Annealing 45-70 cases

[Doc_Floyd]

Given that 45-70 cases have not a neck, is there necessity to anneal them?

[Ranch Dog]

Given that 45-70 cases have not a neck, is there necessity to anneal them?

I'm not sure, I've never done it, but I'm going to start doing it. You are working the neck of the case, every case no matter how straight it is has a neck the depth that the bullet is seated; as you expand the case to accept the bullet, seat it, and then crimp it in place.

The cost of buying cases has never bothered me but the fact that in the last 6 years we have seen times that we could not buy them has. If I can get a case to survive one additional life cycle, it is an effort worth tasking.

Been setting up an auto annealer in my free time the last couple of days. I'm going to start doing it with every cycle of a given lot on everything I shoot. I do keep excellent records on the life of every lot, everything is cataloged, and so I will be able to look back in a year and comment on it.

Here is the Ballistic Edge Case Annealer I just purchased. Keep in mind that I'm shooting 10 to 15,000 reloads a year.

[joec]

I anneal my 45-70 cases when new then after every 5 to 6 time it is fired. I don't do it with my pistol cases at all including the 454 Casull. I only size the 9mm, 45 ACP and 45 Colt when new however the 454, 45-70 I size every time I reload. I do it the old fashion way with a propane torch, socket and drill motor. When it turns blue in the water it goes.

[Ranch Dog]

I turned the "beast" on today. Quite impressive & made very short work of the task.

[m1895g]

I anneal all my rifle brass, straight or necked. I use the melted lead method. Get real uniform results that way.

[pricedo]

The 45-70/450 brass is worked so little around the mouth compared to bottle-neck cases that other case life limiting risk factors come into play long before case splits because of stressed and brittle brass do.
If it ain't broke I don't fix it. Improperly done the annealing might do more harm than good anyway.
I don't recreational shoot a lot with my 45-70/450 hunting guns........the kick is not a big deal when a few shots are fired but neither a 45-70 GVT nor its kissin cousin the 450 Marlin are guns you plink away all day with.
My 45-70/450 guns shoot heavy hunting loads and when the brass has been trimmed and reloaded 3 (or maybe fewer depending on the amount of trimming) times I pinch the mouth of the case flat with a pair of pliers and chuck it away.
I didn't come with any spare parts and a few cents saved shooting rifle brass thin enough to see through won't replace an eye lost because of a blown case.

I don't shoot anywhere near 15,000 reloads + factory rounds a year........more like 500.
If I did I'd do 3 things:
1) reload instead of buy factory ammo a whole lot more
2) anneal cases
3) buy a bunch of shares in Brownells