On the 44 mag how often or do they need it ? Plus what would be the best way to do that short of a case ? I have a Lee case trimmer/guage set, can I just put a case in it and then spin it in a drill, heat it up and dip it in water ? Just how red does it need to get ?

I can't answer your first question because I don't own that caliber, but maybe I can help you with the second.

Most people anneal by putting the shell in a pan of water. The water level must be higher than the diameter of the shell. Then in a pretty dark room, use a propane torch and try to heat the brass as evenly as possible. Once you see a dull red color, knock it over into the water with a screwdriver. It is important that the room be dark because in a bright room, it is has to see that dull red color. But the time you see it, you will have burned the zinc out of the brass. After a while, you will get a hand of it as the color of the flame changes when you hit that dull red zone.

I use a slightly different method because it is very easy to anneal the brass un-evenly with that method. I use the Hornady annealing shell holder on a power screwdriver. The holder holds the shell very loosely, so when I get the dull red color, I just point the holder down and the shell falls into a bucket of cold water. The downside to this method is that nothing is keeping the head of the shell cool, and you DO NOT want to anneal the head as the case can possibly rupture. So you need to get a rhythm (sp?) going so that you hit that color very quickly before the head heats up.

You can go to the Hornady web site and see the shell holder's size. About the smallest shell you can anneal with it is a 221 Fireball. I don't know how the 44 Mag compares to it length wise, but I suspect it is smaller. If you have access to a lathe, you can reduce the height of the shell holder to meet your needs, or make one yourself. They are very easy to contruct.

Good luck,
Kory

Hey Short44, I believe someone along the way might have mislead you into thinking you actually need to "Anneal" Pistol or Revolver cases.

They are too short to Anneal without softening the Casehead using regular Annealing methods.

On the positive side, I've got some 357Mag cases that have seen 15+(I believe without getting up to look) full power reloads and have had no signs of Neck Cracks. And some loaded with Target Loads that may have 40+ reloads without Neck Cracks.

If your Chamber matches up well with your Die Set so you are not overworking the Case, and you set the Flair to an absolute minimum which allows proper Seating, I would suspect you would get similar numbers with your 44Mag.

I know I removed that data and gave it to the guy I sold my last 44Mag to, but I've no idea at all what it was.

Fortunately these Cases are relatively inexpensive. Just select a box full(50) and reloa dthem until you happen to see the first Neck Crack and trash them.

Oh yes, make sure if you are using any of the Ammonia Based Bore Cleaners that you neutralize it with some other product and then lightly oil the chamber and bore. If the Ammonia happens to make contact with the "brass" it can create hydrogn embrittlement and cause Neck Cracks with even low power loads and fairly new cases.

Best of luck to you.

Hot Core has a very valid point. I assumed you have a good reason to anneal. I only anneal my wildcat cartidges because all of the forming tends to work harden them and only once before they are fire formed. I don't anneal any "native" cartidges and have never felt a need to do so.

Regards,
Kory

I annealed my 444 before I resized it to 375 JDJ, just wanted to ask about the 44 mags. So they really dont need it any way right, ok cool. My TC has a tight chamber too, hardly needs any resizing. If useing jacked bullets do I really need to flair out the mouth ? I didnt with my 30-06 375 JDJ !!! I know I will with lead bullets. Thanks guys.

short44, if by "flairing" you mean deburring or chamfering the case mouth, I think it is a good idea. I have found that a chamfered case tends to have a smaller runout then a non-chamfered case because the bullets seats easier.

Kory

quote:

Originally posted by short44:
I annealed my 444 before I resized it to 375 JDJ,

If these were new cases, you probably did not need to Anneal them. But, it really depends on the specific "Lot" of those cases. You might have done yourself a favor by doing the Annealing.

You could reform 3-5 new cases without Annealing and see how long they last without splitting on you as a test.

I prefer to Anneal every 5 loads or so on my bottle neck cases.

quote:

My TC has a tight chamber too, hardly needs any resizing.

You are indeed blessed with that situation. Having the Chamber and your Dies match closely is an excellent "Case-life" extender that we don't have control over unless we buy Custom Built Dies. So, good for you.

quote:

If useing jacked bullets do I really need to flair out the mouth? I didnt with my 30-06 375 JDJ !!! I know I will with lead bullets. Thanks guys.

If you are talking about the 375JDJ, then I totally agree with Kory's post that you just need to Deburr the outside and Chamfer the inside.

I also like to Polish the mouth(on bottle-neck cases) with a piece of "0000SteelWool" wraped around a Bore Brush. Just give it a couple of twists and it will smooth it up as slick as Lies falling off clinton's lips.

If you are talking about a 44Mag, most Pistol/Revolver Die Sets come with a "Case Mouth Expander" Die. You use it after Resizing/Decapping to slightly open the Case-mouth with a small amount of flair. But you want to do it just enough to allow the Bullet Base to set barely inside the Flair. Expanding more just shortens the Case life.

If you are talking about a 44Mag, most Pistol/Revolver Die Sets come with a "Case Mouth Expander" Die. You use it after Resizing/Decapping to slightly open the Case-mouth with a small amount of flair. But you want to do it just enough to allow the Bullet Base to set barely inside the Flair. Expanding more just shortens the Case life.

Thats what I was talking about. I deburr all my cases but did not know why I had to flair out the 44 for jacket type bullets when you dont have to on others !