Deprime then anneal or just shoot?

[sithlord6512]

My predicament is this - I have primed my resized brass, some of which may have been fired as much as five times. I am concerned that if I fire this non-annealed brass (yes - I just learned about the need for annealing), I may (a) be taking a safety risk and/or (b) it will negatively affect the validity of my load testing (e.g., will neck tension on some rounds be different than others, thereby affecting accuracy/consistency).

I am thinking about depriming the brass, annealing, then repriming and loading (I am assuming resizing is not necessary - brass was already resized). However, I hate the thought of wasting my extremely limited supply of primers. What would you do?

 

[RiverRider]

I'd shoot 'em. You may not get great results, but you'll get data against which to compare after you DO anneal. Sometimes learning what does work involves a lot of experience with things to do NOT work. Anyway, there's my $.02!

edit to add: I wouldn't worry about any kind of catastrophic case failure that might be prevented by annealing---I don't think such a thing usually exists.

 

[JD338]

It would be a lot easier to shoot them and anneal them prior to the next loading. Depending on your loads, you should be able to get 8-12 loadings with only having to trim the cases.

If you were to disassemble the loads, I would run the brass through the sizing die to ensure you have consistent neck tension.

JD338

 

[Elkman]

sith
I agree with the other posts with just a couple of more comments. If you are continually using this brass in the same gun then neck sizing will extend your longevity. Magnum calibers loaded to max, will typically have a shorter case life than standard calibers. I get at least 10 reloads (I really don't track them to close) out of most cases. You can order primers online. I have only annealed cases where I was changing the caliber of the case. In 40+ years of reloading I have never annealed a case fired in the caliber on the headstamp. Unless I was using these cases for hunting or precision target shooting I would load them and fire them and go from there however you decide. Hope this helps.

 

[sithlord6512]

Thanks for the input guys. Shoot it is and leave annealing for after.

Neck sizing is now in my future - I just orderd a Lee Collet die and an sinclair body sizer (for when I may need it).

I wish ordering primers online was an option - life would be so much easier (I live on Baffin Island in the Canadian Artic - primers and powders must come in only once a year).

Thanks again.

 

[Elkman]

You live that far north that is cool, thanks for sharing that with us. What kind of animals do you have there to hunt. Are Caribou that far north, and what about Muskox?

 

[sithlord6512]

I hunt Caribou- but polar, seals, beluga, Narwhal and Walrus are what the local Inuit would hunt (Qalunaat, or non-Inuit, do not have to hunt this other fare).

Muskox, barren-land Grizzly, and more recently, "Grizzlors" (polar bear/grizzly hybrids) can be taken on the mainland of Nunavut, but not where I live (Baffin Island).

While hunting caribou has it own challenges (i.e., try field-dressing in -40 C temperatures), I much prefer hunting whitetail and Moose. Once you spot a small heard of Caribou, its seems sorta like I imagine pen hunting or hunting in a farm yard would be like - you pick your animal and you take it. While I have not had this happen, some of the fellas I have hunted with talk about being surrounded by curious caribou who return to see what happened to there fallen comrades.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Sithlord, I have Commercial cases I've fired over 20 times that I've never anneled. It's my understanding anneling is suggested for MILITARY cases. In order to withstand the ruggers of military life, military brass can be much harder and stiffer then commercial cases, so it's suggested you anneal Military cases every 4-5 loadings. I've also heard it can help with old cases that have become hard with age. Annealing can soften them up and make them easier to size again.