New student of the reloading game here, hopefully you all can drop some knowledge on me. I saw the previous post about the Brass Annealing guide, and I'm going to be honest I don't exactly know what it is. Additionally what are the benefits of annealing? Are there any detriments? Just trying to learn more about the process. Thanks!
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Brass Annealing... What is it? Benefits/Detriments?
- Thread starter btorrey
- Start date
Lots of info on this site about it. Essentially it's heating the shoulders and necks of brass to soften them against the hardening that occurs from working them during firing and prep. When done properly it will extend brass life and improve consistency.
I anneal every firing.
I anneal every firing.
This^
Use The sites search feature or google your question with “sniperhide” in the title in google and you will get all the information you need
There's a lot of info about why people anneal and the reason(s) are mostly consistent. It helps brass last longer where the necks don't split so soon. For precision shooters who want the most consistent measurement on their headspace measurement and neck tension, annealing helps with that.
It's about how resizing the brass "work hardens" the brass as the die squeezes the neck down by as mush at .010 (sometimes more and in some cases, less), then the expander ball will push it back out to the size ready for a bullet to be inserted. In some instances, like what I like to do, I don't use an expander ball in the die to expand the neck back out, but in a separate operation will put an expander mandrel through the neck to get the neck tension I'm after. So, it the firing that pushed the brass outward and the sizing the draws it back down that work hardens the brass, which is what makes it more brittle, just like bending a piece of metal back and forth until it breaks.
Annealing make the brass a little softer as it realigns the crystal structure of the brass. You don't want to make the brass too soft as the brass needs to "spring back" when it's expanded to the chamber walls so that the fired brass can be extracted. There's a certain temperature range that's best to use when annealing your fired brass and that ~ 750°F - 900°F. Too little heat will do nothing to get it anneal, too much makes it too soft.
. . . hope this helps.
I anneal every time as well. I have lost track of the number of firings of some of my Lapua brass. If you shoot alot of rounds an annealer will pay for itself . The biggest danger would be if you over anneal causing the case to get soft to far down. You just want to anneal the neck and shoulder of the case.
Thanks for the info. I will definitely do some research on the hide (I've seen a bunch of information on here). I heard a ton of guys talk about it, but I never really understood the concept, until now. I absolutely want to get the most consistency out of my reloads. Any recommendations on a good annealer?
If you want a machine to use, there's a number of them and can cost from ~$250 -$1000. The cheaper ones will use a propane torch, the more expensive ones are electrical (induction) units. The induction units are able to be quite precise in the annealing. But, I'd say few people shoot well enough to be able to distinguish the difference if both are done properly.
I use an inexpensive one called Annealeeze and I find it does a very good job. And BTW . . . you don't really need a machine to do annealing as many just use their drill and a socket to rotate the brass in the propane flame. But, it you really want some consistency with your annealing, I wouldn't recommend doing it that way.
Thank you for the info. I will do some research and find a good one that works for me. As confident as I am with a torch and a drill, I would probably light my gun room on fire
I would skip annealing until you have mastered all the other steps. It is the least important of them all.
Spend the money on a good electronic automated powder dispenser first if you havent already. And if you have then upgrade your brass trimming to a drill mounted/powderd unit that has a three way trim/chamfer/deburr.
Those two steps will save you most of the time and effort that could be spent reloading which means you will dread it less and be happier with your experiences, much more so than an annealer. Once you have everything else figured out then get into annealing.
This is the advice I was given several years ago and have been working towards it. I've got one rifle shooting lights out and working on another. When that is completed, these will be my next two major purchases. Annealing afterwards.
Without annealing you’ll often crack a neck and have sizing inconsistencies at about 8-12 loadings or before.
With annealing brass failure is usually from losing the primer pockets usually a good bit later.
You can anneal amazingly cheaply.
If your gonna spend $$$$$ I’d spend it on an electronic powder measure.
With annealing brass failure is usually from losing the primer pockets usually a good bit later.
You can anneal amazingly cheaply.
If your gonna spend $$$$$ I’d spend it on an electronic powder measure.
Yeah, but it eliminates a step for you. While it’s spitting out powder you are seating a bullet over the prior charge. When you’re ready there is another charge there waiting for you. That’s like an hours worth of effort right there saved for every 100 rounds otherwise.
Well, you could get an A&D FX120 With AutoTrickler. Weights to +/- ONE kernel of Varget.
IMHO annealing after every firing is a bit much. I fire 3 times and then anneal. 10+ firings and still waiting for the primer pockets to go.
OFG
Unless you use Hornady brass, then the "good bit later" turns to "when I look at it the wrong way"
If you've got the time to do some reading about the benefits of annealing, check this out:
Induction Annealer | The Latest Research | AMP
View the latest articles from AMP Annealing. Get tips and tricks from our R&D. Here we upload articles to provide your the best possible information on innovations in the annealing process.
www.ampannealing.com
