Boats,

No doubt I'm being overly cautious but anneal because it's easy with my machine.  Although I have been able to detect the difference, if I were doing it by hand I'd likely wait to anneal until after a few firings.  I am shooting a .40-65 Browning and reload with fire formed brass so there's almost no additional work hardening except for the normal expansion and contraction during firing.  I do run each case through a neck expander but only to add a slight bell to the lip which is not removed after loading.

Wayne

Chris,

I ran into the same situation, hence the reason I decided to spend the $'s to buy the annealer and the reason I anneal after every match.  Dan Theodore was also an influence as we've exchange many emails on various subjects, one being the need to anneal often.  But prior to making the final decision to buy the annealer, I convinced myself it was worth it based on my testing not just Dan's recommendation.  I believe Dan uses a Ken Light annealer.

So now I anneal for consistency and peace of mind.  And, with the exception of casting bullets, I enjoy the many aspects of reloading as much if not more than attending matches.   

Wayne

Number of cases makes a big difference as well as how much the brass is worked on re-size flare and load. My 38/55 working off a lot of 360 cases so each ones load number is limited by the volume. Couple things I think are important.

Let the brass tell you if it needs to be annealed. It "feels" hard when re-sizing very noticeable  from needs it to fresh anneal. First sign of neck crack is indicator you  have probably gone too long.

Critical thing is have all your cases the same temper. When Annealing do it as a lot every case the same. 

Consistency is key, not sure if annealing every firing is needed but if so doing it consistently it's not going to hurt anything.  May be slip fit which I have no experience with is different than light neck tension. Without frequent anneal I have never noticed any difference in neck "feel" one case to the next when loading fixed rounds.

Anneal I am going though now is part of a general out of service for that rifle. Torn down completely detail clean and re-assemble.  Few months no matches with it going through all brass for Anneal, O/A length, clean primer pockets etc. This rifle will start back up with a new bullet mold same time as carefully serviced brass  Once all is set will leave the load routines alone until the next out of service.  Unusual for me to do this in the shooting season normally over the winter. Lately am shooting more serious winter months than summer.  Want it ready for Fall matches 

This all opinion only can't support any of it.

Boats