Imperfect anneling vs non at all

[coldboreshot]

I must confess. I do not own one. But my best buddy has one. I'm sure glad he bought it!!!

Where I live, its like boating. Why invest in your own when you can enjoy someone else's.

 

[justinp61]

I'm not a high volume shooter or reloader. The issue I ran into before starting annealing was inconsistent shoulder bump, I'm sure the necks were inconsistent too. A few years ago I built a box set up for flame annealing and have been pleased with the results.

 

[KMW 1954]

I'm not a high volume shooter or reloader. The issue I ran into before starting annealing was inconsistent shoulder bump, I'm sure the necks were inconsistent too.

My greatest problem was the unexplained fliers. Once I started annealing those fliers were cut at first by 50-60%. Now I still get an occasional one or two but at the same time they are not 2+" outside the group. Especially with my 223 loads.

 

[Webster]

I'm not a high volume shooter or reloader. The issue I ran into before starting annealing was inconsistent shoulder bump, I'm sure the necks were inconsistent too. A few years ago I built a box set up for flame annealing and have been pleased with the results.View attachment 1653880View attachment 1653881

Similar to how I do it. Still a lot of bad info being put out on this website. It will never end. I anneal until I see red/orange for about 1 sec.

 

[BoydAllen]

While I don't anneal, I have helped friends get set up to do it. In both cases, their goals were met by flame annealing. Having said that, I want to point out that there seems to be a lot of bad advice on the internet. Some bullet, powder, application combinations work well with necks that are on the soft side, others do not. If you head a neck until any part of it glows you may find that it works, or doesn't depending on the application. In my friends' cases one was dealing with a shoulder bump uniformity issue for a couple of magnums. Both rifles were strictly used for hunting, with high recoiling situations, shooting heavy bullets, ammo fed from magazine, which would have made soft necks impractical. We were able to find a point where the bump became a lot more uniform, but the necks were not overly soft. The other friend had inconsistent seating force in a large batch of relatively new brass. He was able to improve that considerably. As I said, both fellows solved their problems with careful flame annealing. The fellow with the neck tension was working with a manually timed, very simple setup. I suggested an inexpensive electronic metronome to tick off the seconds. He said that that helped a lot.

 

[Dave M.]

To anneal or not anneal that is the question!!

I truly don’t even think it is a question. If you want to compete at the highest levels, you will either anneal or have an endless supply of new brass to rotate in which can present its own issues.
Dave

 

[Dave M.]

How many worry about cleaning brass before annealing? Ive always rubbed the neck and shoulder good with steel wool. I figure, most the black buldup on a case is carbon, corbon is a very good insulator.

More than I do to my own brass. Anneal it immediately after I get home from shooting.

 

[Dave M.]

I never put a super serious attempt into it but I always made sure to anneal every 3 loadings at least. I started out with the drill and spark plug socket. I had better luck with the cheap little Lee case head grabber tool, and I would hold and spin the little tool in my hands and I wouldnt need the large drill. I dont feel like high RPM on the brass is needed for a decent annealing, you probably want some RPM but I can do that by hand.
View attachment 1646292
I would normally anneal in the dark bathroom with a bowl of cold water, or sometimes with small batches just let the sink run some cold water, I would anneal and then dip at least the top half of the case into water quick and then drop them into a bowl of finished cases.

I tried a good few times to hold the case heads by hand while propane annealing, the tool is less painful.

No need to quench, no benefit

 

[D Coots]

Annealing has saved my turned brass for my prairie dog rifles. They were splitting like mad until then.

 

[Dave M.]

To much heat, not good.

Not enought heat, may be ok? Stress Relief. 485F degrees.

"Stress Relief vs. Annealing:
Stress relief aims to reduce internal stresses caused by cold working (like forming the case) without significantly softening the material. Annealing, on the other hand, involves heating the material to a higher temperature to soften it."

There has been no credible source of info or testing to show under annealed (aka stress relieved brass as you call it) has any benefit whatsoever.

 

[Dave M.]

Where I live, its like boating. Why invest in your own when you can enjoy someone else's.

lol. Sounds like Michigan brother. That’s what we say around here.

 

[Heavy Metal 1]

I made a ghetto version of Skip's Annealer by using a microwave oven motor driving a cutdown cookie tin. I used templaq in the brass to time it and determined that 6 seconds was right given the fixed distance I have the propane torch fixture set. I marked the inside of the tin with the 6 seconds mark. At that mark I drop the brass in one at a time so the time in the flame is consistant. I made a cutout in the tin so the brass piece will fall out after 6 seconds in the flame. My purpose was to increase brass longevity and for making 8x57 from 30-06. It is ugly as can be, but functional and has resulted in increased brass life so for me mission accomplished.