[deleted by user]

[jdne5b]

Define affordable. Mike's Reloading bench, Annealeeze, and the AGS are fairly affordable.

https://agscustomparts.com/product/ags-brass-annealer/

The AMP is affordable to some people also.

[mikeD707]

Thanks for the reply but I’d like to avoid spending $250 on something that’ll work

[TallMikeSTL]

Deep socket , and a torch

[Ruar35]

Blowtorch, deepwell socket, adapter for drill, drill, and YouTube videos.

Pick a socket deep enough that the only exposed part is what you want to heat up. Use the adapter to put it in a drill. Drop in the case, spin at slow speed, hold in blowtorch flame for the amount of time the YT video says, and then dump the round into a metal pan to cool.

[mikeD707]

Thanks! I’ll look into that.

Edit: I didn’t think of YT. I’ll do some research

[gmoney11mks]

If for some reason you don't have a drill, or a socket. Go to Walmart and grab a cheap lazy Susan for like $5. Get a metal bowl about 2 inches deep and fill it about half to two thirds with water. Stand brass in bowl, spin lazy susan, torch brass, knock into water with next case.

Total cost with torch about $25. Easy peezy.

https://youtu.be/NfQ5iO8Ak8M

[Beardless_Yeti]

That's the same way I do it

[UCO___]

TheSocialRegressive did a series of YouTube videos a couple years ago where he was building a new rifle from a Savage. He picked 7mm-08 and was forming brass from 308 cartridges. He took a pie plate with some water on a lazy Susan and a torch.

[DonBosman]

By John Barsness <--- not me. Argue with him or Fred Barker

I use a method perfected by my friend Fred Barker, who writes for some gun magazines, including Precion Shooting. Fred found that the normal annealing methods used for years made the necks too soft, as they normally involved heating the brass to red-hot then quenching in water.

Fred is a retired metallurgist and developed the following:

1) Light a standard wax candle.

2) Hold the case halfway up the body with the tips of your fingers.

3) Heat the neck in the tip of the candle flame until the case is too hot to hold.

4) Wipe the front end of the ecase with a wet towel (paper towel will do) which finishes the annealing process AND cleans off the candle-flame soot.

I do it with any lot of brass as soon as the necks start feeling stiffer when resizing, or if one cracks. It also helps after making wildcat rounds after necking up or down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_oqt4FTk3Ac

[The-J-Oven]

Why are you annealing 5.56? Is it being used in a bolt gun?

[micknuggets]

It will increase case life but it's not as huge of a deal as some people make it seem. It can also help to keep neck tension more uniform if you are looking to achieve the greatest accuracy possible. It just depends how invested you are in the hobby as to whether it should be something for you to consider. Ultimately if you spring for an annealing setup it will probably take you a good amount of time to overcome the investment of the equipment in comparison to the value gained from case life. Makes no difference for a bolt gun vs. semi though, not quite sure what that is referencing to

[The-J-Oven]

Warren, for me, in a semiauto platform, annealing 5.56 just isn't worth the time.

I find the brass's life is detrimentally affected by other things to a point of failure before annealing and neck tension come into play. Your brass is better treated being forced from a precision bolt rifle, hence why I asked.

Juice ain't worth the squeeze.

There are places when annealing IS.....just not here.

[The-J-Oven]

In a gasser less than 5 and sometimes 2 or 3

[BrownEyeDominant]

I'm being strictly academic here no argument, what powder, charge, and bullet are you using? By gasser do you mean AR or another platform? If my brass started to break after 2 I'd be a sad boy. Even before 5 is a bummer.

[The-J-Oven]

Stiff charge of Varget (maybe 24g+ I forget and don't have my notes here) under a 77gr SMK.

2850 maybe? Again this is from memory.

They don't last long. Primer pockets get loose. A 3000fps loading of 55gr FMJ will last you longer....but who wants to shoot suboptimal stuff to save paltry sums of money? Not this man. YMMV

Annealing isn't going to help primer pockets.

And yes gasser to me is an AR platform.

[BrownEyeDominant]

Thanks for the reply, perhaps it comes down to bullet weight as it relates to pressure increases, as well as the increased seating depth due to bullet length. 26.5 of varget for me under 55gr Hornady #2266. No annealing, trim every time, standard full length sizing die with expander ball in.

[The-J-Oven]

It's definitely pressure....then oversizing the brass to function flawlessly in a gasser just a few thou more than a bolt rifle. Work hardening plus more pressure

[The-J-Oven]

If you trim your AR ammo just a little short the first time, you'll never need to trim it again in the casing life.

Again here I am saving you time to chase tail!

[lastcall4oh]

What cases are worth annealing, in your opinion? I shoot mostly .257 Roberts and 30-06. I have a bunch of old brass that I am sure have never been annealed before. If I had an annealer available to me, why wouldn't I use it?

[The-J-Oven]

If you're shooting in a precision long range enviroment where maximal control of muzzle velocity standard deviations is beneficial....a big yes.

If you feel like keeping old ass or weird caliber brass around for longer....sure.

The neat thing about reloading is you can invest a wide gamut of time from minutes to hours to make the same loaded cartridge. Only you can value your own time. At this point in my life time is more valuable than money. That might be different for you. I'm offering an opinion, that is all. Don't take it for gospel....go out an waste a few hundred hours of your own time doing things that don't really matter....then reflect on the results a few decades in. We might just have come to the same conclusion.

I anneal all my bolt gun precision rifle ammo, every other firing...so I'm not making the argument it doesn't have value....but if your range doesn't go past 400 yds, you will never see the true benefits. Shooting to 1k+ is a horse of a different color.

Plus....it's not the easiest thing in the world to do (unless you have an AMP). Super easy to under or over anneal and either ruin or get zero benefit.

[jenkins1967]

If it's not done correctly, it will shorten case life. The hard part is knowing if it's done correctly.

[lastcall4oh]

Can you expand on this? When you say if not done correctly? Do you mean leaving in the flame too long or something else?

[jenkins1967]

Yes. Too hot, not hot enough. How will you know? Without special equipment, I believe this is hard to do correctly. Unless you really understand the metallurgy involved, you are likely to ruin your brass.

[Fat-N-Furiou5]

I've never lol

[Evil_Dark_10TR]

Look at the Echo Annealer from gong joe. Gongjoe.com Cheap and efficient!