How often to anneal

bentbolt308

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 19, 2011
542
22
Eastern iowa
I always just used brass 2 firing and parted ways with it. Now I started using lapua brass for longer life. I have 3 firingsnon it and sent it to killshot44 to have it annealed. I'm just wondering how often I need to have it annealed.
 
If I was sending mine out to have done then I'd probably send it out shooting two or three times. I like to anneal every time for consistency but I have an annealer so it's a lot easier however for the price that he charges it's hard to afford a good annealer.
 
I also anneal every firing but I have a Benchsource annealer. I kind of look at it like either you do it every time for the most consistent neck tension or you do it every 4-6 firings just to extend the life of your brass.
 
I have an annealer and I anneal every 3rd firing. I picked up an Annealeez this last year and have Been very impressed with it for the price.


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Every firing. Since my brass is still wet after Ultrasonic cleaning, the heat from annealing finishes drying them out. I can tell a difference in seating pressure if I forgot to anneal just once. The brass would have more springback after sizing which I could detect as a lighter than normal seating pressure.
 
I anneal every firing, previously with drill and socket and currently with Annealeez. Watch your shoulder bump to keep it <0.002 and don't run super hot loads and Lapua brass will last you forever. Shot 200 rounds of 308 today, cases were on firings 11, 12, and 18 depending on which lot I was shooting.
 
I anneal every other firing. Using Lapua brass (6.5x47) and I haven't seen a need for doing it with every firing as the brass stays very consistent after the first firing. As the brass ages I may move to every firing. I wouldn't wait more than 3 firings if I had to.
 
Depends on the brass. Usually every 2-3 firings and sometimes after each firing, just depends on what I'm shooting

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

 
I anneal every third firing primarily to extend brass life. I do notice a difference in seating pressure but it doesn't seem to impact my level of precision. I normally shoot 3/8 to 1/2" groups at 100 yards from a bench using a bipod and rear bag.
 
I anneal every firing, previously with drill and socket and currently with Annealeez. Watch your shoulder bump to keep it <0.002 and don't run super hot loads and Lapua brass will last you forever. Shot 200 rounds of 308 today, cases were on firings 11, 12, and 18 depending on which lot I was shooting.

Maybe I need to switch brass. I load middle of the range and my primer pockets loosen up after 10ish and I set the lot aside.
 
Maybe I need to switch brass. I load middle of the range and my primer pockets loosen up after 10ish and I set the lot aside.

If you are wrecking Lapua primer pockets in ten firings. I doubt you are mid range pressure wise.

I anneal every three. I have a machine. I have been thinking of doing it every time.
 
If you are wrecking Lapua primer pockets in ten firings. I doubt you are mid range pressure wise.

I anneal every three. I have a machine. I have been thinking of doing it every time.

It wasn't lapua. I started reloading using my once fired federal gold medal match ammo. I have got all that past 10 firing and moved to Norma. What kind of useful life are you getting out of Lapua brass and how is it failing?
 
Only Lapua 308 brass failures I've had to date have been due to my own errors,,, not paying attention to shoulder bump and allowing it to drift into the 0.003-4 range for a few firings, leading to case head stretch. Lost 100 cases recently... facepalm. Primer pockets on the 18x fired stuff were still good, not as tight as when new but no where near what I'd call loose. With the way the brass was going I felt like the cases easily could have done 30+ firings. Loads were typical 175g at 2600 fps sort of thing.
 
I now anneal every firing, but when I first got my Giraud 6 yrs ago, I experimented some and found the 2nd firing on my brass after annealing was the most accurate. 1 or 2 times of not sticking to that schedule prompted me to go every time, and consistency is there.
Every brand of brass has a diff composition, all of my Norma brass, and Win brass in 6slr do well annealing every time, my 6, 6.5x47 Lapua doesn't take as well, never has for me as far as felt tension while seating bullets, but downrange performance has not faltered,
 
It wasn't lapua. I started reloading using my once fired federal gold medal match ammo. I have got all that past 10 firing and moved to Norma. What kind of useful life are you getting out of Lapua brass and how is it failing?

I have some around 15, and some a quickly wrecked chasing velocity with the flying pig. I have a lot of Hornady Match as well. Only failures I am having are due to poor reloading practices, in a nut shell.