Brass annealing question.

[CyaN1de]

SO, I'm new to the whole brass annealing thing. I probably should have started a few years back, would have saved me a few hundred dollars in the long run.

Anyway......my question....

So let's say I have a few different batches of Lapua brass, 1 batch is 7 times fired, 1 batch is fired 5 times, another batch is fired 3 times and the last batch is once fired from new. (These particular numbers are made up but you get the idea)

Now, if I run the different fired batches of the brass through the annealer, I'm assuming all of the brass should come out equal and not have the once fired brass end up softer than the rest and so on and so forth?

 

[Parker-Hale Mike]

Once annealed they are all like new, other than the wear to the case head/primer pocket. I started using Lapua a few years ago that I anneal every 5 firings and it seems to be holding up way better than the Winchester ever did.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

Once annealed they are all like new, other than the wear to the case head/primer pocket. I started using Lapua a few years ago that I anneal every 5 firings and it seems to be holding up way better than the Winchester ever did.

+1, i would still keep them sorted by number of firings.

 

[ultimate_monkey]

x3 oh PHM, the annealed areas will be the same threw out the whole batch ( if done properly) but case head separation, primer pockets will still be effected by number of firings...

but as far as neck tension / accuracy is concerned, they should all shoot the same

 

[CyaN1de]

+1, i would still keep them sorted by number of firings.

Always are, and will be.

My large primer brass open the primer pockets before the rest of the case is toast but the small primer stuff gets close to separation while the primer pockets still stay tight.

 

[Mystic Precision]

Short answer ... no.

The Alloy of each lot number can vary which then affects how they anneal. Number of firings changes the end effect of THAT particular alloy. Then there is the issue of case volume from lot to lot.

You get a dogs breakfast.

I got tired of less then ideal annealing so made the investment in a Bench Source. With that and the ability to control conditions much better, I started to see the variations as mentioned above.

If you are using ALL 1 lot of brass, you can anneal the cases a few times to bring them to a stable "middle ground". As long as you don't overheat, my understanding is that brass will soften to a certain point. Multiple annealing cycles will not make it any softer so I annealed these cases a few times and it did FEEL very consistent despite wide range in firings before the batch annealing.

I would definitely watch the temp closely. Tempilac or other welding type heat indicator is really really important. I want to keep a close eye on my heat source vs timing as bottle propane torches can vary... and that creates another huge headache. I test the annealing cycle often just to make sure I am not creating a hidden problem.

If you are working outside in the cold, I find that replicating EXACTLY from run to run is not easy BUT within each batch, the brass is consistent. The absolute value of softness may vary but all the cases in that batch are the same.

So now, I run a large batch of 1 lot, same number of firings brass through the entire cycle to get, hopefully, 1 result. If I have different lots, I will keep that brass segregated regardless of condition or firings.

It seems to be working... and I will anneal very often now.

Jerry