Annealing Lapua brass

[macguru]

My 308 lapua brass has been reloaded well over 20 times and the neck tensions seem uniformly pretty light. There are no cracks and i suspect the brass has just thinned a little...... (.336 collet)

Q should i try standing them in water and annealing the necks ? or is it a waste of time ? surely light neck tensions are not a problem... the projectiles are still held securely ....

andrew

[Brad Y]

Is it still shooting well? Dont fix what aint broken.

[Malcolm Hill]

Andrew
Annealing the cases won't change your neck tension very much,it will however make them more even. If they are are not firm enough try a smaller sizing bush or smaller expander plug. Normally necks thicken up with more firings as the brass usually flows forward which should cause neck tension to increase. Annealing cases by standing in water is probably the worst way of doing it if you want consistent results. Get some old cases and give it a go but its almost impossible to get even heat around the neck or consistent heating on all cases.
Regards Malcolm.

[DenisA]

Annealing necks will reduce the amount of spring back after neck sizing making those neck tension results more consistant and true to the bushing size.
You can feel the tension difference when seating bullets.

I anneal with a glove on my left hand, cordless screwdriver with a shell holder in my right. I spin the base of the neck (on about a 60degree angle) in the tip of the 1" blue flame from a gas torch on a small BBQ bottle. My .308's were taking about 10 seconds to anneal.
When they're done, drill in reverse, unlock the shell holder with the glove and I drop them into water to soften the fall and stop brass dinging. Water is said to be optional for cooling, I prefer it.

1 cat'n dog, 2 cat'n dog, 3 cat'n dog.............. evenly paced count

20 firings is amazing for non-annealed brass! I suspect your only neck sizing too?

[Cameron Mc]

Agree with Denis. Annealing does help.

I hold case between finger and thumb, turning backwards and forwards over a needle point flame. I then drop the case on a folded damp towel to draw the heat away.
If I burn my fingers I know I am overheating the case.

Cam

[Gadget]

I put them through the machine, much more civilized

[macguru]

one of these ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csgCJsWgrxQ

[Gadget]

Hi Andrew
http://annealingmachines.com/
http://www.annealingmachines.com/model-400.html

This is the one I got sent out the guy was great to deal with and had it made and delivered in 7 weeks, he makes the holes to what you want so I have .308, mag, .308 mag etc.
I got him to send the torches with the kit so all I had to do was go to Bunnings and get the gas, now the great part is 2 bottles of gas have done over 3000 cases and still going.
If you are going to a big banger it is worth it.

Graham P
I just looked at the video one thing that is hard to pick up is that the brass is turning all the time within its hole.