Comments on: The Science of Annealing — Facts Uncovered, Myths Busted

By: Shaylee Packer

Shaylee Packer — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 14:09:51 +0000

As you mentioned, it was the annealing of the brass that made it stronger in the long run. We are thinking about putting a metal raining around our deck in the backyard. Do we need to make sure that it is annealed first? Does that process change the look of the metal?

By: mark

mark — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 07:43:41 +0000

carbon layer in neck region…

it is good for case to case consistency, but very bad for batch to batch consistency.

which one to choose for our goal for reloading?

By: Dennis Santiago

Dennis Santiago — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 16:57:04 +0000

I’l back up Bruce’s observation about crimping for service rifle or field use. If one isn’t annealing brass every time, adding a factory crimp die into the reloading sequence seems to be a viable option to keep round to round consistency for all brass with the same number of reloadings. It’s a good option for short line service rifle ammo where your brass count per prep cycle numbers in the 1,000 to 2,000 pieces at a time. The thinking here is a bit different because SD’s matter much less than shot technique at that end of the game.

For applications where super repeatability in take offf speed are critical, I’d break out the annealer. This article and the referenced sources are quite useful here in that they show some science based reasonableness in an area too often shrouded in myths. Keeping brass isolated by number of firings means quite a lot as it turns out.

By: Chris Neubauer

Chris Neubauer — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 09:05:09 +0000

Excellent article Alex. Thank you for your time in researching and compiling the data, and publishing it for free! This is such valuable information and gives us all a much deeper understanding of what really happens to our brass. You’re a scholar and a gentleman. Huge appreciation and best wishes.

By: David Joe

David Joe — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 16:00:57 +0000

I’d sure be curious to know what the ratio is between the force needed to push a bulket out of the neck, versus through a long, rifled barrel while engraving it. I’d tend to think that the spread in neck tension in a 100 count batch of brass is a very, very tiny fraction of that needed force, perhaps on an order of magnitude of less than one kernel of powder in a rifle case.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 05:30:04 +0000

And the “drag” on the bullet inside the neck, lasts about as long as it takes for 20 tons/sq. inch to blow the case neck out hard against the chamber walls whilst simultaneously driving the (much heavier) bullet into the throat.

Having the bullet hard up against the lands at launch, will, as pretty much everyone has noticed, produce a different pressure curve and mean velocity than if a little free-bore exists.

What has been interesting is the apparent change in the general “tightening” of groups when the Lee “factory crimp die is employed.

Purists will blanch at the thought of “mutilating” the case mouth, but, for those shooting “service” or actual “field” rifles, the elimination of “bullet shuffle” in the magazine is not to be sneezed at.

It comes at the slight cost of reduced neck life, but, in a game-getting rifle, this is of little importance.

If your piggy-bank runs to belt-fed toys, serious bullet “retention” is vital.

By: MikeC

MikeC — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 22:08:26 +0000

Keep in mind that ‘pull force’ itself is not neck tension. Tension can only be relatively represented by pull force, while friction is held at a constant.

I’m all for the carbon layer, it’s all good. But taking necks to squeaky clean does not affect tension. It only affects seating/pull force. Actual tension, the spring back gripping force on seated bullets, is independent of friction.

By: Boyd Allen

Boyd Allen — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 18:39:18 +0000

This is an extremely good read, well worth the time of any serious reloader. While I am still in the process of reading it, I thought that I would share one quote, that affirms what many have said over the years.”…even with identical interference fit and neck hardness, as the carbon layer increased (microscopically), the force to draw the bullet decreased. It would appear the carbon acted as a lubricant. Interestingly, the standard deviation also improved i.e. the case to case variation in the force required to draw the bullets decreased.”