When to AZTEC ANALYZE a case when AMP Annealing?

We get asked all the time at what stage should you analyze with AZTEC mode in order to get the correct setting? In this video we explore why you should always analyze a case that has been shot and fireformed vs a new virgin case.

[@julianprice1587]

This was interesting and helpful. Please make a video about the hardness Vickers testing, that machine looks fascinating and not at all what I had imagined.

[@robertdewilde4095]

Thank you very much for that information!

[@airborne350g]

On the fireformed case will it make a difference if it have been tumbled clean?

[@annealingmadeperfect1257]

It wont affect the analysis or annealing. But please ensure if you are using SS pins that there are no pins in any cases prior to annealing.

[@ArpexOfficial]

I set final neck tension with an expander mandrel. Any objections to annealing twice. Once before sizing and one after sizing? I like to sacrifice a piece of virgin brass to get a code and subtract 4-5 from that humber. I run the rest of the brass with that lower number before I expand the necks. I have tried this multiple times and the generated code from virgin brass compared to fired formed brass in 5 different calibers has been a difference of 2-6. I tried this experiment only with lapua brass because lapua is great at sending an extra piece of brass for each 100 😁😁Calibers are .243 win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5PRC, 300 win mag and 300 PRC.

[@79brumley]

I would think that annealing after setting the neck tension with a expander mandrel would mess with the neck tension a little! Metal expands when it's hot so I'd think it would be a bad idea!

[@lanceschul]

Great and clear testing, I actually understood! Going a little further...does it matter if the fire formed case is annealed dirty from the chamber or wet/dry tumbled? Does cleanliness make any difference? I read the questions below addressing cleaning but was just curious if there is any difference with some powder burns on the case neck.

[@ChristopherAyresfrs2]

Did quenching the brass right out of the annealer instead of air drying make a difference in your hardness scoring?

[@justice1327]

So, you should anneal after cleaning but before you size?

[@annealingmadeperfect1257]

We always recommend annealing before sizing. You can anneal before or after cleaning. However if you anneal with SS pins they can pean the outer surface of the brass which can result in a microscopically hard surface so if you do use pins you may want to anneal after cleaning. More info on this here under point 7 under initial observations: www.ampannealing.com/articles/40/annealing-under-the-microscope/

[@richarduk679]

It’s a bit counter intuitive that work hardened brass needs less heat than virgin brass. But what if you neck turn? This involving expanding the neck then turning the neck, then neck sizing, then fire forming the case. Wouldn’t this give you an even a lower and because of the extra working of the brass, also an invalid Aztec number?

[@annealingmadeperfect1257]

Neck turning brass removes metal so there is less thickness and therefore less power required to anneal the case.

[@misterlewgee8874]

I've been shooting for some time with aztec settings from virgin brass🤯 Really wasn't expecting this... I guess the brass has expanded and stretched...so is thinner? Could this be the reason? Might have to sacrifice a few more cases..... Thanks .

[@clausziegler5720]

Virgin brass is getting "higher" Atztec code than fire formed. Higher Atztec Code means more energy. Is this because the diameter of the fireformed brass is larger and therefore closer to the induction device than the virgin brass and can "absorb" therefore eaiser the energiy??

[@jeffatkins4368]

Shipping weight?

[@gusloader123]

The men who explored and set up ranches and founded towns and rode stagecoaches and dug for minerals used "Ideal" tong tool hand reloading tools and they never annealed their brass cartridge case, yet they harvested game animals and fought outlaws and attacking roving bands of "Injuns" with their Sharps and other rifles. In the big cities on the East coast other gents engaged in weekly rifle shooting matches (whereas nowadays their great grandchildren play golf) shooting Sharps and other target rifles and they loaded their own ammo, and never annealed anything.

[@79brumley]

Thanks for posting something that has nothing to do with this video, they also rode stagecoaches and horses, should we be riding horses instead of driving cars because our great great grandads, did it?

[@gusloader123]

@@79brumley I know I did the right thing whenever my post irks someone who cannot think well. You should look up information about the "Ideal" (Later it was/is called "Lyman" Tong Tool. They were shipped with a Sharp's Rifle or a Winchester rifle so shooters / hunters in the west could reload their ammunition when far from a town/city with a store (Mercantile). Nobody needs to anneal their cartridge case. IF we did then it would be included in a Reloading kit. P.S. - There is nothing wrong with horses. They never catch on fire.

[@prowler10393]

The cartridges from that time were all straight wall cases. Also the accuracy potential of the ammunition and rifles was no where close to modern standards. Most reloading kits don't come with brass trimmers, are you going to say we don't need to trim either? People have been annealing cases for decades, and the benefits have been known for as long. If the frontiersman of the 1800s had access to this tech, they would have used it. Sure you can get by without one, just as you can get by without bathing...

[@gusloader123]

@@prowler10393 Lemme guess: You sell / market / manufacture annealing products, correct? I think I shall go bathe now,,,, got to wash the You Tube comments from my eyes.

[@prowler10393]

@gusloader123 let me guess, you're a Fudd? I don't sell anything. I'm just a shooter looking for the utmost precision. I don't even compete. Do you bring any facts to the table other than nostalgia about a time you never lived through?

[@user-ws7us5me4s]

anything is OK but the price is totaly out of logic without any discussion

[@79brumley]

The price isn't bad at all, A lot of time and engineering went into developing these annealers!

[@murimurimrui]

It's called saving up. Not a unsurmountable challenge.

[@user-ws7us5me4s]

@@79brumley Come on , with my money i command myself, which developing? we are 2024 and not middle age , i hope your'e are joking 😂For me anyway a rigid no go!!