Annealing...thoughts????
by Gunner 
, St Louis, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 11:08 (556 days ago)
Curious to what everyone thinks about annealing your rifle brass, I used to think it was silly for the regular reloader to mess with as it was only for bench rest shooters. But I wonder if it isn't for just the BR guys. The last few years I have noticed that new brass shows a clear anneal mark, never used to. While low volume guys might not care but with the high cost of components these days would the investment in hand annealing or a machine might be worth it in the long run. Longer brass life and more consistent neck tension on the bullet, which is the main reason I am looking into it. Especially with bottle neck cases that are not crimped and rely mainly on neck tension to keep the bullet in place.
Manual method is a propane torch and a jig/socket/hand made gizmo in a hand drill and you rotate the case neck in the flame to anneal it.
Or you can go high tech and buy a machine like this.......
https://www.epintegrations.com/product-page/ep-2-0-annealer
They are several companies making similar machines but this ones wheel design works with all case unlike some that require different wheels for different cases. Or really high tech units that cost over $1,595 like the AMP units.
Gunner
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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!
For me, it depends.
by Hoot , Diversityville, Liberal-sota, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 11:45 (556 days ago) @ Gunner
I don't spend any time annealing anything 'easy-to-get' like '06 or .308. I use 'em until they split and toss 'em. I do however, anneal things that are hard to find or expensive (or both) as well as things I need to form out of some parent brass or another. I don't think I shoot well enough to worry much on 'consistent neck tension', etc. Also, unless needed during forming, I won't turn or ream necks either. I'll trim to length but don't care much for that chore.
I use a cordless drill motor with a copper pipe fitting (cap and nipple) with a screw through the center. It's crude and looked down upon by some but seems to get me by. I have seriously thought about the Anneal-eeze (sp?) machine but haven't done anything about that yet.
For me, it depends.
by Gunner , St Louis, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 12:52 (556 days ago) @ Hoot
I looked at the Annealeez, but you need different wheels for different cases and I saw vids on Utube about issues with them wearing out. I emailed the EP machine guys asking if there were any issues using taper cases with rims like the 38-55 or 45-70 since he only shows bottle necks cases in his videos, he said no problem with any case from 17 Hornet to 50 BMG.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij2wfh2WcsY
Gunner
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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!
I remember looking at those guys.
by Hoot , Diversityville, Liberal-sota, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 16:44 (555 days ago) @ Gunner
Seems like a better solution than the rubber rollers.
I have a backlog of cases that need annealing. I've been putting it off for too long now. Maybe I'll take another look.
I anneal
by Dave B , Alamogordo New Mexico, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, 19:19 (548 days ago) @ Gunner
I definitely anneal my black powder 45/70 cases every time using the manual method, I anneal my 300 WM cases every other time.
Dave