Found this and I'm still scratching my head on the benefit. I have to be honest I've not heard of this before I found the article. Anyone here anneal bullets and if so have you noticed any difference in bullet performance?

I'm sure the tip would be gone well before anything measurable was actually accomplished.

Let me know when they start annealing powder, that would be a fun video.

do they have long winters in New Zealand?

No idea, but I would like to know the melting point of the poly tip and annealing point of the jacket...it would be interesting to see if he is achieving any change.

As to benefit...why?


And from memory copper and such need to be dunked for rapid cooling to anneal, same as brass.

I thought it would be a solid like barnes...

Never used one, but either way I would be surprised if there was any change from a candle in such a short time.

Brass does not have to be dunked during the annealing process.Rick.

That, and forging primers.




The polymer would certainly benefit from hardening due to quenching, but copper alloys aren't affected either way, other than that quenching stops the movement of heat within the object due to conduction.

That video just goes to show that confidence in one's equipment must have some measurable effects, assuming he can actually measure anything favorable with the bullets he's played with, because nothing he shows adds anything beneficial in terms of consistency (or meaning, as far as I can tell.)

It keeps him out of the kitchen.....

Take your word for it, I dunk mine.

It doesn't really inspire confidence in the rest of his site.


Added...with any luck he will log in and explain it all.

It never fails to amaze me when gun types think they can improve on products that were developed and tested by experienced engineers. It really amazes me when they think they can do it with household tools, chemicals, and candles.

I agree completely with that. Mine go into a bucket of water, however, just to speed up the entire process. No deformation when I simply drop them in a bucket of water.

I don't think I'll worry about the slugs though.

Bullets are pretty hot when they exit the muzzle. It's hard for me to believe that heat treating the lead before use will make any actual difference.

Dunking brass after annealing keeps the annealing from going too far toward the case head.

Plenty of sources indicate you do not need to quench your brass. If one is worried about the case head, you are most certainly over heating your brass from the get go...

unless, of course, you're annealing pretty short brass.

But no, unlike most other metals, copper and brass don't have to be quenched to anneal.

I have heard lots of folks say the necks should be red when annealing but that always seemed too hot to me. What are your thoughts?

If the neck glows red it's too soft and you should toss the brass.

Discolor blue is what your looking for around 725 or so.

Do a google search on annealing lots of good posts out there

An "ad nauseam" topic on here with opinions that are all over the place....

I find for my needs the candle method works perfectly. I don't very large batches so I don't mind a little extra time. I have never had a brass issue or cracked necks as a result of this technique.

Next. I will try the "candle" method with a torch and see If I get similar results without having to clean off the carbon.

YMMV

Apparently way to long...

Here is one for the VLD crowd.... Video

Annealing bullets is interesting, but more interesting is the knowledge base's analysis of the .300 mag vs 7mm mag debate. do you want it dead in 45 seconds or instantly?

"There is an old and long standing argument, which is better, the 7mm Remington Magnum or the .300 Winchester Magnum? This argument pits the two most common factory magnums head to head. In truth, each has its unique strengths. The strengths of the .300 are in its ability to produce fast killing on body weights greater than 90kg. To this end, the rule of this author states, where 90% of the hunters game weights are less than 90kg (200lb), the 7mm magnums show great strengths. If 90% of the hunters game weigh above 90kg, the .300 magnums produce excellent performance. More specifically, on tough game species weighing around 150-200kg (330-440lb), speed of killing can be reduced from 45 seconds (7mm Magnum with conventional bullets) to either instant collapse or a few second delay - at all ranges. Once this is seen in the field and fully understood, arguments about trajectories and wind drift quickly fall by the wayside."

I first read that site several years ago. I decided that guy is either way smarter than most of us, or completely mad.

When I anneal bullets I wait until after I seat them in the case, I gives you something to hold onto, no need for the channelocks( Just gotta watch you dont get them to hot)....grin

The self clean setting on the oven is the easy way.

Probably the start of hot core bullets -- annealing the lead to the gilding material - - - - or something.