sandman0921
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2014
- Messages
- 418
- Reaction score
- 648
- Location
- Tennessee, USA
- Media
- 2
- Articles
- 11
- Member of
- SCI (Life), RMEF (Life), DU, NWTF, NRA (Patron Life), GOA, DSC (Life), WSF (Life), B&C Club (Sponsor Associate Member), USSA (Associate Member)
- Hunted
- USA (GA, TN, AR, TX, FL, UT, NM, WY, MT, AK, IL, MO, IA); Canada (NWT, BC); Africa (Tanzania)
As I have stated many times before on this forum, when it comes to reloading, I enjoy purchasing new gadgets and tools that ostensibly are designed to make my life easier, and for the most part, most of the tools I've purchased have been useful to varying degrees barring a few exceptions......
As I've gotten more and more into the realm of big bore cartridge shooting and, subsequently, reloading, one thing I've come to realize is that nothing about these behemoths is inexpensive....nothing. And that is no better illustrated than when you look at the cost of reloading components. From the large amounts of powder to fuel these monsters, to the huge hunks of copper and lead that are hurled out the end of the barrel, nothing is cheap. This is perfectly illustrated when one looks at the cost of brass cases. For instance, for the 450 Rigby (Rimless) I own, I load Norma brass. That currently is going for a little over $5.00 USD per piece! That's probably my most expensive, but the 375 H&H, 375 Ruger, 404 Jeffery, and 450 NE 3 1/4 inch aren't far behind. I do the best I can to keep a fairly large supply of brass for each cartridge I shoot, so when I see sales at reloading suppliers, I will buy a box here and a box there to keep my inventory up. However, when you have to take out a bank loan each time you purchase a box of 25 cases for a big bore rifle, it's hard to gain a lot of ground. I say a lot of this tongue-in-cheek, but those of you who shoot these guns, and especially reload for them, know what I mean.....
As such, I've been looking into ways of maximizing case longevity. For regular cartridges like the 308 win, or the 30-06 for instance, neck sizing or partial full-length re-sizing is one way of preventing over-working the brass. However, in bolt rifles used for animals that can maul, gore, stomp, and maim a human being, or in rifles like doubles, semi-autos or lever actions, where extraction force is lacking, it is my opinion that one is asking for trouble if they do not always full-length re-size their cases. I can imagine few worse feelings than shooting at a charging cape buffalo in the hot African sun, only to realize in the spilt second that you're trying to chamber another round, that you action has seized on you due to an over-pressured round coupled with a case that is too tight fitting to the chamber wall due to neck sizing or partial re-sizing. At that point, you better be good at making your weapon into a high-priced spear, or club because you ain't outrunning Mr. Mbogo. Either that, or pray to the good Lord above that your PH still likes you, and is willing to shoot one of his expensive rounds to save your stupid butt.....
Another method that I've researched a lot is case annealing. The benchrest forums, and long-rang shooting crowds have been talking about case neck and shoulder annealing for years, and there are those in that fraternity who feel a shooter is partaking in sacrilege, if they don't anneal their brass after every session. In those circles, besides prolonging case life in cases that a shooter has invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in as far as sorting by weight, fully prepping and neck reaming, etc., the other theoretical advantage, and perhaps the most important one, is consistent neck tension on the bullet. In theory, every time the rifle goes bang, the bullet is released after a consistent holding force is overcome by the powder gas behind it. Or so the theory goes......
Myself, not being a long range shooter, the big advantage to me is trying to wring as much life out of an expensive case as possible. To that end, I've been researching case annealers for reloaders for the last 3-4 years. If you believe the "experts", the old way of spinning a case on a drill while heating the shoulder/neck to a cherry-red, or heating the same case, instead, in a pan of water (to prevent softening of the case head) is wrong, wrong, wrong......The big risk is of one softening the brass way too much, and worse yet, softening the case head to further increase the chances of a case head rupture. Or, not getting a consistent anneal circumferentially around the case neck. Refinement of the techniques listed above utilized temperature sensitive paints or lacquers such as Tempilaq to try and target the anneal to a specific temperature.
