AGE HARDENING

[mr45man]

Somebody told me " never believe anything you read on the internet"

Yes that was a quote by Abraham Lincoln.

 

[Ringostar]

Yes that was a quote by Abraham Lincoln.

He must have known Al Gore.

 

[Webster]

Since I spent 30+ years as an engineer in major aerospace corporations I can refute your claim that “engineers are never allowed to be spokespersons” . But that aside, even if she is acting entirely as a marketing type, the question asked was a technical question and technical questions get technical answers. The inquiry was likely sent to the metallurgy department for a technical response for her to send. Her response is factual. The claims from Norma and that company that provides ‘annealing services” is wrong. They’re in the business of selling new brass or services. I have Norma ammunition that is over 40 years old. Still hasn’t cracked.

Thanks for the backup. Too many people don't want to believe or understand what real data is. Maybe it helps to be involved with metallurgy / failure analysis or a techy business. I had a 45/70 cartridge that was loaded before 1900 with black powder. The case was as soft as a new case.

 

[LHSmith]

FWIW- when the .17 HMR first came out, the cases (Hornady at least) were notorious for developing cracked necks (before firing). This has been discussed ad-naseum on RimfireCentral. So due to improper anneal the bullet tension forces over time apparently caused a high incidence of split necks- I've had up to a dozen in a box of 50. I have to believe they split after shipment due to the vast number without QC catching them.. Knowing this, I would periodically check the open boxes of ammo to check if more splits occurred. Some did- even when stored in my finished basement which is temp and humidity controlled. IMO time was the only factor that changed. Just to play it safe I go one further now by putting all my rimfire ammo in a sealed ammo case and all my CF brass in MTM cases with the lid closed once I take it from the bulk bag or box.
If you have a problem with it being called "aged" brass, maybe a more fitting name would be "seasoned" brass. I, myself, much prefer to be called a "seasoned" citizen over a senior citizen.

 

[Mozella]

It is one of those things that is a 50/50 shot. Below is from the Buckeye Bullets and Brass website



Annealing Services

Annealing services are available for either fired brass that has become work hardened by several loadings or new brass that you feel would benefit for this softening process.

We have seen brass that is new in the box but that has been stored for several years to be is “hard”. This makes turning concentric necks more difficult, as well as a higher case loss due to cracked shoulders during fire forming.

Expanding the necks up to a larger caliber often results in split necks. We alleviate this problem by annealing the brass first to lower the number of pieces of brass that are culled due to split necks and rendered useless.

Based on grammar alone, I would reject this hypothesis.

 

[dickn52]

Stuff gets harder every time you shoot it. That's why we anneal.

 

[rardoin]

Stuff gets harder every time you resize it. That's why we anneal.

Fixed it for you

 

[dickn52]

Fixed it for you

Maybe, but it becomes brittle with repeated firing too.

 

[Texas10]

Found another article or two, interesting reading although they contain no references so won't make the grade for scientific papers. It does address some of the history of primer composition and split necks. Purely for entertainment purposes, of course.

The second article addresses corrosive primers and how to tell if the ammo you purchased from Soviet block or Chinese sources contains corrosive primers. Good read, especially for those who like to buy cheap plinking ammo.

https://www.bevfitchett.us/ballistics/priming-compounds-and-primers-introduction.html
And, http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2013/08/corrosive-ammunition.html