Is a AMP Annealer an essential piece of equipment for everyone?

[Ccrider]

I have tried it all. Open flame, salt bath, automated type with open flame. I would not say that any of them made the results on paper better. Each of them made neck tension more consistent.
Salt bath was as consistent as my Amp. Just a lots more involved.
Open flame was good enough but takes more time to get consistent results.
The automated type that drops your cases and then spins them in the open flame worked fine once you get everything timed right.
The advantage with the Amp is that it saves a lot of time. In the time that it takes to set up the other annealers, I am finished amnealkng with the Amp and with more consistent results. For me, if I am going to anneal and can afford it, the Amp would be my first choice. If o could not afford the Amp, I would go with salt bath just because it is so consistent. If I was not comfortable playing with hot liquids, then I would go with open flame.

 

[johara1]

why do people have issue with open flame? yet they cook on a gas stove that is more efficent than electric. Remember they are selling a product and try to make it look better than it is, and dazzle you with BS....... Annealed is annealed, end of story..... jim

 

[Ccrider]

why do people have issue with open flame? yet they cook on a gas stove that is more efficent than electric. Remember they are selling a product and try to make it look better than it is, and dazzle you with BS....... Annealed is annealed, end of story..... jim

Agreee. Open flames anneal just fine. Just a little slower time set up and more difficult to keep consistent. If you over anneal, the neck does not hold the bullet. Definitely a longer learning curve than curve than just dipping a case into the Amp or into hot salt.

 

[johara1]

4 sec. is slow? after ten years you learn to do it right, and fix what Lapua screwed up.... jim

 

[Ccrider]

4 sec. is slow? after ten years you learn to do it right, and fix what Lapua screwed up.... jim

You can’t buy ten years of experience.

 

[Retired Grunt]

Mine may have just became really unessential, the internal fuse just blew, I inserted the replacement and it blew too. I am going to try and replace with a third, if it blows then back it goes. There is another thread somewhere about this somewhere on the site.

 

[Gappmast]

Lets face it for annealing heat is heat doesn't mater the source. That being said I sold a very well made torch system and bought the AMP and never a regret. The reason I sold the flame system was because I was never sure I was getting the same results each time. I would spend 20 minutes setting up with a old case trying to get the flames just right. With the AMP I'm making good cases in under 2 minutes and confident the results is the same as last time.

 

[johara1]

I measure the pencil point of the flame and make it the same every time speed is a no brainer..... jim

 

[normmatzen]

I made a claim up in section 2 of this thread about my ANNIE annealing 100 cases in about 30 minutes.

I was wrong, I just finished annealing 100 6BRX cases including tapping each case on the work bench to shake the crushed walnut shells out. It took exactly 17.5 seconds.
In all fairness, if I had been annealing 284 WIN cases at 2.1 seconds for a difference of 4 seconds per case for a total of 24 minutes

I'm a happy annealer!

 

[antelopedundee]

I've never annealed a case and never will.

 

[PatMiles]

I've never annealed a case and never will.

To each his own.

 

[JimPag]

Well annealing is annealing so some people say. I owned a flame annealer and bottom line it's a pain in the ass to set up if you don't have the room to leave it set up. I acquired 4 AMP annealers along the way the only one that I own is a MK2 version. I can take it with me and place it on a table in my motorhome and anneal all day. Try doing that with an annealer that uses propane. With the AMP i've noticed that my neck tension when I seat bullets with K&M with forcepack is narrower than when I used the torch method, but I've never noticed the slightly narrower seating pressure difference when it came to shooting better groups on paper. I've know world class shooters that anneal only twice a year and some that don't anneal at all. The guy's that are against an AMP have never owned one, but the guy's who have them know it's a better mousetrap. It's like comparing a VW bug to a Lambo. They will both get you from point A to point B, but in all honesty if you had a choice which would you rather drive? It would be boring if we all had an AMP annealer because there wouldn't be this thread. So whatever you think works for you have at it.

 

[normmatzen]

Yea! I know I used the wrong units! It took 17.5 MINUTES not seconds! What do you expect from an old retired Engineer?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Not for me..

 

[Mike Lum]

$1850 Plus shipping!@! wtf.
For the cost of that thing I could buy a custom barrel that would have a lot more effect on my groups.
Same market as those that buy the $5000 optics for $10K custom made rifles I suppose.. must be nice.

 

[searcher]

I think if one wants to get the most out of their brass - and they shoot a lot - it definitely makes sense to have an annealing machine - though I think the AMP numbers are pretty expensive equipment for the average shooter. I have gotten used to my gas setup and it would take a lot for me to entertain a switch. Quality gas setups work very well - and can be had for much less- but do require having some scrap brass on hand to get a few pieces in the first rotation to be sure all adjustments are right where you want them. My recommendation would be to buy one of these good units for a good price off of someone who is "upgrading" to an AMP. I can anneal several thousands of pieces on a 2-lb MAP gas cylinder. I've lost track of how many cylinders I have used up - but it is a bunch. That would equate to tens of thousands of pieces that probably saw double the life of brass not annealed. You can easily see how that can save money - but if you only shoot a few thousand rounds or less per year - I'm not sure I'd even bother. Say you buy two boxes of Lapua 6Br, run ten loadings and discard (2,000 shots fired), your annual brass cost would be around $250.00. You could do that for years before you would ever recoup the cost of any kind of new quality machine. Because I have annealed for so many years - I couldn't even say how long Lapua brass would last without annealing - even with a tight neck and minimal sizing. I say ten loadings because I get about five out of my A/R's before necks start to split (Lake City brass) and I'd guess one could expect twice that in a bolt gun using Lapua. I go through a LOT of A/R brass and it isn't always available in times of shortages. Nice to know you can get extra life out of what would otherwise be retired early. Getting that extra life is an extra bonus if your turn your necks and do other labor-intensive things like weight sorting, primer pocket leveling, flash hole uniform, etc. Whichever way you go - if you REALLY think this will be a lifetime sport - I'd buy some type of annealing machine.

 

[JimSC]

so many misconceptions about what annealing does and does not do I have gave up on trying to correct the various old wives tales. The biggest of course is over annealing. A long as you do not flash off the zinc you are good to go. A plumbers torch heating the case neck to a dull red will a good of an anneal as any $1K+ annealing machine.

 

[1kbrxDave]

boy i hope not everyone buys one that competes at long range target shooting ---some one has to looses we cant all finish in a tie.

 

[Richard Coody]

Totally depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you have gone down the rabbit hole and are trying to get that last tenth out of your group then it is probably warranted. it certainly will make neck tension more consistent. Consistency is what we look for in all our reloading techniques. No more consistent annealing than the amp.

If you are a novice just learning precision reloading or just the average shooter or a hunter then there are better tools to spend your money on.

As for brass life. I don't see that annealing improves that. I don't lose cases to split necks but to loose primer pockets. Split necks usually are due to overworked brass. Try a different sizing method.

 

[Retired Grunt]

Just Curious: What Discipline does everyone shoot. I know many compete and many don't but may still shot a lot. If you are a 20 round a month casual shoot or a heavier 100 Rounds or more.
I am attempting to shoot F Class. About 300 Rounds a month, depending on how much practice I can get in, I have noticed an improvement after using an AMP. I have a better waterline and, groups are shrinking, I have also improved my wind reading.