I'm a great advocate of annealing rifle brass. Ive tried annealing pistol brass but honestly, I really dont think it was worth the trouble. Look at the reasons for annealing rifle brass: cases form a better seal in the chamber, better accuracy, cleaner cases, and cases last longer. In straight wall pistol cases, I doubt you will see much if any difference in accuracy, clean cases, or case life.
The thing that really has an impact on pistol ammo is proper crimping. For rimless semi-auto ammo, the cases need to be firmly taper crimped to insure good feeding and to keep the bullets from moving in the case, no trimming required. For rimmed revolver ammo, a firm roll crimp is best. That requires a uniform length case so trimming is usually necessary. Good luck with your Christmas present!
