Annealing 308 Cases

[hafejd30]

I'm going into my 5th firing on this load

lapua case
br-2 primer
43 gr IMR 4064
178 Amax bullet
MV: 2734

Savage 10/Criterion 28" Combo.

The load is very accurate. Shot a 3 shot group at 100 yds yesterday that measured .197 moa CTC. So they still shoot great

Sizing with Lee Collet Die. This load is used for long range, primarly +/- 1000 yards. My main concern is consistency.

I would be going with the bench source annealing machine.

So my question is this: Those that have gone to annealing how has it affected your case life and accuracy? Is it worth it? I would like consistant neck tension throughout the life of the case.

[DPmax]

I've never tested this myself to see if it is true, but I've been told that proper annealing every third or fourth reload can lengthen the life of a case by a factor of 1:5, meaning that if you normally get 5 reloads out of a case you would get 6.
However I'd wager that with "soft brass" you'd actually do more damage by annealing.

Just remember that if your brass starts to glow while annealing you are getting it too hot, only get it hot enough to where you see a slight purple-ish tint. And keep it rotating at all times!!
I use the cordless screwdriver and socket method, lots cheaper.
The annealing machines I've tried always seemed to need fiddling with every case.

[rrflyer]

case life really depends on how much your resizing the brass.

I sized lapua brass back to min spec and was getting case head seperation at 4 or 5 firings.


What annealing will do though is keep your neck tension more consistent which will increase the consistency of your ammunition. If your doing minimal sizing and just barely bumping the shoulder or neck sizing then you'll see increased life before the necks crack.

I know of people with 15-20 reloads on the same brass with minimal resizing and annealing.

[gotcha]

Quote:

So my question is this: Those that have gone to annealing how has it affected your case life and accuracy? Is it worth it? I would like consistant neck tension throughout the life of the case.

Thats the whole point ;) Particularly important for L/R shooting to better control vertical. Lots of "old wives tales" applied to this subject. All reports here, Bench Scource is excellent product. Reviewing info at my post. "annealing temperature", pg. 7, Mar. 12th Could be helpful for you. Pay close attention to "coverdogs" input. I followed his advice & It worked VERY well for me Although I'm using single flame & elec. drill along w/ templac liquid found at McMaster-carr. More questions? Just ask you'll find knowledgeable folks here that would be happy to help ;D Dale

[Aircraftmech76]

When you know what you are doing, your cases look like this:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a271/rvpilot76/300%20Blackout/Annealed300BLK.jpg

I do all my cases from 300 Blackout to 338-06. I anneal before every sizing, as moving metal at all changes its hardness. I want every thing consistent.

This target was shot with four separate trips to the target. Annealed brass is consistent brass:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a271/rvpilot76/Targets/NadineKrylonLightWoodlandGreen007.jpg

There are ten shots in that group, and the brass was Winchester WSSM. Shot with 10X fixed optics; no BR scopes on that rifle ;D

Unfortunately, you would need to anneal in the neighborhood of 11,000 cases to pay for the machine if you were to charge a very small fee for the service. I do it for my buddies for around .05 if they deprime and clean the case for me, or .10 a piece if I clean the brass with my Stainless Tumbling Media machine and then anneal. The 300 Blackout cases above were processed in that very fashion. The REALLY nice thing about the STM method of case cleaning is that it cleans the primer pockets and that THERE'S NO BLOODY MEDIA TO PICK OUT OF THE FLASH HOLES! :)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a271/rvpilot76/300%20Blackout/300BLK1.jpg

All the brass I process comes out looking like factory Lapua cases, which are just beautiful with their shiny bases and bluish/purple neck and shoulders.

Kevin

[Dennis]

What annealing will do though is keep your neck tension more consistent which will increase the consistency of your ammunition.



I would like consistant neck tension throughout the life of the case.

Thats the whole point Particularly important for L/R shooting to better control vertical.

The above is the main reason to anneal, which I do every 4th or 5th shot.

[hafejd30]

I've decided to do annealing. Lots of research has went into this decision and the help of everyone on this site is much appreciated. I will be using tempilaq on the cases per bench source instructions. (This appears to be the same instructions "coverdog" was speaking of in "gotcha's" post)

I never annealed with my previous barrel with winchester brass and although I never lost a case to split necks I did notice on average 1-2 out of 5 shots would hit low or high of the rest (using RCBS neck dies). The other day I shot 1000 yds and out of 4 shots 3 were within 2" of verticle and one dropped 7" below the rest. I was not chronoing these rounds. Theres nothing more frustrating then shooting long range and having the first shot hit above or below the target, then adjusting to that impact and sending the next shots into a nice little cluster in the middle of BFE. I found some guys doing a group buy on the bench source and it will cost me $515 shipped to my door.

I do a lot of shooting but generally use the same 40 pieces of brass throughout it all. With this machine I can anneal on every firing thus not having to keep track of how many shots go through each piece of brass.

Although the machine cost is hard to justify it will ensure consistancy and save time. I can also use it on brass of fellow shooters in my area if they so desire.

I'm 22 yrs old now so the machine, although taking a while, should pay for itself. Whether it be consistancy or case life.

[darkker]

For me shooting @ 1K I don't find the need to anneal. Now I'm not trying to win any matches, but keep MOA at that distance.
I do the unthinkable, mix headstamps.
I use Win 748, with Br-2's and 175SMK's. Using Lee's neck dies with a very light crimp, I have(don't have my notes here) about 8 reloads on them. I went shooting around 500 yards this past weekend, and easily hold MOA still. So, I guess it just depends on what you are after, and if your brass really needs it.