Annealing, How, Why, When, The Benefits

[ChiefBull]

---Background---
I hand load my own ammunition, and have been doing so for about twenty five years. Have developed my skill and am considering annealing. I think that this would extend the Safe to fire accurate life of my brass.
I shoot .308Win. almost exclusively having cut my teeth on that round in the Navy and have built two bolt guns in that chambering and have an M1ASuperMatch.
I favor Lake City Arsenal Match brass; basically I have a seabag full of it.

---Considered Goal---
I ?think? that annealing restores the elastic molecular structure of the brass, so that it doesn't work harden. Is my thinking correct here? Can annealing be done incorrectly and make brass unsafe to shoot?
I would like very much to hear both the upsides and downsides of annealing, how often should it be done, and when.
Is extending the life of the brass a realistic proposal? Will annealing have a positive effect on the accuracy of a round?

Anchor'sAweigh/SemperFi
ChiefBull

 

[40xs]

there is comprehensive info on the web about this. You are correct in your assumptions and caution is the key. case annealing is temp. critical and "zone" critical. You only want the correct temperature in the neck/shoulder area and be careful of the high temps travelling down into the case head area as you do not want to soften this area. I am not an authority on the matter but know enough to know that cases can be ruined if not done properly. there is sufficient info available to get you started in the right direction. Seek first before attempting. You may get a lot of opinions on here but consider them as such (just like mine) lol.

 

[J.J. Kelly]

How I anneal is simple and easy. Get a pan that sides are high enough to be over shoulder of case. attach pan to turn table with glue so that
you can rotate pan. De-prime case and put it in center of pan after you fill pan with ice water. Use propane torch on med /high and point
it at top of case. Turn pan while torch is on brass; to anneal so that case will not get neck splits only stay on brass until you see a "blue
light shine" which occurs in a split second. If you going from one caliber to another you can make it softer; example- 9.3x62mm from 30-06,
once you have reached the point that you want, just remove case. It does not matter if case falls into water but if you point torch at shoulder
it will be softer there and you will collapse the neck into case, keep torch on case mouth. Hope that helps, also try taking a piece of brass, clean
it real good, put torch on it and watch it change colors. That will let you know what to expect but throw that brass away after that.

 

[KYbulldog]

Allow me to put a plug in for this service....Services & Prices | anneal brass case cartridge

 

[rdinak]

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/snipers-hide-px-group-buys/88796-brass-cleaning-annealing.html

 

[damoncali]

Annealing reverses work hardening, it doesn't prevent it.

Improper annealing can make brass unsafe - you must never anneal the case head. Done properly, it's perfectly safe.

People anneal for two reasons - brass life and consistent neck tension. The former is more useful when using loose factory chambers. If you're shooing a relatively tight neck chamber, the brass isn't worked as much. If you're not experiencing split necks, annealing won't increase brass life.

As far as neck tension goes - that is an ongoing debate. Some 1000 yard benchresters anneal every firing for this reason, for example. I don't know how much it matters.

If your goal is brass life, you must anneal before you split necks. It's that simple. Every few firings seems more than enough. If you anneal for accuracy, who knows...

So before going through the trouble of annealing ask yourself - "Is my brass splitting at the neck, or am I shooting under MOA at 1000 yards?" If not, you probably don't need to anneal.

 

[Dacam]

I exclusively use Lapua brass in 308. Honestly I lost count on how many times I have reloaded these cases. I started out numbering how many times it was fired
but lost count and decided to just keep reloading until I see loose primer pockets or spit necks. I do check for case head separation with the paper clip method though.
If I had to guess, I am around 15-20 firings without annealing and I am still getting great accuracy.

 

[Dacam]

I exclusively use Lapua brass in 308. Honestly I lost count on how many times I have reloaded these cases. I started out numbering how many times it was fired
but lost count and decided to just keep reloading until I see loose primer pockets or spit necks. I do check for case head separation with the paper clip method though.
If I had to guess, I am around 15-20 firings without annealing and I am still getting great accuracy. On a side note, my chamber seems quite tight as my cases only grow
.001-.002 after firing so I am not working the brass much.

 

[lte82]

I havent annealed any brass yet, but Im getting my giraud annealer in any day now and plan on annealing every couple of firings. I think with hot match loads your primer pockets are going to be toast by 4-5 firings but with good lapua/norma brass and mild loads I think annealing will pay off by keeping necks from splitting and neck tension as uniform as possible for years to come.

 

[DGD6MM]

I have 20 firings on .243 Winchester brass that has been FF into 6MM Competition Match. It has not been annealed. This brass shot for group the last time at 600 yards, yielded .4 moa - 5 shot group. The barrel had just over 3800 rounds down it at this time. I have 2 sets of brass, this set and another with 5-6 firings on it. No blown primers. 1 day I plan to anneal, for I know there are benefits to it.

 

[Aimsmall55]

With the lack of .300 win mag brass quality and quantity , it's essential to anneal. I use mostly Rp brass exclusively. Before I do a thing to it I anneal right off the bat. I use a butane torch and hold with a drill socket while turning at mid speed. Experience will tell you when it's perfect. After that I use a lee collet die and get the neck tension the same on each piece. The key is not to over anneal and not to under anneal. That way you will know when to stop in future situations when it's time for the torch again. Also certain media and "polish" will make it harder to detect the color turn. If I'm going to anneal, I use straight up corn cob media with nothing in it. It will clean all the carbon off the necks and make it visually easier.
As for performance , my Es and groups SHRANK once I got good at it.
Brass- I've got several pieces I've shot 12 times.. Pretty good for a .300 winny...

With fire formed annealed brass