Anneal Before or After Derimming

[Sliver Shooter]

I've seen bits and pieces on weather to derim before or after annealing 22lr cases. Has anyone come up with any pros or cons on this. I bought a Lee Magnum lead melter to anneal with and from what I gather from previous posted, it works very well. I'm thinking the softer brass would straighten out easier but then too, is the punch going to push through because its to soft? I'd like to hear what you guys have found with this.

[Hickory]

Try it both ways.
For myself, I've found for myself that annealing before derimming works the best.
Others may disagree, but like I said, try it both ways.

[progman]

I agree with Hickory that whatever works best -- works best. But I would ask the die manufacture what they recommend. I have noticed that dies with tight tolerances do not work very well with annealed brass because of the problem you mentioned-- they pop the tops. I have had looser dies that are easier to work with annealed brass and work well with the exception that some of the brass has a line on it where the rim used to be. I perfer tight die/punch which completely removed the rim.

Anyone else notice this?

[Smokin7mm]

I derrim first then anneal. Brass has some springback which allows it to come off the punch easier when tolerances are tight. I have tried it with annealed brass and it stuck on my punches.
Bret

[runfiverun]

de-rim then anneal also.
sometimes I only anneal the front half of the case for point forming.

[Utah Shooter]

de rim then anneal as well. YOu have to do both of the processes and I have never seen a reason to anneal first. Do what works best for you.

[MIBULLETS]

I anneal after for the same reasons already mentioned.

[Lizard333]

Derimming then annealing works best for me as well. Annealing first lead to pop offs. Not cool.

[algunjunkie]

Sounds like a broken record but like the rest I derim first then anneal. Tried it the other way and pop the top on quite a few.

[dkmulford]

I'm sure this question has been answered elsewhere...but how do you know when you haven't anneal enough? The reason why I ask is because I stuck some cases on a cookie sheet in the oven on broil for about 30 minutes...pulled them out...and ran them through my dies and didn't see any problems. I guess if they weren't annealed enough they would have cracked or something??
Thx,
D

[Lizard333]

Improperly annealed brass is harder to work with. If your doing 22LR brass you will get wrinkled when you point form in the nose. If you can take a 22LR case in between your two gingers and pinch it closed, your good on annealing.

I'm going to say you probly didn't anneal your brass enough in your oven. Not hot enough. Maybe on a gas oven in the self cleaning mode.

[MIBULLETS]

I do my 22lr cases in an electric oven on self clean for a bout 30 min. It gets upto about 900 F according to the manufacturer. They can be pinched together with your fingers. Broil however may not get hot enough, not sure.

[Utah Shooter]

I'm sure this question has been answered elsewhere...but how do you know when you haven't anneal enough? The reason why I ask is because I stuck some cases on a cookie sheet in the oven on broil for about 30 minutes...pulled them out...and ran them through my dies and didn't see any problems. I guess if they weren't annealed enough they would have cracked or something??
Thx,
D

I do believe the magic # is 700 degrees.

[algunjunkie]

I have used my oven to anneal many times. I usually get 95% of them done but it do 30 minutes and stir them and then another 30 minutes.

[Lizard333]

I do believe the magic # is 700 degrees.

I agree. Though other members don't think even 800F is enough. I like keeping my brass in the shape I put it in my oven. Too hot and the brass becomes soup.

[DukeInFlorida]

I anneal in my Lee 20# electric pot, to highest temp setting, until it all glows.

And, I do the annealing AFTER derim.