[Unclenick]

Dahermit,

Taking your posts in reverse: Some guys have gone to putting timers on hand-held induction heating tools to get very rapid annealing done. Don't even need water. However, where you have water, be aware that thermal conductivity of brass is high enough that it is unlikely any of the wet portion sees stress relief, nor even does it a short distance above the water line. Brass has to get to about 250°C (482°F) for grain refinement to begin, and water will be boiling off its surface long before it gets there if you really have enough heat to drive it to the water line.

Regarding crimps, it depends on the gun and grip. A friend of mine who's also an Orange Hat family member got one of the titanium short barrel .45 Colts about the time Jeff Cooper got his to play with. He quickly found he could not shoot any commercial 250 grain bullet load in it without bullets backing out (and this is a big guy with big hands firmly behind the thing). If he shoots 200's he's good to go. He has to load his own 250's so he can put more crimp on them to prevent the problem. Folks with a lighter grip may experience the same issue even in somewhat heavier guns.