Case annealing?

[Clickjack]

What’s the story on case annealing?
I reloaded a bunch of once fired 5.56 & 30-06. All of it functions and shoots well.

Have I been skipping a necessary step?

[tabascoz28]

I'm about to build one. Going to see if I can extend my 556 and 308 cases as long as possible. It could be crap brass, but I've had the neck split from 1 to 2 shootings, I don't even load hot, 2900fps for 556 out of a 16" barrel. I've seen American eagle come out of that barrel at 3200fps from the factory, but it could be a chrono issue, I don't think so! I have a bolt action 308 with Lapua brass that went 5-6 loads with no annealing. If you have replacement brass, maybe not necessary, just throw away split cases when you see them.

[edgerly779]

You anneal when case has been fired multiple times.

[JackEllis]

No.

If you want to extent the life of expensive brass, then annealing may be the thing for you. If you're a precision shooter, annealing may be the thing for you.

If not, just buy used brass.

[cavemanlrrp]

I shoot LC brass, 5.56.
I anneal every 3rd or 4th firing.
Just retired a batch after 10th loading/firing. Had 3 split necks in a 50 batch.

My load is not hot, 77 Nosler at about 2600. Only shooting 550yrds.

Besides case life, I find they size more consistently after annealing.

Best
caveman

[baih777]

You need to try 10 or 20 cases.
When you seat the bullet. You will notice the difference.

Your 308 rds I would do it for these.

[RickD427]

You're not missing a necessary step, especially if your cases are on the first, or second, reload.

Over time the case necks will become hardened and that's when it's important to do the annealing.

You'll probably get several reloads in your .223 cases and a few less in your 30-06 before you'll need to anneal.

I have yet to purchase any annealing equipment, but it's on my short list. I'm looking to anneal my 6mm PPC cases after 3-4 loadings. I've just started long range benchrest with the 1/2" Browning cartridge. Those will get annealed with every reloading.

[Novaholic]

Due to the current situation with ammo availability I went a head and purchased an annealer (Mikes Reloading Bench)....It’s another thing to learn but well worth the investment.

[Epaphroditus]

Building 7mm Weatherby brass from 300 Weatherby works the brass a lot. Brass work hardens. Hard brass is prone to splitting. Annealing softens the brass.

Soft brass is good brass.

Weatherby brass in freaking expensive. Anything to get more loads out of the same brass is $ in the bank.

Not all brass can pay enough dividends to make the extra work of annealing worth the effort.

[divingin]

Have I been skipping a necessary step?

Maybe. Maybe not.

If you're satisfied (and continue to be satisfied) with your loads, then don't worry about it.

Annealing removes the work hardening that occurs with brass. Many competition reloaders anneal to ensure the brass is as consistent load to load as possible. Annealing will also delay the onset of cracking and splitting due to the brittleness of work hardened brass, which is more important when you're using $1 to $3 per piece brass. Some anneal every time, others go a few cycles between annealing.

As long as the work hardening that occurs doesn't affect your results, it's not necessary.