Jeff Heeg osoh
Well-Known Member
I tumble, size/deprime and then anneal
JH
JH
Annealing prior thumbling?
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There is no reason under normal circumstances to tumble brass unless you just want shiny brass.
Sometimes I don't even tumble brass. I just do it for cosmetic purposes so it looks pretty.
Agree. Plus I like the carbon layer in the neck of the brass for my hunting loads. I really hate perfectly clean necks especially.
It's important to anneal before sizing. That leads me to tumble after annealing since I need to remove the sizing lube. You could tumble, anneal, size, tumble if you wanted to. I skip the first tumble and just anneal, size, tumble.
Nimrodmar10
Well-Known Member
I agree. All I do is wipe the case neck area with a rag to keep my dies clean
Why?
Many people do not anneal and have not seen adverse affects. I haven't annealed since I tested it for myself.
Lenny Foffa
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I anneal right after the range session, Spent primer are still in the case. Then Resize and de prim, and then Wet Tumble. Just personal preference. I like getting the primer pockets really clean, and getting the wax lube off the cases.
DoneNOut
Well-Known Member
I clean my brass prior to sizing so I don't get dirt buildup inside the dies. I've had dirty dies put striations on the case necks. Hit the inside of the die with Flitz and those striations/scratches go away. I also want the cases clean prior to annealing so I don't get funky stuff burning off the case giving a false read. I socket drill anneal. So really got to be on my game.
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I meant in the context of a workflow that includes annealing it should be done before sizing. It's not strictly necessary to anneal, especially if you're not concerned with case life.
Annealing in general is important for case life and batch to batch consistency. Case life is the biggest advantage of annealing. Annealing before sizing rather than after sizing is important because it will affect both the amount and consistency of spring back. Brass hardness will affect how a case reacts when fired, and annealing every loading keeps hardness consistent. It helps with consistent neck tension.
Many people don't anneal hot enough or long enough, which makes it seem ineffective. It doesn't make a difference in every situation, so it's possible to anneal properly and see little to no change.
All the reasons why one should consider annealing right here........
https://www.ampannealing.com/articles/
https://www.ampannealing.com/articles/
My process is perhaps too labor intensive, mostly because I don't like the idea of running dirty brass in my dies. I start by depriming because I wet tumble next, and I find the water and pins drain better without primers + I like clean primer pockets. Then I anneal, then size the brass using Unique lube. Then I wash the brass again - not a tumble with media, just a warm bath with carwash soap. After all that, I trim as needed, then prime.
How do you measure consistent neck tension? I am assuming you are saying after you anneal and resize you check every cases ID? Have you done the same not annealing and seen variances in that measurement? Just curious. I ran a test with a 300 PRC and a 28 Nosler running the same load. The primer pockets gave out before the neck and it had zero affect on accuracy either way. I am in the keep it simple stupid camp. If it something has no gain in accuracy it's just an extra step with no return on investment which in this case is time.
crkckr
Well-Known Member
Koda_, if you don't clean, or at least wipe down, your brass before sizing, you *will* ruin your dies unless you simply don't shoot very much. The debris left after firing will lead to scratches in your die (even carbide pistol dies) that will lead to scratches in your brass. If you don't care how your brass looks then don't worry about it. Personally, I want my brass looking like factory, clean inside and out, with clean primer pockets, too.
Actually, I've reloaded hundreds of thousands of pistol rounds without cleaning primer pockets and never had a single problem (I had a commercial operation back in another life). I can't say why I've gotten so anal about having clean brass these days but it is the way it is now!
With pistol cases, I decap, then wet tumble with steel pins and Boretech brass cleaner (wonderful stuff, BTW), then lube, size, flare and wash again (I use RCBS lube, which washes off easily with water). For rifle brass, I decap, tumble like the pistol ammo, then lube (Imperial wax) and size. I wipe the cases down before loading but since there is nothing on the inside of the case, that's all I think is necessary.
In the last 50 or so years I've had just one round that failed to go bang. It was, in fact, just a few days ago, a 9mm round, probably loaded around 2009 or so. I'm not 100% why it failed, but the primer had gone off without setting the 4.0 grains of W231 off. There is only one explanation, that I loaded a round that had not been decapped (the powder looks perfect and the lead bullet didn't move). I don't take near as much care when loading practice ammo as I do when loading SD/HD ammo and this was an old round, so I guess it's possible. But it's a first in over a million rounds total! Except for rounds that got "Dillonized" in my Dillon 1000 presses (that should give you a hint of how long ago it was!) and were easily spotted in the final inspection, I never had a single failure come back to me.
I like reloading and I like my ammo to reflect the time and precision I put into it. My SD ammo is 100%, compared to (maybe) 99% of factory. By the time I finish inspection on factory SD ammo, it probably hits that 99% but I'm willing to bet most folks simply take the ammo out of the box and load their magazines, then go about their day not even thinking about it. Not me, I've seen (and have) too many factory rounds that either wouldn't chamber, had primers too high or primers reversed to trust any of them with my life. I carefully inspect all of my carry ammo, make sure the bullet is tight, check the primers for seating depth and orientation and then chamber check each round. Cheap insurance for your life!
And hey, it keeps me off the streets!
Cheers,
crkckr
Actually, I've reloaded hundreds of thousands of pistol rounds without cleaning primer pockets and never had a single problem (I had a commercial operation back in another life). I can't say why I've gotten so anal about having clean brass these days but it is the way it is now!
With pistol cases, I decap, then wet tumble with steel pins and Boretech brass cleaner (wonderful stuff, BTW), then lube, size, flare and wash again (I use RCBS lube, which washes off easily with water). For rifle brass, I decap, tumble like the pistol ammo, then lube (Imperial wax) and size. I wipe the cases down before loading but since there is nothing on the inside of the case, that's all I think is necessary.
In the last 50 or so years I've had just one round that failed to go bang. It was, in fact, just a few days ago, a 9mm round, probably loaded around 2009 or so. I'm not 100% why it failed, but the primer had gone off without setting the 4.0 grains of W231 off. There is only one explanation, that I loaded a round that had not been decapped (the powder looks perfect and the lead bullet didn't move). I don't take near as much care when loading practice ammo as I do when loading SD/HD ammo and this was an old round, so I guess it's possible. But it's a first in over a million rounds total! Except for rounds that got "Dillonized" in my Dillon 1000 presses (that should give you a hint of how long ago it was!) and were easily spotted in the final inspection, I never had a single failure come back to me.
I like reloading and I like my ammo to reflect the time and precision I put into it. My SD ammo is 100%, compared to (maybe) 99% of factory. By the time I finish inspection on factory SD ammo, it probably hits that 99% but I'm willing to bet most folks simply take the ammo out of the box and load their magazines, then go about their day not even thinking about it. Not me, I've seen (and have) too many factory rounds that either wouldn't chamber, had primers too high or primers reversed to trust any of them with my life. I carefully inspect all of my carry ammo, make sure the bullet is tight, check the primers for seating depth and orientation and then chamber check each round. Cheap insurance for your life!
And hey, it keeps me off the streets!
Cheers,
crkckr
