Annealing 45 Colt?

[Matthew Duncan]

Any benefits to prevent blowback for the time invested to anneal?

 

I've got 20 year old Star Line brass that's been reloaded so many times that I can't count how many times, even with my boots off.  Yea I'm now getting 2 or 3 that are splitting per match and end up in the scrap metal jug.  Not worth while to anneal (IMHO) to prevent future splitting. 

[Happy Jack, SASS #20451]

You're probably right. The brass probably has enough crystalization by now that simple mouth annealing won't save most of it.  I get crossways with many on this wire over annealing as most of their techniques are less than accurate enough to properly anneal cartridge brass.  I have an induction annealer from New Zealand   AMP  machine.  I used to use a bench source machine but even it with tempilaq wasn't really perfect. AMP makes a holder for 45Colt brass so it can be annealed with that machine but because of the short case length it is almost impossible to properly anneal 45Colt with a flame, salt, or lead bath.  Live with it of toss it.  IMHO     

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Yep, some benefits will be seen.  Especially because .45 Colt rifles all seem to have oversized chambers that allow lots of blowback. If you have blowback problems, anneal.  Or load heavier.  Annealing to prevent case failure is kind of a waste of effort until you get to splitting 5 to 10% of your cases every time you fire them.  Especially if you can buy new brass at 20 centavos each.

 

Any general proclamation of goodness or badness of loading practices, gun choices, what underwear you wear to win championships, etc. can be "proven" to be correct or incorrect depending upon the situation you personally are in.   Make good choices and be satisfied you are close to your personal optimums.  When you are proven hopelessly wrong, be willing to adapt. 

 

good luck, GJ

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

 Matthew 

 

I am one of the proponents of annealing straight wall Handgun Brass.  I do not Anneal to prevent splitting.  I anneal to eliminate Blow-By.  Loading "Heavy" may in some cases, mitigate Blow-By to an extent but not eliminate it.  Annealing can and will Eliminate Blow-By in rifles.  I anneal 45 Colt, Cowboy 45 Special, 45 Schofield, and 44 Russian.  It doesn't have to be exact, just enough to work.  Trust me.  It is SKULL NUMBING BORING and very TIME CONSUMING.  

 

In my guns, and the guns of others whom have followed my lead, Annealing has ELIMINATED Blow-By.  I can run down-loaded BP, down-loaded Subs, with light bullets and the guns run as clean as any dash calibers.  I don't know how often my brass will need to be annealed but I have run it in rotation for three seasons and have yet to need to re-anneal.

 

Some find it to be too much bother.  I find the results to be marvelous.  I do NOT however, recommend annealing handgun brass.  It's not really needed and you WILL have extraction problems.  Don't ask how I know this fact 

[Go West]

I would think a hollow base bullet with soft lead might be a simple solution to reducing blow by. I lose very few cases to splitting in .45 Colt, but maybe 1 or 2 Schofield per match.  

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

  Go West,

 

Nope.  The bullet isn't the problem.  Straight wall pistol cases are the problem.  45 Colt, 45 Schofield, (most) C45S, 44 Sp, Colt and Russian don't expand enough (if at all) to seal the chamber.  Blow-By is the result of the gun gas being forced back past the case, which doesn't seal the chamber.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Give it a try, you really have nut'n to loose.

Let's hear how it goes. 

OLG 

[Rex M Rugers #6621]

This is the second annealing thread in the last few days. I am about motivated to anneal some of my 44 Special brass and see if it helps enough to be worth the effort. My 73 is well gunked by the fifth or sixth stage. Needs a splash of liquid to get free. 

Rex 

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

13 minutes ago, Rex M Rugers #6621 said:

I am about motivated to anneal some of my 44 Special brass and see if it helps enough to be worth the effort. My 73 is well gunked by the fifth or sixth stage.

 

Probably would be useful for keeping your rifle action cleaner.  good luck, GJ

[Ripsaw]

Here's the rig I built to anneal 44spl and 45 colt brass. Can be used for other cartridges, of course. Found the plan on Elfster's youtube channel. substitute a deeper pan and it'll work on rifle brass, too. 

 

 

[Choctaw Jack]

If you're getting split cases ,it is probably well worth the time to try annealing.May not be worth the time to you but only you can make that call.

But if you also shoot .45 pistols ,if only the case most are split,this will give you an opportunity to try the Cowboy .45 Special without buying more brass.A little investment in time might convince you to give this cartridge a try.

I really enjoy shooting mine.

Of course,YMMV 

Choctaw Jack 

 

[Warden Callaway]

2 hours ago, Choctaw Jack said:

But if you also shoot .45 pistols ,if only the case most are split,this will give you an opportunity to try the Cowboy .45 Special without buying more brass.A little investment in time might convince you to give this cartridge a try.

I really enjoy shooting mine.

 

I converted a handful of split 45 Colt cases to C45S.  Not the most efficient way, but using what I had on hand.  They worked but still needed to be annealed to provide a good seal and to prevent them from splitting.  Most of them died after a couple of firings.  Point is, they still needed to be annealed.    

 

 

 

[Matthew Duncan]

10 hours ago, Choctaw Jack said:

... an opportunity to try the Cowboy .45 Special without buying more brass.  A little investment in time might convince you to give this cartridge a try....

Choctaw Jack 

 

 

Nope.  I'm a firm believer of the KISS principle.  I'm not going to load one type for the rifle and another for the pistols or modify the rifle to accept both.  Plus my reloads are towards the top of the powder Manufacture's maximum, not enough room in a Cowboy 45 Special for my smokeless powder and a 250 grain bullet.

[Matthew Duncan]

14 hours ago, Rex M Rugers #6621 said:

This is the second annealing thread in the last few days. I am about motivated to anneal some of my 44 Special brass and see if it helps enough to be worth the effort. My 73 is well gunked by the fifth or sixth stage. Needs a splash of liquid to get free. 

Rex 

 

Try running your rifle's Carrier Block dry (no oil lub).  Made a difference for me.

[Matthew Duncan]

16 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

... I do NOT however, recommend annealing handgun brass.  It's not really needed and you WILL have extraction problems.  Don't ask how I know this fact 

 

You made up my mind right there.  I am not going to have two different types of reloads and remember to keep the spent brass segregated. 

[Rex M Rugers #6621]

7 hours ago, Matthew Duncan said:

 

Try running your rifle's Carrier Block dry (no oil lub).  Made a difference for me.

I'm shooting black powder , start off clean and dry.

Rex