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amamnn · July 11, 2006, 03:56 PM

As concerns cleanrifle brass, annealing is the process of heating the neck and shoulder to a temperature of 700 degrees Fahrenheit. This restores the malleability of the metal, thereby increasing the useful life of the case and the neck's grip on the bullet. It's not really a complicated process, but is greatly neglected for some reason. There is short essay and some links to discussions of the subject in the archives at www.reloadbench.com. or http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/case_annealing.html
A lot of people think it is too much trouble or only for wildcatters, but for a small investment you could get three times the life out of your brass and keep pet loads from mysteriously deteriorating as the brass becomes brittle on later reloads. Literally, all you really need is a cheap propane torch and a bucket of water and some time.
One hint that I've not seen in any annealing discussion: if you anneal small bore cases with the spent primers still in the case, be sure to shake them out thoroughly when you get them out of the water.

July 11, 2006, 03:56 PM	#15
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	annealing As concerns cleanrifle brass, annealing is the process of heating the neck and shoulder to a temperature of 700 degrees Fahrenheit. This restores the malleability of the metal, thereby increasing the useful life of the case and the neck's grip on the bullet. It's not really a complicated process, but is greatly neglected for some reason. There is short essay and some links to discussions of the subject in the archives at www.reloadbench.com. or http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/case_annealing.html A lot of people think it is too much trouble or only for wildcatters, but for a small investment you could get three times the life out of your brass and keep pet loads from mysteriously deteriorating as the brass becomes brittle on later reloads. Literally, all you really need is a cheap propane torch and a bucket of water and some time. One hint that I've not seen in any annealing discussion: if you anneal small bore cases with the spent primers still in the case, be sure to shake them out thoroughly when you get them out of the water. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal