anneal 44mag brass?

[chevyiron420]

I have federal brass for my 44 and they are quite old. I havent split any but i noticed they are shaving a brass splinter when i crimp them with my RCBS die. At first i thought i was over crimping but now i dont think so. I have never annealed pistol brass before, only rifle. Do you think i should? Any problems i may run in to?[smilie=2:

[winelover]

Occasionally, the same thing happens with my RCBS dies. However, I get good case life so I just chalk it up to not being anal when it comes to trimming pistol cases.

Winelover

[Wayne Smith]

I just annealed a bunch of 44Mag brass. This stuff is over 20 years old and I lost 4 to neck splits last time I shot them.

I use my lead pot to anneal. My process is simple. I get my pot up over 800 degrees, take one case in my bare hand holding it by the rim. I immerse the neck in the melt and do a slow count until I cannot hold it any more. I drop this in my water bucket, put on my welding glove, and do the rest to the same count. This way I never anneal the base, my hands aren't that heat resistant! I recently fired the rest of that batch and didn't loose a single one.

[44man]

It is OK for pipsqueek cowboy loads but for hunting loads or heavy boolits you will pull all of them with recoil and tie up the gun.
Not fun if you drive a few hundred miles to hunt and all of your loads lose boolits. You will have a single shot revolver.
OK for a rifle though. Watch the ones in a tube magazine, they might set back and raise pressure.
It is not a good idea to anneal any revolver brass. I have .44 brass fired over 40X without a problem. Old brass just sitting around can get brittle, best to replace it.