Lapua 6PPC annealing?

M

michaeljp65

New member
Does anyone anneal their 6PPC brass? I know that .008" necks are very thin, but sometimes i can see on my 21st Century hydro press that some pieces of brass are a bit harder to seat than others. Just wondering if anyone anneals.
 
michaeljp65 said:
Does anyone anneal their 6PPC brass? I know that .008" necks are very thin, but sometimes i can see on my 21st Century hydro press that some pieces of brass are a bit harder to seat than others. Just wondering if anyone anneals.
Click to expand...

I never have before, keeping consistent neck tension seems to play a much bigger role in Long Range Shooting than it does 100/200 Group and Score. That, and the primer pockets are pretty much shot before the necks get hard.

I am very interested in that salt bath annealing that was discussed in another thread. The trick is getting the solution to a consistent temperature and keeping it there.

I might go the other way. I just bout 100 Norma 6PPC Cases. I am going to the range with my Rail Gun and and shoot them no neck turn. A loaded Norma case has .003 overall neck clearance with the FB bullets I am shooting.

I will just shoot them once in my fireforming barrel, and go to the line with them.

I have check all 100 in this batch, and I can't find more than .0005 to .0008 difference in the wall thickness of the necks.
 
Yes.
After shooting 2 BR Tournaments. They become Score brass....amazing how they all feel consistent, while bullet seating...When primers get loose. I use a decapping rod to check them. If they push out with finger tension, they go to scrap bucket....

But, it sure is nice to use new brass.....

Now I don't win much....since I run the score matches......But, this past year....I kept pace with the winner(best 6 of 7 matches) this year.
My barrel has over 5000 rounds through it...Metric stock, Grizzley 2 action....
Point is. I only cleaned after matches....funny how either. I could read conditions better or the dirtier the barrel the more bullseyes....???
Still not sure....EH!
 
I do now

For many years I did not anneal brass. Not for the 6PPC or any other calibers. But as the cost of the brass went up I decided to purchase an AMP unit. Two things I have noticed. First is because the brass is not springing back in the bump die I have had to back it off about 3 thou. Also the primer pockets take longer to get loose. Both stocks of new Lapua and old brass respond this way. I'll have to investigate why the two seem related. Something I wasn't expecting. I have only had one shoulder split and one cracked neck since I began annealing.

With the necks remaining the correct hardness the tension on the bullet by all reasoning should be more consistent from shot to shot. Something difficult to measure accurately I know. But in addition to this I did notice by cleaning the brass in CTC and removing the embedded carbon from the neck the seating of the bullets seem to produce less drag when using the arbor press. They just slide in like silk. Something just using a neck brush after a few loads didn't seem to achieve.
 
Andy Cross said:
For many years I did not anneal brass. Not for the 6PPC or any other calibers. But as the cost of the brass went up I decided to purchase an AMP unit. Two things I have noticed. First is because the brass is not springing back in the bump die I have had to back it off about 3 thou. Also the primer pockets take longer to get loose. Both stocks of new Lapua and old brass respond this way. I'll have to investigate why the two seem related. Something I wasn't expecting. I have only had one shoulder split and one cracked neck since I began annealing.

With the necks remaining the correct hardness the tension on the bullet by all reasoning should be more consistent from shot to shot. Something difficult to measure accurately I know. But in addition to this I did notice by cleaning the brass in CTC and removing the embedded carbon from the neck the seating of the bullets seem to produce less drag when using the arbor press. They just slide in like silk. Something just using a neck brush after a few loads didn't seem to achieve.
Click to expand...

You mentioned that cleaning the carbon from the neck let the projectile slide in easier. Ive read where people are saying not to clean the carbon from the neck. I guess its, "do what ever works best for you"

I might anneal 10 cases and do a comparison with 10 non annealed and see if i can feel any difference in loading and then any difference in group size, 2x5 shot groups each.
 
Salt bath pot

jackie schmidt said:
I am very interested in that salt bath annealing that was discussed in another thread. The trick is getting the solution to a consistent temperature and keeping it there.
Click to expand...

I suggest the POT-21C Goot Soldering Pot from http://www.howardelectronics.com/soldering/soldering-pots/goot/pot-21c/pot-21c-goot-soldering-pot/. The capacity is more than adequate and temperature control is very good for neck annealing. I use an IR Gun (non contact) to set and check about every twenty cases.

I've experimented with Lead, Cerosafe and salt baths. All work well and the bath temperatures stay very stable (about +10ºF to -20ºF) with small case necks (6BR) for me. My preference is for the salt baths. The big challenge is to get the correct and consistent dip time.

I've since acquired an AMP unit and appropriate collets and find this to be the best solution for me.
 
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