

Full length or neck sizing makes no difference really. Its the necks that get hardened first especially in loose factory rifle chambers.
Once a piece of brass is fireformed its the neck that gets all the major brass movement. And moving brass makes it harden, the reverse of steel.

Now if you compare a bushing necksizer to a standard FL sizer thats a different story. Any standard die NS orFL will size the brass more than needed.
Its erroneus to compare a standard vs a bushing or collet

Also, if you allow your brass to harden to the point where the necks are not expanding then anneal you may need to reset shoulder bump on a FL die.

[HoundofSC]

I have 308's that are on their 10th reload now with necks as good as new. The primer pockets will go before the neck if you anneal regularly and correctly.

I just use a propane torch from the local home store, a cordless drill with a socket big enough to accommodate the case with a bit of extra room. do it my darkened garage at night, spin the case neck in the flame till I see a dull glow, dump it in a coffee can of H20. Takes about 15 - 20 minutes to do 50 cases. New cases run 70 cents to over a dollar each depending on the caliber, I want to get the max life possible. Also I shoot fairty mild loads so I only anneal every 4th reload