Anneal 300 BLK brass?

[Scout800a]

Can someone tell me what the benefits are to annealing the brass for a 300 BLK? Forgive my ignorance if this has come up before.

Thanks

[KYShooter73]

Tag the subject for the same question. Uniform neck tension? I have some good (1 moa 5 or more) shot groups without annealing in 14.5 barrel. Will annealing help?

[GRUMPA]

In all honesty I would say it's up to the user to determine, but here's my take on it.

I process those cases for folks, and I can do an awful lot a month. Out of all the brass I process a month I would say over 90% of it gets annealed. I also process others brass and by that I mean they send me there already converted brass to be processed. Meaning even though its been formed and shot I resize and anneal it for them. When they come in I count and clean them and pick out the bad ones.

Out of a batch of 1k I'll find an average of 5-9 pieces that have split necks. I know that's not a lot out of 1k but keep in mind the brass has been used only 1x since its been formed into 300 Blackout.

I get asked a lot if it's worth annealing the brass. The best answer I can give them is this.

Annealing softens the brass, it will form to your chamber better than without annealing. When the cases are converted from 223/5.56 cases the neck is removed which is where the factory annealed the case to begin with. Although the 300 Blackout can be called a bottle neck case it's a slight bottle neck.

Accuracy is one thing to consider but firearms vary to the point 1 load or technique wont always produce the same results in someone elses firearm. But a person needs to keep in mind how long will the case last without annealing since it softens the brass at the neck. Whoever uses the cases has that option but can they make there own or can they afford to replace the cases from premature case failure?

I can't say for certain how long a case lasts in that cal. but it seems the primer pocket is generally what gives out after multiple reloads. And the amount of reloads is determined how mild or wild they're loaded in the first place.

So I'll end with this.

If you have no issues with brass that's not annealed and your happy with it, by all means continue doing what your doing. If you find cases with split necks then consider annealing the brass.

The choice and/or results from the user are going to be the deciding factor...

[KYShooter73]

I can't say for certain how long a case lasts in that cal. but it seems the primer pocket is generally what gives out after multiple reloads. And the amount of reloads is determined how mild or wild they're loaded in the first place.


Thanks Grumpa. I have not had any split necks yet, but every time I reprocess and prime my brass, I toss several in the scrap bin with loose primer pockets. I only shoot cast in my blackout, and have only shot supersonic at this point. I wonder if that might explain my lack of neck splits. I assume many, if not most, of your customers shoot jacketed.

[xacex]

I have been playing with annealing 300 Blackout cases, but have not seen a difference in accuracy. It will be a while before I shoot enough to call it necessary or not. Never have got a split neck on 300 Blackout, but I end up tossing due to primer pockets.

[GRUMPA]

Thanks Grumpa. I have not had any split necks yet, but every time I reprocess and prime my brass, I toss several in the scrap bin with loose primer pockets. I only shoot cast in my blackout, and have only shot supersonic at this point. I wonder if that might explain my lack of neck splits. I assume many, if not most, of your customers shoot jacketed.

I don't know how many times the cases are used at the speeds your pushing the projectiles but I would say 5-7 or there abouts before the primer pocket starts to give out. Of course head stamp does play a roll in it as well with LC and FC being the top performers.

And your right about my customers using jacketed. As far as I know maybe less than 1% use cast...