Over the last 3-4 years, the rotating propane torch annealers have caught fire. These units like the Benchsource, Giraud, Anneal-eeze, etc. were awesome when they first came out because after a tedious set-up process, one could anneal hundreds of cases an hour by simply continually loading cases in a rotating holder, or a bin. As long as the propane supply was constant, and the set-up was true, it worked great....or so they said. One of the big knocks of these units was the set-up time, and tediousness of getting the dual flames just right on the case neck. Then you had to make sure the flame dwell time was spot-on with the temperature sensitive paints. And if you wanted to change to a different cartridge, then you have to go through the whole process again. I have a friend who builds rifles as a hobby, and shoots at very long range with calibers like the 338 Lapua, 375 Cheytac, etc. He has one of these units, and I've observed him setting his unit up, and it was a big turn-off to me to see the steps one had to go to to get it "just right". Also, another theoretical disadvantage was if the propane pressure was not consistent, flame temperature would not be consistent across the session. The only practical way to ensure propane "longevity" and pressure, was to hook the unit up to a 20 lb. propane tank which required a regulator, tubing, splitters, etc. As such, I decided to hold off, and do some more research on these case annealers.
About 2 years ago, I started hearing about electric induction annealing machines. These have been around for a while for major industrial processes, but not for reloaders until recently. The concept is basically the same as the newer induction cooktops, in that when an electric current passes through a coiled wire, it creates a magnetic field. If a metallic object is placed in the center of that coil with just the right air gap between all sides, small eddy currents are created within the interior of the metal object which causes it to heat up. This effectively anneals the metal object in a consistent, and effective manner. Of course this is not a very good description of the process, but it was never intended to be a primer on the science of annealing.
The big disadvantage of these machines are a few. First, they are expensive, as the technology at least as it applies to reloading, is relatively new. Hopefully, as time goes on, the cost will come down, as happens with most technology. Second, the coils generate a lot of heat. As such, after a couple hundred cases, the units have to be allowed to cool off for several minutes (up to an hour) before resuming the session. This can be mitigated by having a water-cooled coil, instead of an air cooled coil, but that adds more expense, and more complication (i.e., more things that can break) to the system. For someone like me, that only loads at best 100-200 cases per session, that's not a big deal. But for a 3-gun shooter that needs to churn out 500-1000 5.56 cases a session, then it may be. Finally, the application of the science is misunderstood, and the old principles that were utilized by the flame annealers, are being incorrectly applied to induction annealing. There has been a couple of home-brew units I've seen on YouTube, and a commercial one by a well know case prep manufacturer that I've been eyeing, but for various reasons, I decided not to go any further.
I had put the search for one of these units on the back burner for a few months, and the other night I was reading a benchrest forum about induction annealers, and a company out of Auckland, New Zealand called Annealing Made Perfect (AMP) came up. The company debuted their induction case annealing machine at ShotShow in 2016. Their unit appears to do everything I could want, and several reviews from reputable sources, are singing their praises. It's simple, scientific, and easy to use. Set-up time is minimal. After watching the YouTube video, I reached out to the company via email, and very quickly I was contacted by Mr. Alex Findlay, the founder of the company. Over several emails, Mr. Findlay has been excellent to deal with as far as answering all of my novice questions. They have distributorships all over the world (NZ, Australia, USA, UK, RSA, Italy, and Canada). Their US distributor is Graf & Sons. When I went online to look at ordering one, they were out-of-stock. Mr. Findlay relayed to me that sales are so hot right now, that they've had to hire more staff to keep up with demand.
Their machine appears to be very well thought out, and has gone through a lot of R&D to get it right. The science behind their system appears to be sound as well. And if Mr. Findlay's willingness to communicate via email to answer questions is any indication of their customer service philosophy, then I have to say I think they've got a winner. I have been very anxious to try their system, so me being me, I went to Graf's and backordered one, and several of the cartridge specific pilots. AMP assures me that I should have my unit, in no more than 4 weeks as they are set to ship another pallet of machines out in a few days.
I included a video from their website that gives a fairly detailed review of the unit below:
As far as I can see, the major downside to their machine is cost. It retails for $1099.00 USD, not including pilots, which are cartridge specific (although some are good for families of cartridges like 308 Win based rounds, etc.) and cost $19.99 USD per pilot. But in my mind at least, the way I am justifying the expense is looking at the cost of brass, and if I can extend my reloads by just 2-3 times per 100 cases, I'll have paid for the machine after a few sessions with a couple of my DGRs.
