wondering if there are any different techniques used for annealing nickel plated cases as opposed to regular brass?

I've never annealed those Richard, but I can't imagine them needing any different treatment. Try some and see how it goes. I just stand my cases up in a shallow pan of water and heat the necks just red with a propane torch and tip them over. Worst thing I could think of is not being able to tell if the necks turn red.

They'll get a little ugly but the same technique works.

I anneal alot of nickel plated 444 Marlin brass because I have many wildcat cartridges based on that case that are necked down as far as .17 caliber...

I anneal by inserting the case neck into molten lead that has been heated to 850 degrees. The neck and shoulder is first dusted in "Motor Mica" to prevent the lead from sticking to the case...

I have found 13 seconds to be the optimum time for leaving the case neck dunked into the molten lead. This is strictly for the 444 Marlin cases and other "brass" cases can take a shorter or longer time, depending on it's relative hardness and how far you are necking it down. With the nickel plated 444 cases though, once you go down to 7mm and less, a second annealing is required after fireforming to prevent shoulders and or necks from splitting....

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17-444! You actually did that?

Will this cause the nickel to separate from the brass? Any change in color?

Marshal Kane - no Sir, the nickel will not seperate from the brass. There will be color change in the cases but, if you run them through a vibratory case polisher for a couple of hours, over 90% of the anneal stain will polish off....


Flashhole - yes Sir, you can really neck the 444 Marlin case down to .17 caliber. This is how:

1 - Start with new unfired 444 Marlin brass and run it through a 308 Winchester full length size die...

2 - Anneal the case neck and 1/2 of the shoulder...

3 - Trim .030 off the case mouth to square it up and to remove the "crinkle" that has formed all the way around it...

4 - Deburr and chamber the case mouth...

5 - Run the case through a 7mm-08 full length size die...

6 - Run the case through a 260 Remington full length size die...

7 - Run the case through a 243 Winchester full length size die...

8 - Inside neck ream...

9 - Anneal the case neck and 1/2 of the shoulder...

10 - Neck down in 22X308 size die...

11 - Neck down to .17 caliber and inside neck ream...

12 - Run case through 17X444 full length size die and trim all cases to length...

13 - Fireform...

14 - Anneal cases for last time...

15 - Develope load just like what you would for anything else...

This cartridge is not for everyone as case forming and annealing is a pain in the fanny. Major TLC is needed here because of the small bore and the large case capacity. This is MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE from a .17 caliber cartridge with velocities easily exceeding 4,500 fps.....

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... yes Sir, you can really neck the 444 Marlin case down to .17 caliber. This is how:

1 - Start with new unfired 444 Marlin brass and run it through a 308 Winchester full length size die...

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Wow, that right there seems like a pretty big jump, all by itself. I'm surprised you don't have to do an intermediate sizing die of about 35 cal.

:eek:

Remington's 444 Marlin brass seems to vary greatly from one lot to the next and every once in a while you will get hold of a box of brass that does need to be run through a .35 caliber die before being necked down to .30 caliber. In this case, I use one of my modified 35 Whelan dies to help get things started right so I don't have to worry about buckling a case. Most of the time though, a little bit of Imperial Sizing Die Wax and a 308 Winchester size die is all that it takes to start the forming operation....

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