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Should I anneal my brass before or after I resize with my Lee collet die? Or does it matter.

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If your brass needs annealing it needed it as soon as you last fired it. I don’t know that it matters enough to notice but I would advise before resizing. That is what I do.

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Before. It will help with spring back.


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I always anneal before sizing as well.


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I have a shotgun so I have no need for a 30-06.....
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Anneal brass every firing BEFORE you FL size. Doing it after sizing would defeat the purpose.

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Annealing softens the brass and resizing hardens it so before.


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As always I am Mary Mary, quite Contrary....

I have done both, but long ago, settled on Annealing it AFTER I size it.. it being my last step...

Since I have a habit of having batches of brass in a lot of calibers seeing 50 plus reloads...and I have a habit of doing it as far out as every 4th reload.. and over the last 5 years or so, on hunting reloads.. each time.. even if just neck sizing..

guess in conclusion, to not argue with the gentlemen above... I'm not seeing it make any different..

My method is just based on what is the easiest flow for me.. nothing more scientific than that...

but with getting 40 and 50 reloads plus out of brass.. with few casualties, I guess I'm not doing anything wrong...

few guys push brass as far as I do.. but then I find, you don't floor your gas pedal at the powder scale... needing max velocity.. and the brass is stretched back and forth less.. and it hangs in there longer....

and I've been doing this for close to 30 years now I guess... just for times like we are currently experiencing once again, with another Commie DemocRat idiot in the White House....


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I've never shot enough to worry about Annealing. If I get 3-4 out of Magnums and 4-5 out of standards, I'm cool. I'm more OCD when it comes to my Reloading, I tend to work up a load, then try it in new brass. I 'always" set up my FL Die to partial size/setting headspace on the shoulder, just enough to easily chamber. If the combo of rifle/load like it in New Brass, I will set up 50 new brass rounds & set aside "just for hunting". I then will shoot remaining brass until it gets loose primer pockets. Throw away. Most of the time, however, rifles tend to like the load combo in a fired case. If so, I use 1X brass "for my hunting loads". I then go to battle with my feverish, OVD Mind mildly confident that I am "set", lol.

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Originally Posted by Jim_Knight
I've never shot enough to worry about Annealing. If I get 3-4 out of Magnums and 4-5 out of standards, I'm cool. I'm more OCD when it comes to my Reloading, I tend to work up a load, then try it in new brass. I 'always" set up my FL Die to partial size/setting headspace on the shoulder, just enough to easily chamber. If the combo of rifle/load like it in New Brass, I will set up 50 new brass rounds & set aside "just for hunting". I then will shoot remaining brass until it gets loose primer pockets. Throw away. Most of the time, however, rifles tend to like the load combo in a fired case. If so, I use 1X brass "for my hunting loads". I then go to battle with my feverish, OVD Mind mildly confident that I am "set", lol.

The purpose for annealing isn't for making the brass last longer, that's a side benefit.

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Originally Posted by Seafire
As always I am Mary Mary, quite Contrary....

I have done both, but long ago, settled on Annealing it AFTER I size it.. it being my last step...

Since I have a habit of having batches of brass in a lot of calibers seeing 50 plus reloads...and I have a habit of doing it as far out as every 4th reload.. and over the last 5 years or so, on hunting reloads.. each time.. even if just neck sizing..

guess in conclusion, to not argue with the gentlemen above... I'm not seeing it make any different..

My method is just based on what is the easiest flow for me.. nothing more scientific than that...

but with getting 40 and 50 reloads plus out of brass.. with few casualties, I guess I'm not doing anything wrong...

few guys push brass as far as I do.. but then I find, you don't floor your gas pedal at the powder scale... needing max velocity.. and the brass is stretched back and forth less.. and it hangs in there longer....

and I've been doing this for close to 30 years now I guess... just for times like we are currently experiencing once again, with another Commie DemocRat idiot in the White House....

Pray tell, what cartridge are you getting 50 loads on?

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I always anneal before sizing. Do it on the theory that heat and the annealing process will slightly distort the brass. Sizing straightens the minuscule distortion. I load for hunting. I require accuracy and velocity so many of my loads are at max recommended. In most I average about 10-12 reloads before I have to dump the brass. I do have one batch of 30-06 brass that I kept firing just to see how many I could get before cracks and case separation and I got up into the high 40's but you could definitely feel the impending case separation.


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Seafire mentioned his experience in the Starline 260 brass thread as being with a 223 but I think he has several experiences with others as well. He also is a mild load user of some renown.

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The purpose for annealing isn't for making the brass last longer, that's a side benefit.[/quote]

I freely admit I thought that was the whole purpose. What is the use in doing it then?

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Originally Posted by Jim_Knight
The purpose for annealing isn't for making the brass last longer, that's a side benefit.

I freely admit I thought that was the whole purpose. What is the use in doing it then?[/quote]

😀 now let’s not allow logic into this.



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Originally Posted by Jim_Knight
The purpose for annealing isn't for making the brass last longer, that's a side benefit.

Quote
I freely admit I thought that was the whole purpose. What is the use in doing it then?

Uniform neck tension loading to loading is the main other reason.

Last edited by mathman; 05/20/22.
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I probably don’t anneal as often as many have reported. It’s pretty time consuming if you do it by holding the case in your hand and heating the neck by candle, which is the way I’ve done it - I did it this way the last time maybe a couple weeks ago.
My brother had a machine that automatically turned the case annealed the neck. That machine made it possible to get a lot of annealing done painlessly. Now one of his kids has it and I don’t get to use it.
Maybe I should look at buying such a machine.


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I need one of those annealing machines 100%. I want to get as many reloads out of 45-70 as possible so annealing, neck sizing, and low pressures are key to making long life

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Uniform neck tension loading to loading is the main other reason.[/quote]

Wouldn't this be as indiscernible to hunting rifle accuracy as "flash hole deburring/primer pocket uniforming", I mean, within 5-6 reloads?? I usually use the LEE Factory Crimp die for my hunting loads, doesn't that kind of negate the neck tension variable?

Last edited by Jim_Knight; 05/20/22.
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It depends on what the shooter and rifle can resolve and what's adequate for the application. In that same mode of thought I maintain a lot of people waste their time weighing charges to the nth degree.

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