The reason we anneal brass cases.

[J E Custom]

I'm guilty.. I annealed a few cases without cleaning the necks. The necks turned black and it won't come off.

Can they be saved?

It should be ok and if it isn't just chunk it and call it experience. We have all been there. It's very hard to do something that has not been done by others.

I clean my brass before annealing not only to prevent false indications, I also like to see the heat ring location and the consistency of it. A clean shinny case will tell you how you did, or if you over did the annealing.

J E CUSTOM

 

[birdiemc]

There is one problem with using the flame change to stop the anneal. When the flame starts to change color you are ether burning some of the brass alloy's off, or you have a dirty case and you may possibly contaminate the material shortening it's life.

When you anneal, you want to bring it back to it's original annealed hardness state without changing the metallurgy. If I see any color change in the setup cases, I reduce the dwell time to prevent this because if you lose any alloy, It is not the same brass alloy, and performance will be affected.

J E CUSTOM

That makes sense and I've heard differing arguments about whether the alloys truly burn out, but I would say why risk it....so perhaps maybe the flame color change should be timed, then stop just short of that?

 

[Lewishut]

Me and my dad built ares for like 40 bucks. We used the heat sensitive liquid for a couple times but now we just turn the lights off and watch for the low glow on the neck and shoulder.

 

[Bob Wright]

The zinc is burning off when the flame at the contact point turns orange. That starts at 787°F taking the alloy back to copper near the surfaces. When you end up with copper primarily, your brass is too soft and you're brass cannot provide the bullet grip you thought you had.

 

[Bob Wright]

I'm guilty.. I annealed a few cases without cleaning the necks. The necks turned black and it won't come off.

Can they be saved?

0000 steel wool?

 

[RYEWSKY25284]

0000 steel wool?

Now why didn't I think of that..

Thank you

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I'm not sure I buy into this whole annealing thing...I've been loading and shooting over 20 years, never annealed 1 single piece of brass. My brass typically lasts at least 10x for any given caliber from 240 WBY to 300 Win Mag with .002" bump. I've never had split necks or had any issues obtaining 1/2 MOA. If anything, the primer pockets eventually loosen up before anything else gives. I dont even tumble brass anymore, clean brass doesnt make groups any better either... Few swipes of 0000 steel wool around the necks and done...Just more time and money at the bench...I like to shoot far more than I do sitting at the bench. My 7-300 win mag brass has 6-7 firings on it, havent lost any, pockets are still tight, and it shoots an easy 1/3 MOA. Good enough to win an 1100 yard match with it few months back on 6x fired, never annealed, untumbled brass. So what exactly would I be gaining from buying a several hundred dollar annealer? I just dont buy it...Then again, I'm not a BR shooter. 1/2 MOA is plenty fine for any LR hunting rifle in my book.

 

[Bob Wright]

I'm not sure I buy into this whole annealing thing...I've been loading and shooting over 20 years, never annealed 1 single piece of brass. My brass typically lasts at least 10x for any given caliber from 240 WBY to 300 Win Mag with .002" bump. I've never had split necks or had any issues obtaining 1/2 MOA. If anything, the primer pockets eventually loosen up before anything else gives. I dont even tumble brass anymore, clean brass doesnt make groups any better either... Few swipes of 0000 steel wool around the necks and done...Just more time and money at the bench...I like to shoot far more than I do sitting at the bench. My 7-300 win mag brass has 6-7 firings on it, havent lost any, pockets are still tight, and it shoots an easy 1/3 MOA. Good enough to win an 1100 yard match with it few months back on 6x fired never annealed brass. So what exactly would I be gaining from buying a several hundred dollar annealer? I just dont buy it...Then again, I'm not a BR shooter. 1/2 MOA is plenty fine for any LR hunting rifle in my book.

Maybe it's cartridge dependent. I can say in my 7 mag, I could not get my shoulders to fully form. There was. 004 variation on the 2nd firing. I tried annealing by socket and torch method. After that, I had all of them blown out 100%.
Carried it on to the 280AI. Seating pressure was smoother and ES fell to +/- 2. I've never had that.
Try it once and see. I already had a soldering torch kit and sockets. Didn't spend anything.

 

[Beluebow]

I'm guilty.. I annealed a few cases without cleaning the necks. The necks turned black and it won't come off.

Can they be saved?

I have annealed 10's of thousands of dirty cases....just throw them in the tumbler for a few hours it comes off.

Funny thing about annealing...never once have I heard someone say....wow my gun shot great because my anneal was perfect...or...wow my gun shot like crap because my anneal was off.

 

[243winxb]

https://www.ampannealing.com/index/ Good reading with photos , videos on annealing.

 

[esshup]

Maybe it's cartridge dependent. I can say in my 7 mag, I could not get my shoulders to fully form. There was. 004 variation on the 2nd firing. I tried annealing by socket and torch method. After that, I had all of them blown out 100%.
Carried it on to the 280AI. Seating pressure was smoother and ES fell to +/- 2. I've never had that.
Try it once and see. I already had a soldering torch kit and sockets. Didn't spend anything.

I agree. I have only annealed for my 7mm Allen Magnum. I shoot a lot of calibers, and last time I shot the .243, it was 1/4 moa at 300 yds (lapua brass, 2x firing). BUT if I don't anneal the 7mm Allen Mag brass I lose cases when they are fired because of the cracks that develop at the neck/shoulder junction. I believe what is being said is annealing isn't a *required* process, just that if there are issues with the brass or groups, give it a try and see if it helps things.

 

[Blackhawk]

I have found annealing to be more problematic for me than beneficial. Unless you have the necessary equipment, the point at which the brass becomes too soft is too narrow for most reloaders to gauge. I have even been frustrated with some reputable brass suppliers over-annealing cases from their factories. The brass needs some spring tension in order to secure the bullet in the case or the cartridge integrity will not reliably be maintained when loading from a magazine in the field. With the availability of bushing dies it is easier for me to regulate consistent neck tension with bushing size in relation to brass hardness. For those with a trusted process I applaud you and know it can be beneficial in prolonging brass life and accuracy, if that is a regular step in your reloading process. As long as I have a smooth/consistent seating the accuracy does not seem to be affected by not continually annealing, in my experience. But, if I get the annealing wrong it will be problematic. If I was a bench-rest competitive shooter and could carefully hand load each round I may feel differently but for hunting or PRS type competition I prefer the benefit of slightly rigid brass.

Well sir, to each is own (method or methods)

 

[J E Custom]

In depth explanation of the process of Annealing and the metallurgical reasons.
This video will explain time and temperature needed to do a proper anneal. it could help to get a better anneal or hopefully prevent over annealing and ruining the cases.

Brass alloy used in cartridge cases has a melting point of 1700 Degrees F + or -
Zink has a melting point of 787 Degrees F
Tin has a melting point of 449 degrees F
So the temperature becomes critical, if you over heat the alloy and start burning of the tin and Zink so the amount of time and temperature is important and we have to compromise to get the best outcome we can without ruining the brass. The ideal temperature normally cant be reached without over annealing or heating the entire case and softening the entire case.

The video will better explain this and is worth watching if you are interested in the metallurgical
reasons.



J E CUSTOM

 

[Overkill338]

Seemed informative, but all I could think is he needs to shave until his beard will grow in correctly. He kind of resembles Bin Laden.

Great video though.