I can too Brother and I meant no offense by the way, tone of voice gets lost in text, I'm on your side
Resizing, before or after annealing
- Thread starter 1mechanic
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Ga6570
Well-Known Member
Anneal. Then size.
I didn't take it negatively. And I agree about tone in text, email, forums.
Fire, Anneal, Deprime, Tumble, Sizing, wipe, Prime, Powder, seat bullet | Repeat as many times as possible.
Bolt guns with SAAMI chambers, yes, sizing works the brass more.
Fire forming brass? Chambers that are too long for the cartridge, firing in an AR that has a generous chamber? Firing works the brass more. With ARs, especially AR10s, it's also a special case that I insist on full sizing with a shell holder that's milled 5 thousandths and a small base die in order to not have any stuck cartridges. I have found, it's always the base that gets me being interference fit or a skosh worse.
That gets a, "it depends..." from me.
Bolt guns with SAAMI chambers, yes, sizing works the brass more.
Fire forming brass? Chambers that are too long for the cartridge, firing in an AR that has a generous chamber? Firing works the brass more. With ARs, especially AR10s, it's also a special case that I insist on full sizing with a shell holder that's milled 5 thousandths and a small base die in order to not have any stuck cartridges. I have found, it's always the base that gets me being interference fit or a skosh worse.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
I use a universal decapper now so the first thing I do is recap, then clean. If I'm going to anneal then is the time before I start working it.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
Brass flows every time it is worked. The softer it is, the more it flows.
If you're reloading a case numerous times and don't have a generous chamber sooner or later that lengthened neck will bind and can create some serious pressure problems.
I learned early on that trimming my cases to length is an essential element in making reloading safer.
If you have yet to run into that problem, you're lucky.
Not to derail but I trim every loading as well even though it's not needed
MagnumManiac
Well-Known Member
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The sizing process after firing moves the brass the most. This is why I anneal before forming and after firing before sizing because this is where the brass is moved in every direction.
The amount of movement to work harden a piece of brass is quite a lot after it has been annealed. If you fire a case numerous times with minimal sizing, it could take 10 strokes of firing and sizing to work harden the brass enough that it becomes difficult to re-size. But we often never do this. I have a match chambered 6.5x47 Lapua that I shot one piece of Lapua small primer brass in 20 times, the brass never moves more then .003" in any direction. That case has NOT been annealed and may never need it.
It is solely governed by how sloppy the chamber is, the die dimensions and the stability of the brass.
To minimise brass movement, you need a plan. Mine is absolute minimum die specs, honed necks and altered expanders and a final size with a mandrel. Absolutely no chamber neck clearance larger than .003" if it can be helped.
Body dies are invaluable if you can get them at minimum spec.
Cheers.
The amount of movement to work harden a piece of brass is quite a lot after it has been annealed. If you fire a case numerous times with minimal sizing, it could take 10 strokes of firing and sizing to work harden the brass enough that it becomes difficult to re-size. But we often never do this. I have a match chambered 6.5x47 Lapua that I shot one piece of Lapua small primer brass in 20 times, the brass never moves more then .003" in any direction. That case has NOT been annealed and may never need it.
It is solely governed by how sloppy the chamber is, the die dimensions and the stability of the brass.
To minimise brass movement, you need a plan. Mine is absolute minimum die specs, honed necks and altered expanders and a final size with a mandrel. Absolutely no chamber neck clearance larger than .003" if it can be helped.
Body dies are invaluable if you can get them at minimum spec.
Cheers.
