Annealing brass

[VAshooter]

I haven't been on this forum too long and this may have been talked to death in the past but if so, I missed it.
What methods do you shooters use when annealing your brass and how often do you do it? I generally understand the process but I'm sure everyone has their own techniques. Do you only heat the mouth of the cartridge or do you heat all the way to the rim? How hot do you get the brass? Do you quench it in water or something else? I have a bunch of Starline 45-70 brass and my understanding is that I will need to anneal it before loading target loads.

Thanks for any input.

[Omaha Poke]

VAShooter, you won't necessarily need to anneal the brass. Starline brass is thicker than some other makers, however it depends mainly on the results you get after test firing a number of them.

I have used Starline brass in the following cals. without annealing them, and have had excellent results both in competition and hunting.

.40-65, .45-70, and .45-90

My advise would be to shoot a few dozen rounds, and see what the results are, then if need be anneal them. I wouldn't do it before testing, because it may not be necessary.

Others may not agree, and I am not an expert, so you will have to separate the wheat from the chaff on this subject. Randy

[Omaha Poke]

VAshooter, sorry, I only answered half of your question. One of the easiest ways to anneal the mouth and neck ONLY!! of the case is to stand them up in about 1" of water in a pan, and then heat the neck and mouth up to a dull red color with a propane torch. Then just tip the annealed case over into the water to quench. You can do 1-3 at a time. Hope this helps. Randy

[Rick Crabtree]

A good way to anneal I have found is. Buy one of those LEE case trim kits for a few bucks. . Use the locking stud and shell holder part to hold the case. Turn it very slowly in a variable speed drill and apply the heat with a torch. With the case slowly spinning you get a reaaly nice even annealing job.