You might be amazed at how hard some "factory" brass can be. It is going to depend on how many times during the "drawing" process for the case it's annealed. From the small pellet of brass that a case starts out, it's drawn through dies with mandrels and some factories may feel an extra annealing step is OK to skip in order to make a price point. Let's remember that the military purchasers of ammo around the world could care less about reloading. To them it's a single use item and the only brass they collect is from training areas, primarily because it tends to pile up. Battlefields? Not on your life.
On the other hand brass sold through retail markets is annealed regularly in the process as it's expected to be reloaded multiple times. Some companies (Lapua for example) pride themselves on the reputation for multiple reloadings that exceed that of competitors in most cases.
Can't find your torch? Just borrow one from a family member or friend. They won't miss it for a couple of years
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