Annealing Straight Wall?

[RETOKSQUID]

Ah, reminded me that you can trim down jacked up 44Mag cases to 44SPL and 44SPL to 44 Russian. You could even trim 44 Special to a 44 Colt length if need be.

True. About half were salvageable that way, but some were beyond saving as they cracked from the center of the case out. Have since scraped the lot and replaced with new star line brass.

 

[cdschoonie]

Minimally working the brass will add much life to it.
If you are sending max loads down range the brass will not last as long as if you sent mild loads down the pipe.

I anneal every time with my rifle cases.
Not because I am afraid of a case neck split but because of accuracy.
When I did a couple brass fail tests for my .308 I shot the cases until they failed and all of them died of case head cracks not split necks.

My loads were mid range loads.
No annealing was done on my first test of .308 cases and R-P case lasted 54 firings and Full length sized each time.

Now I will say This I did not set the shoulders back more than .002" and the body of the case was not sized any more than .002"
anywhere except the neck.
If your die pinches(sizes) the case down .008" vs the fired size you can expect much less life.

I had a 45 Colt and something I hated about it was the brass.
Every manufacturer has their idea of how thick or how long it should be.
If you have different makes of brass for that do some measuring and I bet you find the same.

Sure makes it tough to come up with an accurate load when case sizes are all over the map.

If the gun was a better made one with all the cylinders the same size and shot accurate I would have gladly spent money on new brass so i could have a bunch of the same size.
It was a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley.
It made me sad to shoot it every time I took it out because it was nice but not accurate.
I did some tweaking and made it more accurate but still not up to par.

If you are chasing your tail on trying to make accurate ammo please measure the cases and sort them.
It will save you a lot of time and a lot of components.

That answers a ton of questions thank you…

A couple more questions:
1) As for my 6.5 cm, I’ve seen mixed ideas as to neck sizing vs. FL sizing vs. both. What’s the thought on this? With the same goal in mind, I’m looking to get the most I possibly can out of each case. If it helps, I would rather buy a neck sizer also.

2) When I started reloading, I bought Lee Case Length Guages for trimming each caliber. I trim everything with them, new or fired. Is this needed? Good habits? Bad Habits?

 

[cdschoonie]

I anneal my 45C and 44SPL brass after about 5 reloads...I've found that after six, they might start splitting...especially Remington brass.

Remember, with your split cases, you can trim them to 45 Special and use them...good for the real light loads. You need a combo of 45C and 45 ACP dies.

I have both, since I reload for both calibers. Good advice thank you!

 

[Oklahomabassin]

I think I picked up about 25 to 30, 45LC brass a few weeks ago where someone shot beer cans and trashed up the place.

 

[cdschoonie]

I think I picked up about 25 to 30, 45LC brass a few weeks ago where someone shot beer cans and trashed up the place.

Bonus!

 

[Aries]

That answers a ton of questions thank you…

A couple more questions:
1) As for my 6.5 cm, I’ve seen mixed ideas as to neck sizing vs. FL sizing vs. both. What’s the thought on this? With the same goal in mind, I’m looking to get the most I possibly can out of each case. If it helps, I would rather buy a neck sizer also.

2) When I started reloading, I bought Lee Case Length Guages for trimming each caliber. I trim everything with them, new or fired. Is this needed? Good habits? Bad Habits?

1. If you shoot everything in the same gun, neck sizing is probably okay and will work the brass less. But if you use the ammo in two or more different guns, you probably need to full length resize.

2. You don't really need to trim new cases... unless you are trying for extreme accuracy and just want to make sure every case is exactly the same length. That's generally not the reason for trimming though, it's to keep the case from getting too long from stretching as it's fired each time. New cases won't be too long. You may only need to trim cases after 3-4 firings, but again if you're trying for maximum accuracy you may want to trim after each firing for uniformity. And how many fires you go between trims will probably depend on how hot your loads are.

 

[cdschoonie]

1. If you shoot everything in the same gun, neck sizing is probably okay and will work the brass less. But if you use the ammo in two or more different guns, you probably need to full length resize.

2. You don't really need to trim new cases... unless you are trying for extreme accuracy and just want to make sure every case is exactly the same length. That's generally not the reason for trimming though, it's to keep the case from getting too long from stretching as it's fired each time. New cases won't be too long. You may only need to trim cases after 3-4 firings, but again if you're trying for maximum accuracy you may want to trim after each firing for uniformity. And how many fires you go between trims will probably depend on how hot your loads are.

I have not and will no load anything outside of reloading manual range, at least not until I’ve been reloading long enough that I don’t need to ask these elementary questions lol.

I load for my 6.5 and my son’s, we are just about dialed into what each rifle likes, so once there, each will be consistent loads from there on.

As I stated, I’ve read a variety of opinions on whether to FL or NS cases. I’m just wondering in which circumstances to NS, and when to just FL size.

 

[dennishoddy]

I read a few threads on other sites, asking if you should anneal straight wall cases. Is this necessary, or just wasting time?

Not required. I've reloaded many thousands of straight walled pistol cases shot in competitions without any issues. Cases used week after week.
I do find straight walled cases at the range with a split rarely that could be from any number of reasons.

 

[cdschoonie]

Not required. I've reloaded many thousands of straight walled pistol cases shot in competitions without any issues. Cases used week after week.
I do find straight walled cases at the range with a split rarely that could be from any number of reasons.

My 45 Colt is in a Marlin 1894 w/18” barrel…Would that change the need as opposed to the pistol loads? I load the mid range loads, in between trap door and Ruger 1, and do not/will not go over the top recommended load.

Also, as I stated, would you change your status with the thought of getting the most possible firings out of every case during this shortage?

 

[dennishoddy]

My 45 Colt is in a Marlin 1894 w/18” barrel…Would that change the need as opposed to the pistol loads? I load the mid range loads, in between trap door and Ruger 1, and do not/will not go over the top recommended load.

Also, as I stated, would you change your status with the thought of getting the most possible firings out of every case during this shortage?

Ok, now we know you're looking at rifle. That changes the game.
I'm a brass whore, Tons of the stuff on shelves at home so I just pitch the ones that are damaged for whatever reason, but if one is down to 20 rounds of ammo that you have to reuse time and time again or some exotic foreign brass for elephant guns, I might think about it. Competition shooters certainly don't use full power loads, so the brass isn't stressed like those that shoot full power rounds.
Straight walled cases use a tapered crimp in pistol and sometimes rifle. If you are using a repeater, you might want a little roll crimp
Your mid-range loads should have zero issues with the brass life though with the proper taper crimp, but as stated a little roll crimp for peace of mind is OK if you want. The only issue might be with factory brass that is defective that annealing won't have any difference with.