What's with the interest in Annealing?

RC20

New member
Brian: thanks, I can see the hot fingers as that was my issue.

I might bring my work torch home and try it, I think its got the same vent setup. HOme one does not
 

Brian Pfleuger

Moderator Emeritus
You know you've got the air right when you have what looks like a large candle flame. It should be gentle, "wavy", lazy like a candle not like a typical torch, rocket engine looking/sounding.

When it hurts your fingers, drop it in the water. :D
 

Elkins45

New member
I do the "drop it when it starts to hurt method" as well, but in one of Dean Grinnell's books he talks about standing them up in a pan of water so the heads are submerged. You heat the neck until you see the color change, then just tip them over. Seems like a good idea.

I anneal because it makes my brass last much longer, or whenever I'm case forming in the resizing die to reduce losses from split necks. It is worth the effort IMO.
 

bfoosh006

New member
Consistent neck release tension can dramatically improve the size of your groups.

I really think it is something that we ( as reloaders ) take for granted. We do everything we can do to make our brass more uniform... but annealing is an hard to measure ( with common hand tools ) so we don't think much about it.

There have been numerous articles explaining the value of consistent neck release tension, from better accuracy to fixing that annoying flyer.

Maybe we are reading more about it because it is working.
 

Bart B.

New member
I've never annealed brass.

I get a couple dozen plus reloads per .308 Win case.

And a dozen plus on 30 caliber magnum cases. Never observed any accuracy issues.

Neck tension was the minimum needed and remained consistant enough to not require higher sight settings at the longer ranges. I minimally resized fired cases and don't use expander balls.
 

Metal god

New member
RC20

Really ? :confused: you still feel this way after YOUR own (my take on annealing thread) http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=545128&highlight=my+take+on+annealing There was a lot of good back and forth in that thread . I believe I , along with others in that thread proved you can anneal cases consistently at a very low cost .We posted links to are research and I did quite a few test in that thread that took time and effort . I then posted the results with pics . That now seems to have been a waist of my time . Anyone else interested . My test start at post #43 and go on through out the rest of the thread . IMHO the whole thread is a good read because I feel we proved not only that it works and how to be very consistent , It does not need to break the bank while doing so . Exactly what RC20 was asking for at the onset of the thread :rolleyes:
 
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I normally put mine in a cake pan filled with water 3/4 of the way up my cases... last ones I annealed, were Hornady 460 S&W cases that were not annealed at the factory, that I split a couple on the 1st reloading
 

jeager106

Moderator
I have about 100 30-06 brass once fired I found in a shoe box.
No doubt fired with corrosive primers back in the day.
Is it worth keeping/should I anneal?
I tumble cleaned & it looks new now but question it's reloadability due to corrosive primer. Thoughts?
 

F. Guffey

New member
I tumble cleaned & it looks new now but question it's reloadability due to corrosive primer. Thoughts?

If there was damage caused by the corrosive primers it would have been to the barrel. If the barrel was cleaned after firing, no problem.

Before that? Primers used mercury, mercury has an infinity to brass, the case was scrap when the trigger was pulled. Mercury made the case brittle, there was an attempt to tin the inside of the case but by that time primers became corrosive in another way.

I have reloading/shooting books that were published in the early 50s, there was no distinction between the two primers.

F. Guffey
 

James K

Member In Memoriam
By the 1950's both mercuric and corrosive (potassium chlorate) primers had been pretty well phased out in both commercial ammo and primers for reloading. Some military loads still used corrosive primers up to 1952.

Jim
 

F. Guffey

New member
I have about 100 30-06 brass once fired I found in a shoe box.


jeager106, your cases have head stamps , some head stamps include the year included in the head stamp, there is a chance your cases are not corrosive. If your cases are not 100+ years old, clean then, load them and then shoot.

then there are bar codes on boxes, we have no way of knowing when the cases were placed into the shoe box, again, it is not the powder that is corrosive, it is the primer, it is possible the shooter shot ammo from the 40s in the 70s. If the shooter cleaned the barrel the crises has passed.

F. Guffey
 
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