What to expect from annealing cases?

[atkins08]

I've been reading a ton on getting started annealing. I guess my main question is before I sink some money in this, what not icicle improvements in es, sd readings could I expect? I've never annealed my norma brass, I'm on the 4th firing and have es of 13. Will I be able to expect this to improve? I guess im just looking for some experimets that have been done with the same load, same firings and what difference it made. Thanks in advance for the responses.

 

[MrBottleneck]

Cannot comment directly on the tests for ES & SD as never have done any.

Below I have listed several reasones why I anneal.

Biggest improvement is longer case life.
Less chance of split necks due to over worked brass etc.
More consistent neck tensions.

I use a Annealeez (with a modified torch holder I made) that works wonderfully.

 

[Willie]

I'm of the school that SD & ES are the result of brass prep and well sorted case volumes + uniform bullets + proper powder weighed to .02 grains + a dead nuts Chrono + consistent neck tension, etc, etc.

If everything else is done right and consistently, a solid annealing program may or may not lower SD & ES a great deal. What it will do is make your rounds very consistent, from one loading to the next. Consistent neck tension is but one variable. I do anneal every firing on an AMP unit for multiple rifles.

 

[atkins08]

I'm of the school that SD & ES are the result of brass prep and well sorted case volumes + uniform bullets + proper powder weighed to .02 grains + a dead nuts Chrono + consistent neck tension, etc, etc.

If everything else is done right and consistently, a solid annealing program may or may not lower SD & ES a great deal. What it will do is make your rounds very consistent, from one loading to the next. Consistent neck tension is but one variable. I do anneal every firing on an AMP unit for multiple rifles.

Am I wrong or shouldbt it show on the chrony if I am having inconsistent neck tension, and annealing fixes that? I would that thar inconsistent neck tension would show in seating bullets, flyers on the target, and varied speeds on the chrony.

 

[billlarson]

consistent neck tension.........
bill

 

[Mulligan]

I can see it on paper, no question about that. I don't mess with a corny as I do not have one I trust.
CW

 

[dcali]

Not much, if anything. All it does is soften the neck. You still have bullets, powder, and brass to deal with, which are the primary drivers of velocity variation.

 

[geraldgee]

consistent neck tension.........
bill

+1

 

[carlsbad]

es and sd depend on all your brass being the same. If you anneal with a pair of tongs on your gas stove, you probably won't get them all the same and you'll do more harm that good. All the annealing rigs out there are designed to help you get them all to match. So whatever you do, keep in mind that how much you anneal is less important that doing the same thing to every shell.

Now how much improvement you get depends on how your brass is currently performing. Have you been careful to keep every round wiht the same # of firings on it and the same resizing procedures? Is your current SD single digit? Has it crept up? If things are looking like they are spreading out, then you will probably benefit from annealing, if done right.

--Jerry

 

[atkins08]

Yes I have kept them all with the same number of firings. My sd has stayed at 7 through 4 firings on the brass. I thought about even sending some off to the company wit the banner on here to have annealed, then hold a few back to compare side by side until they start to go. All to see if I notice an improvement.

 

[carlsbad]

Yes I have kept them all with the same number of firings. My sd has stayed at 7 through 4 firings on the brass. I thought about even sending some off to the company wit the banner on here to have annealed, then hold a few back to compare side by side until they start to go. All to see if I notice an improvement.

You probably won't see much improvement. But clearly you've got the process down to have single digit SD so annealing will extend the life of a batch of brass that is performing well. If you keep shooting more reloads on this batch and it keeps getting harder, I would expect your SD to go up since minor changes have more effect on neck tension when the brass is stiffer.

--Jerry

 

[dmoran]

All depends on how one goes about case prep, and to what brass, caliber, scenario's and demands ones after.
For instance, in 243-Ackley's with Winchester brass I got more consistent accuracy from annealing, but in 6Dasher I get best performance not annealing, and like the necks work hardened. At the same time, others get the opposite, but we also prep different as well.
Really feel many don't actually test the differences and just take it all for granted.
Donovan

 

[Hammer47]

What to expect? Longer brass life.....fewer split necks.....better accuracy. What's not to like?