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AMP: Standard vs AZTEC?

vonb

I just received my AMP recently. The directions mention to use the AZTEC over the standard annealing process. I like the fact that AZTEC can get the annealing perfect for your lot of brass. However, I dislike the idea of destroying a high $ piece of brass and it more so leaving me odd counts in a lot of brass.

With that said, how many of you are using the standard process with the pre-defined code as opposed to using the analyze function in AZTEC. Also, how is the standard process working out for you?
 
vonb said:
I get it. The money isn't as much of the issue as it is my OCD of having 49/50 pieces of brass.
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I was exactly where you are. I grew up flame annealing. I like 50 spaces filled in a 50 round box. I previously annealed about every 3rd to 5'th firing depending on how much work the neck was receiving.

I got over it. But I do keep very good records and the Aztec case in a small zip lock bag with the Aztec code written on both the case and the bag in my Case Guard box. To sacrifice a 2'nd one would bother me.

Now I anneal every firing. For my Peterson brass, I do look up there Aztec results and when my lot shows, I use theirs to save that piece of brass. But I got over it, you should too. Enjoy KNOWING they are annealed to the best of what is available.
 
I use Lapua brass. They always send 2 to 3 extras. So sacrificing 1 is not a big deal to me. I totally get that you don't want to destroy brass. I didn't either. I work around this by making 3 batches of 25 out of each box of 100. I use the extra 25 to backfill ones I cull out.
PopCharlie
 
I don’t know how much it “really matters”. But the codes can differ from lot of brass to lot of brass. Same caliber. My codes even change over time with the same brass. So is using amps preset modes really the way to go? Wasting some brass is a necessary evil I guess.
 
Out of 100 pieces, I end up culling a few anyway. One more does not matter. Sometimes I will test another case after five or six firings, just to see if the code is the same. The code will change depending on how you clean your neck. Also, I think it takes the AMP time to warm up. I usually run a couple of old pieces of brass through the process before testing a new lot.
 
AZTEC only for me. Brass, like barrels, are consumables, though brass outlasts barrels for me. What matters are the skills I develop, and non-optimally annealed brass might get in the way of that.

I just sorted 300 pieces of ADG 7 SAUM brass. I wound up with two groups of about 150 that were within one grain of each other. I necked up all 150 to 30 cal and then turned the necks. Eight of the 150 didn't have as consistent of neck walls as I like after I turned them. I still fire-formed all 150, but the eight slightly out of spec ones became my sacrificial cases.

NOTE: We can't use a case that is too much out of spec if we want an accurate AZTEC code.

Worrying about not having an even number of cases, to the point we we won't sacrifice one for AZTEC code generation; so misses the mark that it makes me wonder if such people should even be allowed to have an AMP......
 
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INTJ said:
Worrying about not having an even number of cases, to the point we we won't sacrifice one for AZTEC code generation; so misses the mark that it makes me wonder if such people should even be allowed to have an AMP......
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Sorry to live rent free in your head as you're wondering. :)
 
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INTJ said:
It was first time wondering about this so it's more like a deposit via credit card hold vs actual rent........... :cool:
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in the spirit of wanting the utmost accuracy and going to AZTEC route, do you turn necks as well INTJ?
 
vonb said:
in the spirit of wanting the utmost accuracy and going to AZTEC route, do you turn necks as well INTJ?
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Mainly for my LR BR rifles. I can use more brass that way. I want minimal variation in neck wall thickness, but many cases in a lot have too much. By having a tight necked chamber and tuning the necks I can fix those variations without having too much clearance between the case neck and the chamber.

As to getting the utmost in accuracy, we don't need to neck turn or anneal. At present, the smallest 1000 yd 5-shot group (a little over an inch) was shot with a no-turn neck.

With a hunting rifle--even a highly accurate one--I haven't seen where neck wall thickness variations of .0015" makes a difference. With good brass, 80-90% of the cases will meet that spec.

So for me, neck turning is mainly a way to use more brass n a lot for a BR rifle. On occasion I'll turn necks in a hunting gun, either to get more acceptable cases or if I have necked up a smaller caliber; but those are very light cuts.

Now I do anneal after every firing with my AMP. However, that isn't to improve accuracy, it's to extend case life on brass that I have spent a lot of time prepping. We can get just as good of accuracy by not annealing at all--as long as we keep the cases together and make sure they all have the same number of firings in them.
 
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