Question about annealing and quenching

[RichardCranium]

I hand loaded my first batch of .308 yesterday and when I annealed I quenched the brass then blew it out from primer side then shook them out. Placed them aside neck down for about an hour then primed, charged and seated the bullets. Now im worried there may have been residual moisture in the brass. What effect will this have if that is the case? What a dummy

 

[Supersubes]

The water probably spoiled your powder. For future reference brass does not quench there’s no reason to dump it in water afterwards.

 

[RichardCranium]

The water probably spoiled your powder. For future reference brass does not quench there’s no reason to dump it in water afterwards.

What would you suggest? Pull the bullets and re charge? It wouldn't be a lot of water but just some moisture? Would they even fire?

 

[Supersubes]

That’s what I would do. There’s just no telling how much of the powder has been fouled. One might go bang fine the next might be a squib

 

[RichardCranium]

Live and learn i guess. Rookie mistake. Thabks for the response.

 

[Steel head]

Yea
Don’t quench
It’s not needed.

 

[Jordanwickham]

I quench. Probably unnecessary but I know they all began cooling at the same time and there's no unwanted heat migration. I also run a brass dryer though so I don't have to hope for the best as far as moisture or no moisture.

 

[Ryridesmotox]

I quench just for handling purposes I don't like burning my fingers or melt a towel or whatever.

I anneal, throw it in water, dry the outside, lube, size, dry tumble, prime, throw powder and seat.

Probably don't need to quench in my system, but I still do.

 

[supercorndogs]

I put one of my full ISPC plates below my machine. The thick steel plate pulls the heat out of the brass pretty fast.

Why were you annealing your brass on your first batch?

Have you tried shooting them? I would try that before pulling them down. An hour would be plenty of time for them to dry here. Maybe not so much if you live some where humid.

 

[RichardCranium]

I put one of my full ISPC plates below my machine. The thick steel plate pulls the heat out of the brass pretty fast.

Why were you annealing your brass on your first batch?

Have you tried shooting them? I would try that before pulling them down. An hour would be plenty of time for them to dry here. Maybe not so much if you live some where humid.

I was annealing because they were once fired. Im in Tennessee so pretty humid. Gonna try and shoot them today ill post the results

 

[RichardCranium]

Just got home from the range and only had 2 duds. Not sure what happened but assuming the primers failed due to moisture or complete powder failure. Had some good groups. About .5 MOA at 100 yds. Tested some different loads and ended up seeing best results with 2.836 col. 43.7 grains. About .030 off the lands. Might play with bringing that closer but overall I'm happy with my first batch. Live and learn. Photo attached was at 500 yards. 4-16x42 vortex optic. Thanks for all the input.

 

[wpgk58]

I hand loaded my first batch of .308 yesterday and when I annealed I quenched the brass then blew it out from primer side then shook them out. Placed them aside neck down for about an hour then primed, charged and seated the bullets. Now im worried there may have been residual moisture in the brass. What effect will this have if that is the case? What a dummy

When annealing brass, quenching is of no effect to the brass. The only effect is creating an extra step of drying brass.
If you have even the SLIGHTEST DOUBT about anything reloading, STOP and FIX IT. In your case, break down the bullets and properly dry and then start over. I slightly wet load could result in a hang fire or undercharged fire lodging the bullet in the barrel.

 

[Josh1978]

Live and learn i guess. Rookie mistake. Thabks for the response.

We all make mistakes, that’s how we learn. Don’t be too hard on yourself.