For those who are interested, the link to their website is:
http://www.ampannealing.com
Once I get my machine up and running, I will try and post an update to this forum to et everyone know what I think.
As usual, best regards to all.......
As I've gotten more and more into the realm of big bore cartridge shooting and, subsequently, reloading, one thing I've come to realize is that nothing about these behemoths is inexpensive....nothing. And that is no better illustrated than when you look at the cost of reloading components. From the large amounts of powder to fuel these monsters, to the huge hunks of copper and lead that are hurled out the end of the barrel, nothing is cheap. This is perfectly illustrated when one looks at the cost of brass cases. For instance, for the 450 Rigby (Rimless) I own, I load Norma brass. That currently is going for a little over $5.00 USD per piece! That's probably my most expensive, but the 375 H&H, 375 Ruger, 404 Jeffery, and 450 NE 3 1/4 inch aren't far behind. I do the best I can to keep a fairly large supply of brass for each cartridge I shoot, so when I see sales at reloading suppliers, I will buy a box here and a box there to keep my inventory up. However, when you have to take out a bank loan each time you purchase a box of 25 cases for a big bore rifle, it's hard to gain a lot of ground. I say a lot of this tongue-in-cheek, but those of you who shoot these guns, and especially reload for them, know what I mean.....
As such, I've been looking into ways of maximizing case longevity. For regular cartridges like the 308 win, or the 30-06 for instance, neck sizing or partial full-length re-sizing is one way of preventing over-working the brass. However, in bolt rifles used for animals that can maul, gore, stomp, and maim a human being, or in rifles like doubles, semi-autos or lever actions, where extraction force is lacking, it is my opinion that one is asking for trouble if they do not always full-length re-size their cases. I can imagine few worse feelings than shooting at a charging cape buffalo in the hot African sun, only to realize in the spilt second that you're trying to chamber another round, that you action has seized on you due to an over-pressured round coupled with a case that is too tight fitting to the chamber wall due to neck sizing or partial re-sizing. At that point, you better be good at making your weapon into a high-priced spear, or club because you ain't outrunning Mr. Mbogo. Either that, or pray to the good Lord above that your PH still likes you, and is willing to shoot one of his expensive rounds to save your stupid butt.....
Another method that I've researched a lot is case annealing. The benchrest forums, and long-rang shooting crowds have been talking about case neck and shoulder annealing for years, and there are those in that fraternity who feel a shooter is partaking in sacrilege, if they don't anneal their brass after every session. In those circles, besides prolonging case life in cases that a shooter has invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in as far as sorting by weight, fully prepping and neck reaming, etc., the other theoretical advantage, and perhaps the most important one, is consistent neck tension on the bullet. In theory, every time the rifle goes bang, the bullet is released after a consistent holding force is overcome by the powder gas behind it. Or so the theory goes......
Myself, not being a long range shooter, the big advantage to me is trying to wring as much life out of an expensive case as possible. To that end, I've been researching case annealers for reloaders for the last 3-4 years. If you believe the "experts", the old way of spinning a case on a drill while heating the shoulder/neck to a cherry-red, or heating the same case, instead, in a pan of water (to prevent softening of the case head) is wrong, wrong, wrong......The big risk is of one softening the brass way too much, and worse yet, softening the case head to further increase the chances of a case head rupture. Or, not getting a consistent anneal circumferentially around the case neck. Refinement of the techniques listed above utilized temperature sensitive paints or lacquers such as Tempilaq to try and target the anneal to a specific temperature.
