I’m new to reloading…never actually done it yet, but about to start. I see Jim doesn’t list annealing in the beginner or intermediate kit. Erik Cortina says to anneal every time. As a beginner trying to avoid the nearly $300 annealer of the Pro Kit, I’m reaching out to see if any of you have done annealing with just a butane/propane torch and either a drill or simply rotating the casings in your hand until hot enough to drop them. I’ve seen videos of this on YouTube, and am thinking this might be a good solution for someone who shoots less than 100 rounds per year, but wants to anneal because if Erik Cortina anneals, I want to anneal (even though I’m a hunter, not a competitive shooter).
I just started reloading last year myself. I am a hunter as well, not a competitive long range shooter. I follow Eric Cortina too and this is not at all questioning the benefits of annealing, however, I would encourage you to take the plunge and start even if you don’t have the $ for the annealing kit.
As I understand annealing will help with case life (less likely to work harden and crack) and somewhat with consistency of neck tension. This is all good and I eventually plan to get set up for annealing myself, but at least for me, I didn’t let it stop me. There is so much to learn. One tip I got that I will pass along, it may be a good idea to get some “cheap” brass to start. Mistakes will be made at first (ask me how I know) and it’s better to ruin an relatively inexpensive piece of brass.
Annealing is really about brass life—not accuracy. I’ve seen many tests of annealing vs not annealing and it made no difference on accuracy.
When you’re shooting a championship 1000 yard match, they do all kinds of silly things that could MAYBE make the TINIEST difference on the off chance it could give you an edge. This is one of them.
For the average reloader, I’d just skip annealing altogether.
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It depends…you can probably get 3 firings from your brass without seeing any major change in performance. Annealing will benefit brass life and will impact accuracy at longer distances past 500yrds. As the brass hardens from firing and sizing, it will spring back more and change the grip on the bullet mostly referred to as neck tension. You’ll have to do the math on the price of brass depending on how much you shoot. Eric requires consistency to win matches, hitting a deer at 200yrds is a low bar to get over with today’s rifles. In my experience, a case on its 5th firing without annealing will change its performance from when it was new. This may not be seen on a 100yrd target but will affect accuracy at distance.
The least expensive annealing tool is the Little Crow Gunworks aluminum mandrel which fits in your 3/8” drill and is caliber specific. Cost is $10-$23 per mandrel.
A propane torch on a stand or hand held if preferred pointed at the exposed shoulder and case neck for approximately 6 seconds with the drill on slow speed does the job of softening the brass . This lessens the spring back of the mouth of the case when resizing, which can be 1-2 thousandths as the case is resized over time if not annealed .Then bullet. Neck tension suffers.
I think annealing after every 2-3 rounds is sufficient for my type of shooting.
Check out the YouTube videos, they’re very helpful.
Jim , this is a really great forum .
Thank you !
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I also use a drill to anneal I dim the lights and stop at the first sign of the brass glowing a dull red (barely red). it has worked great so far.
Try 1,Rifle Brass Annealing Mandrels | Little Crow Gunworks of these for budget annealing, also use 750 degree Tempilaq…
If you shoot less than a hundred, why worry?
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