Question for ya all, I'm a rookie at this annealing.
So I shoot 6BR and worked up a load with good velocity and ES. I have been shooting this specific load for about 500 rounds
now, but I went to the range yesterday and noticed my velocities are about 50-60 fps faster and close to pressure with heavy bolt lift. I'm thinking maybe my brass necks are getting hard causing higher pressures???
I'm shooting same Exact load as when I worked it up.
I just got my Annealez last week and was wondering if it is too late to anneal the brass, or is this something that needs to be done every firing?
Can I bring the brass back to its happy place or is it trash?
Should I just buy new brass and start annealing every firing from here on out?
Thank you for any help.
As above, YES. . . you can "bring the brass back to its happy place". So, no. . . you don't have to trash them and get new brass.
I anneal after every firing as the sizing process is what really does the work hardening. How much work hardening your dies do depends on how much you're moving the brass. Standard FL sizing dies that are marketed tend to move the brass a lot. So, using eight custom dies or a bushing die where the necks are only reduce to ~.002 below you're final objective after expanding is a good way to reduce the amount of work hardening being done on your brass's necks.
To answer your question. . . no, you don't have to anneal after every firing. But don't let it go too long. I'd say at most, don't let it go for more than 3 firings. You'll get the most consistency doing it after every firing, though you many not notice any difference.
Just be aware, you may not be getting the necks hot enough to actually get there if you're following the typical procedure often stated in the various forums. That is. . . 650°F will not do it for the short times typically used, but 650°C can do just fine. I've been using an Annealeez for 8 years now and I found that the "glow method" is the easiest way to determine when I get to (or very close to) that 650°C. And that when the neck glows red for about 1 second (best to see that in a darkened room). With my Annealeez, that takes ~ 9 seconds for my .308 cases with neck thicknesses of .014". It's the neck I look to see glow. . .not below it, so have to be sure the flame is set up in such a way to get that. Having done hardness testing on my brass, I found this is what I had to do to get the hardness/softness I measured on my virgin Lapua brass.
