Anneal 44 brass?
- Thread starter Chainsaw.
- Start date
I did, years ago when I mostly shot near max loads with Keith-type cast bullets. When on case would show a sight case-neck split, I would toss it and anneal the rest. The rest of the cases would then not split for a long time.
That is one of the cons of Keith-type bullets...they had such an overly pronounced crimp groove that it inspired people to actually crimp to the full depth...which is unnecessary. I observed that even in the heaviest factory loads, crimps were fairly light and the bullets never pulled out due to recoil. When I stopped the excessive belling and crimping, I found that I did not need to anneal to save the cases.
Straight walled stuff rarely gives you any indication it's about to crack before it does. Handgun brass usually doesn't get annealed anyway. Too hard to see the colour change. Red hot is too hot as well.
However, case life is dependant on the load used. And a heavy crimp really isn't necessary unless the load is hot or the ammo is used in a lever action.
However, case life is dependant on the load used. And a heavy crimp really isn't necessary unless the load is hot or the ammo is used in a lever action.
You could anneal the case mouths if you want to, I don't think it would hurt anything. I have been reloading .44 mag. brass since 1990, and haven't needed to anneal any yet. Most brass gets over 10 reloadings, and I'm guessing many go over 20 (I don't count). I have some Remington nickel plated cases I have kept separate for my T-Rex loads and so far have 10 near max. loads on them with no signs of excess wear (265 gr Ranch Dog cast bullet with close to max. loads of WC820). While not the cheapest case around .44 Magnum brass is still readily available, and I scrap very few "used up" cases. 
NoSecondBest
New member
I've never annealed a single handgun case. I'm using brass from the 1980s in both 44mag and 357mag. Some of it's been loaded close to twenty times. Very few ever crack. I wouldn't waste one minute of my time even trying to anneal it. Buy enough of it in bulk when you get it and the cost goes way down and it'll last a very long time.
Consider the cost of the propane, and it's cheaper to buy new brass. And if you value your time at all, it's not wortgh it.
I anneal cases made from other calibres, such as 7.65 Mauser made from .30-06, but if the cases are readily available at reasonable cost, why bother annealing?
I anneal cases made from other calibres, such as 7.65 Mauser made from .30-06, but if the cases are readily available at reasonable cost, why bother annealing?
Thanks alot Gents. I have about 150 cases at the moment and have had a couple split recently BUT alot of these cases I got out of an estate lot from a man who reloaded alot. So who knows how many times they've been loaded. Made me wonder if I should anneal. As advised Ill buy a batch of 100 and run em. He as much 44 as I shoot I should get more.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
I've never annealed 44s. Just shoot'em until there mouth splits beyond my liking. There after trim em back to 44 Special Max Length. Reload again for targeting or when needed bump up to near Mag velocity's for serious duty.
NoSecondBest
New member
Over crimping will cause them to split. You need to know when enough is enough. It takes very, very little crimp to hold on to the bullet even with the stoutest of loads. I've loaded some pretty stout stuff over the years (ww296 and 240g XTPs) and never had any start to come out of the case and rarely ever had a split case.
I normally use a "medium heavy" crimp on all my .44 Mag. loads. Perhaps it isn't needed, but I established the practice a long time ago when using lighter loads and had what seemed erratic ignition/burn. I haven't counted a "loss" in number of reloads, but it's still few and far between for me to toss a split mouth. For the last 15 years or so I've been using a Redding Profile Crimp which works great...
Sometimes folks go to great lengths to extend the usable life of revolver brass, but I have one question; how many more reloadings can you get by using all the "brass life preserver" methods? (limited flaring, light/no crimping, etc.). Five? Eight? And how do you know?
Sometimes folks go to great lengths to extend the usable life of revolver brass, but I have one question; how many more reloadings can you get by using all the "brass life preserver" methods? (limited flaring, light/no crimping, etc.). Five? Eight? And how do you know?
When you consider how much less it costs than bottleneck rifle brass does, it starts to be hard to justify the extra trouble you need to go to in order to do it safely. With bottleneck rifle brass the distance to the head is generally great enough that the risk of accidentally softening the head is minimal. With short pistol cases, like 380 ACP, it would be almost impossible to protect the head without a water tray and hard to heat the sides all the way down as fare as the bullet seats to remove work hardening with one. With 44 Mag you are sort of between the two situations, where you need to take some extra care about the head, like a water bath, but at least you stand a chance of annealing it to the depth you seat bullets to. It's just a bit difficult, especially for long, heavy bullets, to anneal it down that far without endangering the head.
But if all you want to do is get the last ⅛ inch or so where the roll crimp works the brass hardest, I think the molten lead method probably makes the most sense. You heat your casting pot to 700-750°F. Dip the case in powdered graphite to prevent soldering, then dip that last ⅛ into the lead and roll your fingers back and forth until the head starts to get too hot to hold onto, then drop the case into water. With rifle cases the water isn't needed, but with the short distance and larger diameter heat path to a head no wider than the brass, I would want to stop the heat from spreading as fast as possible.
I can think of other methods of doing this. The induction heaters are probably easiest, but it takes more technological effort. Tossing and replacing starts to look better when you think that through.
But if all you want to do is get the last ⅛ inch or so where the roll crimp works the brass hardest, I think the molten lead method probably makes the most sense. You heat your casting pot to 700-750°F. Dip the case in powdered graphite to prevent soldering, then dip that last ⅛ into the lead and roll your fingers back and forth until the head starts to get too hot to hold onto, then drop the case into water. With rifle cases the water isn't needed, but with the short distance and larger diameter heat path to a head no wider than the brass, I would want to stop the heat from spreading as fast as possible.
I can think of other methods of doing this. The induction heaters are probably easiest, but it takes more technological effort. Tossing and replacing starts to look better when you think that through.