In order to understand the role of shock waves in modifying existent remanent magnetization and in inducing magnetization via 1st and 2nd order shock transitions in iron and iron‐nickel alloys a model system has been adopted. Dilute iron in copper (1.5 wt &percent; Fe solutions can be annealed arbitrarily to produce a near ideal dispersion of spherical fcc precipitates having diameters ≲2000 A˚. The size range is arbitrarily specified by the anneal. These spherical iron (antiferromagnetic‐fcc) particles are then transformed to the ferromagnetic state (bcc) during a shock pulse in controlled external fields (≲1 Oe). The axial vector always takes on the sign of the external field indicating that on the microsecond time scale of the transformation the particles record the field sense. The amount of fcc iron transformed depends on both precipitate size and the peak input pressure. The observed deformation induced anistropy is dependent on particle size and shock level, but the 400 A˚–600 A˚ particles show the maximum degree of anisotropy at all shock levels. Different sizes of precipitates support different degrees of magnetic hardening (i.e., response to alternating field demagnetization). Anisotropy in magnetic hysteresis, using hysteresis ratios ‐ RI(ratio of saturation remanence to saturation magnetization) and RH(ratio of remanent coercive force to coercive force) indicate a shock induced weak field remanence anisotropy. Measurement of the angular variation of coercive force (HC) and remanent coercive force (HR) and the computed RHclearly identifies the direction of the shock, RHbeing a minimum and HCa maximum parallel to P. Unique properties observed in hysteresis behavior are related to the narrow iron particle size distribution, orientation, and mean particle spacing. These unique properties include discrete switching fields for magnetization reversal, and separation of region of hysteresis from region of shape response.