Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Does Norma brass wear out?

what is the candle method?

Use a candle as the heat source. Hold your brass in your finger tips in the web area. Rotate brass neck, shoulder and a little past the shoulder in the flame.

The idea is when the brass to warm to hold, it's done!

I use a damp cloth to wipe it down right after I pull it away from the flame to cool it down and remove the carbon.

The goal is to apply heat, but not too much down at the case head thereby reducing the probability of case head separation.

I took this method from Mule Deer.

My 257 was more consistent floated to the lug. I normally bed a pad under the chamber on all rigs, but this one was a head scratcher. I took a cheap stock and messed with until I found consistency, went back to the original stock and removed the chamber pad, and all was well. Might be something to try if you have a cheap stock to tinker with.

I do not have another stock. But the thing is is this gun has been issued her before. I reviewed my notes this weekend and have made a few loads that shot in a .5 .6's,.With Virgin Brass This Time.

So I used the candle method on 15 pieces today. The thing I noticed, is once I wiped off the soot, there was no visible signs that the brass has been annealed. While looking on youtube, I saw several demonstrations of guys doing it with torches and I noticed the neck turned and seemed to stay blue. Is this something I would expect with the candle method, or does the higher, quicker heat of the propane torch cause the blue and I should not expect it?

The neck turning blue often indicates the brass was heated too much. This happens a lot when annealing with torches.

Gotcha.

That is good to know as the 2 videos I watched said to make it turn blue, but not red.

On a side note, I had a separation in my sizing die... That's gonna slow the process down as I am sure I will have to send it to Redding to get fixed.

Factory LC match and Lapua brass I have has pretty good color to it, and when I've stovetop annealed I've gone for the same color. Maybe I've overdone it.

I just sold 34 boxes of newLC .308 match ammo, and it had the blue neck on it. So did 1000+ rounds of once fired brass.

Much can be debated over annealing. But it is very easy to go too far and ruin your brass. Click on the link for a good read keeping in mind the the temp of a candle flame is about 800 degrees.

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