Anyone annealing pistol (straight walled) cases?

[Walkalong]

Does anyone anneal with a torch and pan of water?

Decades ago I did .222 Mag like that.

 

[jmorris]

I have sold quite a few “blades” and plans to folks interested in annealing pistol cases, I’d say the majority of them were SASS folks.

Not sure what design you went with but my annealer lets you go from the smallest of cases up to 50 BMG without having to buy anything extra, rimmed, rebated, rimless or belted, doesn’t matter, just adjust the torches.

 

[sparkyv]

I never had annealed pistol brass until I got a 460SW. That brass is pricy enough to warrant the effort. It can be done safely, but it's not for noobies or the faint of heart. I do it primarily to increase the lifetime of the brass, not for accuacy's sake.

[Edit: spelling error]

 

[Project355]

In my past reloading life, working with commercial reloading for a popular gun range, we really didn't have too much of a problem with splits. I mean, of course it happens, but the rate at which it happened was very low.

I will say, when sorting brass, you can hear the splits. Brass that has a case mouth, body or at the web split have a different "tinkle" to them in the sorter. It was fairly easy to hand monitor and cull out the bad ones.

For m'self, I'm a fair shot with most handguns provided the sights are easy to see. I used to shoot in the 280's at a "300" match, so judge me by that. I don't think I'm nearly good enough to see any accuracy advantage. Maybe for something like a Contender shooting steel at long range.... I can maybe see that. Maybe for pistol cartridge in a falling block rifle? Dunno. But to each their own!

 

[MCMXI]

How about reloading for lever and bolt action rifles chambered for pistol cartridges? I have a couple of Marlin 1894s chambered for .357 Mag and .45 Colt. I'd love one chambered for .454 Casull and might add a .44 Mag at some point. Annealing might have a positive effect on reducing ES numbers and improving accuracy/precision.

The AMP will be here on Monday so I'll get to play with it soon enough.

 

[mdi]

I would be interested in the conditions with issues with 9mm cases splitting, in post #18, especially with factory ammo. Gun? Loads (bullet, powder, powder charges), and reloading methods. I'm loading a lot of 9mm and would like to know...

 

[Bob Meyer]

The only case in which I would consider it would be when forming 256 mag or 22 Jet from 357 mag. I've formed 256 mag without annealing using a set of forming dies, so that case is moot. I suspect annealing might help in forming 22 Jet.

 

[gonoles_1980]

Good discussion, I found it interesting. But would annealing brass versus just buying once used brass when your brass starts to split ever overcome the cost of an annealing machine? I'm talking straight wall brass.

 

[Demi-human]

Most likely. But it won’t give one the same control over sizing and neck tension that annealed brass does.
Some pistols may benefit from more consistent brass, some may not, but it sure saves load work up effort with new brass.
It’s the same brass you know and love, not a new unknown entity with questionable case volume.

Even new brass is not without its’ own flaws as well.

 

[Walkalong]

A Hornady 6 Creed from factory ammo fired by me. I used the AZTEC function to get the code (0136) for this brand/lot of cases and this is the result, one case after another, very uniform from case to case. I tumble prior to annealing, and they recommend decapping as well. Works very well decapped or not. Analyze them the way you'll anneal them.


I'll be honest, before this thread it never occurred to me to anneal handgun cases. It might make sense for some big boomers like .460 where cases don't grow on trees.

 

[buck460XVR]

I never had annealed pistol brass until I got a 460SW. That brass is pricy enough to warrant the effort. It can be done safely, but it's not for noobies or the faint of heart. I do it primarily to increase the lifetime of the brass, not for accuacy's sake.

...and the .460's working pressure makes it more feasible. The .460 working pressure is much like a rifle, unlike most other handgun calibers that run half as much, and most of the time, much less. The stretching from high pressure is what work hardens brass as much as us working it.

 

[Demi-human]

unlike most other handgun calibers that run half as much...

...Which would make softer brass even more desirable.

 

[five.five-six]

For some reason I was thinking an annealer was running in the $450 range. I’m by no means cheap but the $1,500 mentioned above will buy me enough brass in .357/.44/ 45 Colt to last me the rest of my life and well into my grandsons. I don’t reload rifle cases so I might not be able to justify the outlay for the potentially marginal (it appears) benefits annealing would provide me.

I anneal with a propane torch and a pie tin with about an inch of water in it. It’s practically free

 

[dcarr]

How about reloading for lever and bolt action rifles chambered for pistol cartridges? I have a couple of Marlin 1894s chambered for .357 Mag and .45 Colt. I'd love one chambered for .454 Casull and might add a .44 Mag at some point. Annealing might have a positive effect on reducing ES numbers and improving accuracy/precision.

The AMP will be here on Monday so I'll get to play with it soon enough.

Got my attention, I have a Marlin 1894 in .45 colt, let us know how the AMP works out.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The easiest way is to use a votive candle and Tempilaq 700.

https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1...af16847a024e396e294b93&utm_term=1101100736028

Put a bit of Tempilaq inside the case mouth, hold it by the rim and rotate it in the candle flame. When the color changes, drop it into a wet towel. After about 10 cases you'll get a "feel" for the temperature and only need to use Tempilaq every 10th case or so, to "recalibrate" your fingers.

 

[Toprudder]

...Which would make softer brass even more desirable.

I hadn't thought of that, but softer brass would help with a better gas seal when fired.

 

[Col. Cornelius]

Nope, never annealed pistol brass, life is to short!