I just finished annealing a batch of 100 .350 Rem Mag cases and wondered "How do others do this and with what method?" Growing up, dad considered annealing kind of voodoo-ish. All I remember him doing was either dipping case necks in molten lead or setting cases up in a metal cake pan, putting water in up to the level of the case shoulder, then heating the case necks until they just started to change color and tipping them over into the water. I never really messed with it much until I was necking LC Match 7.62 brass down to .260 Remington specs. Then I decided I should learn to anneal after turning the necks. I found some good advice from John Barsness that has served me well when annealing. He recommends chucking a socket extension into a drill, putting a deep well socket slightly larger than case diameter on to turn the cases at a moderate pace and do it in a dark room, like very dark, and use a propane torch. Start the case rotating, bring the flame in on the bottom side of the case neck that is sticking out from the socket and heat it until you just start to see the brass barely change color and then pull the torch back. The socket serves as a heat sink and protects the rest of the case from the heat. I know there are machines out there that do this automatically, but I can't justify the expense of such a machine for the relatively small amount of annealing I do. How often do you anneal your brass and how frequently?