Over the last 3-4 years, the rotating propane torch annealers have caught fire. These units like the Benchsource, Giraud, Anneal-eeze, etc. were awesome when they first came out because after a tedious set-up process, one could anneal hundreds of cases an hour by simply continually loading cases in a rotating holder, or a bin. As long as the propane supply was constant, and the set-up was true, it worked great....or so they said. One of the big knocks of these units was the set-up time, and tediousness of getting the dual flames just right on the case neck. Then you had to make sure the flame dwell time was spot-on with the temperature sensitive paints. And if you wanted to change to a different cartridge, then you have to go through the whole process again. I have a friend who builds rifles as a hobby, and shoots at very long range with calibers like the 338 Lapua, 375 Cheytac, etc. He has one of these units, and I've observed him setting his unit up, and it was a big turn-off to me to see the steps one had to go to to get it "just right". Also, another theoretical disadvantage was if the propane pressure was not consistent, flame temperature would not be consistent across the session. The only practical way to ensure propane "longevity" and pressure, was to hook the unit up to a 20 lb. propane tank which required a regulator, tubing, splitters, etc. As such, I decided to hold off, and do some more research on these case annealers.
About 2 years ago, I started hearing about electric induction annealing machines. These have been around for a while for major industrial processes, but not for reloaders until recently. The concept is basically the same as the newer induction cooktops, in that when an electric current passes through a coiled wire, it creates a magnetic field. If a metallic object is placed in the center of that coil with just the right air gap between all sides, small eddy currents are created within the interior of the metal object which causes it to heat up. This effectively anneals the metal object in a consistent, and effective manner. Of course this is not a very good description of the process, but it was never intended to be a primer on the science of annealing.
The big disadvantage of these machines are a few. First, they are expensive, as the technology at least as it applies to reloading, is relatively new. Hopefully, as time goes on, the cost will come down, as happens with most technology. Second, the coils generate a lot of heat. As such, after a couple hundred cases, the units have to be allowed to cool off for several minutes (up to an hour) before resuming the session. This can be mitigated by having a water-cooled coil, instead of an air cooled coil, but that adds more expense, and more complication (i.e., more things that can break) to the system. For someone like me, that only loads at best 100-200 cases per session, that's not a big deal. But for a 3-gun shooter that needs to churn out 500-1000 5.56 cases a session, then it may be. Finally, the application of the science is misunderstood, and the old principles that were utilized by the flame annealers, are being incorrectly applied to induction annealing. There has been a couple of home-brew units I've seen on YouTube, and a commercial one by a well know case prep manufacturer that I've been eyeing, but for various reasons, I decided not to go any further.
I had put the search for one of these units on the back burner for a few months, and the other night I was reading a benchrest forum about induction annealers, and a company out of Auckland, New Zealand called Annealing Made Perfect (AMP) came up. The company debuted their induction case annealing machine at ShotShow in 2016. Their unit appears to do everything I could want, and several reviews from reputable sources, are singing their praises. It's simple, scientific, and easy to use. Set-up time is minimal. After watching the YouTube video, I reached out to the company via email, and very quickly I was contacted by Mr. Alex Findlay, the founder of the company. Over several emails, Mr. Findlay has been excellent to deal with as far as answering all of my novice questions. They have distributorships all over the world (NZ, Australia, USA, UK, RSA, Italy, and Canada). Their US distributor is Graf & Sons. When I went online to look at ordering one, they were out-of-stock. Mr. Findlay relayed to me that sales are so hot right now, that they've had to hire more staff to keep up with demand.
Their machine appears to be very well thought out, and has gone through a lot of R&D to get it right. The science behind their system appears to be sound as well. And if Mr. Findlay's willingness to communicate via email to answer questions is any indication of their customer service philosophy, then I have to say I think they've got a winner. I have been very anxious to try their system, so me being me, I went to Graf's and backordered one, and several of the cartridge specific pilots. AMP assures me that I should have my unit, in no more than 4 weeks as they are set to ship another pallet of machines out in a few days.
I included a video from their website that gives a fairly detailed review of the unit below:
As far as I can see, the major downside to their machine is cost. It retails for $1099.00 USD, not including pilots, which are cartridge specific (although some are good for families of cartridges like 308 Win based rounds, etc.) and cost $19.99 USD per pilot. But in my mind at least, the way I am justifying the expense is looking at the cost of brass, and if I can extend my reloads by just 2-3 times per 100 cases, I'll have paid for the machine after a few sessions with a couple of my DGRs.
For those who are interested, the link to their website is:
http://www.ampannealing.com
Once I get my machine up and running, I will try and post an update to this forum to et everyone know what I think.
As usual, best regards to all.......
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