work hardening

Many recommend annealing after about 3 fires to increase brass life. A bushing die is used to reduce over-working the neck and to get a specific neck tension. Am I correct in assuming I could go a little longer without annealing by using a bushing die over standard full length?

Good question - interested to hear what the experts say.

You're still firing it, which contributes to work hardening.

Almost all I use is bushing dies, and I anneal every two firings. I have friends using bushing dies and they anneal every firing.

I have not had a single split neck or case head seperation, only loose primer pockets on Federal .308, which is to be expected.

Roll the dice if you like, brass makers are building brass cases every day, and they will be more than happy to sell you some.

If you are neck sizing only, you're obviously loading rifle specific brass. I have been doing the same thing for several years now and have never annealed. I'm on my 7-8th loading of some brass and I haven't lost a single piece of brass yet. I have had no problems chambering reloaded rounds. I like the slighly snug fit, and believe it only adds to case life by reducing stretch when firing. Not saying annealing is not a good idea though. I use Lee collet dies, FWIW.

You will still have issues if you are full length sizing. The first thing I notice if I don't anneal when I should is inconsistency in my case sizing. My accuracy also degrades. If I don't take care of it when I see that, I will start having some cases fail, as in split necks. Not sure of the exact reason it happens but the necks definitely will split sooner in my 7RM than the rest of my rifles.

I think you'd get more consistent "neck temsion" if you annealed about every second or third firing. Do you ever notice differences in effort required while seating bullets from one round to the next?

RiverRider, to be honest, I'm waiting on my bushing die and a box full of related stuff from fellow THF member. I'm just trying to gather as much data in my pea brain as possible so I understand what I'm doing.

This. The brass will work harden (stiffen up), then become brittle and lose it's elasticity. You need the brass to have some spring back to hold the bullet consistently. Some calibers/bullet diameters work harden much faster than others. 6.5mm or smaller will require annealing more than say a 308 Win will.

Once the brass begins to work harden (often after a firing or two), the neck tension will vary from case to case and not be consistent. And your extreme spreads will certainly increase. If you anneal them, the brass elasticity will return and be consistent. If you are loading for a precision rifle that shoots very tight, you certainly notice an issue. If it's a hunting rifle that shoots decent, you may or may not notice it.

Annealing is your friend. I load for several 'smaller' calibers - 223, 243, 257, 6.5 - I anneal every 3rd loading on most, every 2nd on one or two. Chad nailed it.
Though only a sample of one, in my 25-06's I didn't anneal. After 6-8 loadings I started seeing split necks and poor groups. I annealed the cases and got a few more loads before they started up again. I now anneal every 2nd loading on those and have cases that are being loaded in their 'teens'.