New 45-70 reloader

[Bill Siegle]

So the Lovely Lady approved a Marlin Trapper purchase. I bought some factory ammo but reloading is definitely the way to go for 45-70. I've got dies and primers. Bullets and brass are inbound. I'm starting with Oregon Trail 405 grain lead bullets and IMR 4198 powder. Plenty of wiggle room I believe between min and max in my manual. This will be my first dedicated rifle loading. Been doing pistol for years. If there's any advice out there, I'd love to hear it

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[Capn Jack]

Straight wall cases shouldn't be a problem. Just pay attention to "Over All Case Length" and use plenty of lube.

When the cases begin to crack around the lips from crimping don't throw them away, drill out the primer holes and use them with wax bullets for some garage fun. All you will need is a carboard box with a target on it and a piece of carpet for a backstop.

 

[thorborg]

Originally filled up with BP, new powders leave much air in the case. Some powders more than others. Several loads I have used I inserted a 3/8" thick x 1/2" square Dacron batting wad (batting from yard goods store) to keep the powder close to the fire pit. I found little evidence of performance change, and very little added residue worth mentioning from the foreign material added.
Regardless of any benefit, or not, from containing the powder, It gave me piece of mind while hunting I had eliminated just one more thing that might stifle my success. If you go that route, don't be cavalier about the wadding, keep exact measurements and by extension, weights, identical as possible wad to wad for best repeatable performance.... Other things besides Dacron are used.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Before you load a bunch up, make sure they'll function through the gun.

 

[oremike]

Hornady cases are shorter than other brands, its no big deal if you know and adjust accordingly.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Hornady cases are shorter than other brands, its no big deal if you know and adjust accordingly.

Glad I stuck with Starline

 

[oremike]

AA 5744 is a good powder for mild to wild loads.

 

[RyanG90]

Wish I knew how to reload. Just picked up my trapper a few days ago! 45-70 is not cheap, I guess nothing these days is really.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Wish I knew how to reload. Just picked up my trapper a few days ago! 45-70 is not cheap, I guess nothing these days is really.

Now is the time to learn!

 

[RyanG90]

Bows the time to learn!

Indeed. I've read a about a quarter of a book about pistol/revolver caliber reloading. I feel as though Rifle cartridges will be my main focus as my arsenal is mostly long guns. I mainly terrorize steel targets. I'm sure you'll make better use of your loads!

 

[drstrangelove]

Holding the case mouth in the blue flame of a propane stove for 7sec while rotating the base is called annealing and will go a long way toward keeping the mouths from cracking from work hardening the brass. Most people do it for bottleneck cartridges, but there is no penalty for doing it on high dollar straight walled cases.

 

[aklaunch]

Hornady cases are shorter than other brands, its no big deal if you know and adjust accordingly.

This is not true.

Beware of endless false information on the internet. Especially on this forum for some reason.

Hornady factory FTX ammo will have shorter cases.

The brass they sell as a reloading component is standard length.

 

[Idaho44]

Ah yes the internet wizards! https://www.bing.com/search?q=hornady+45/70+brass+versus+starline+brass+length&qs=ds&form=QBRE

 

[aklaunch]

Get a Lyman reloading manual, or the Lyman cast bullet loading manual. Find out the difference in hardness between what they tested and what you have. (both great sources for cast bullet loads)

You will loosen that rifle up before you see classic pressure signs on the brass. I recommend some type of velocity measurement device.

The action, and your shoulder are the weak link

 

[oremike]

This is not true.

Beware of endless false information on the internet. Especially on this forum for some reason.

Hornady factory FTX ammo will have shorter cases.

The brass they sell as a reloading component is standard length.

My point being to check your case OAL particulally Hornady's as some are shorter than others. <shrug> but what do I know.
Trim the long ones, watch out for the short ones, lube before sizing, load'em up and shoot away.

 

[Twodogs]

I have been loading for the 45/70 for a long time. a lot of the newer rifles wont chamber the longer bullets as in 420gr to 540gr.
My buddys winchester wont even chamber 350gr Hornadys unless they are loaded short.

 

[drstrangelove]

There are generally no penalties for seating to the front cannelure. This ain't a precision rifle cartridge. Be careful you don't buy 458winchester bullets… they don't have the cannelure in the right place and will lock up your lever gun due to OAL too long and require rifle disassembly to clear. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[thorborg]

Light flare if using lead or shaving will occur, even then likely will a little anyway. I also used a lot of 300 gr for target and plinking if there is such a thing with a 45-70.
Seating the bullet straight with the 300 and to some extent 405 can be challenging and requires much attention because of the short broad nature of its shape along with the flatness of the base..

 

[Bill Siegle]

Finally got outside with the new Trapper. We ran some test loads and some factory ammo. The Winchester 300gr and Remington 405gr Core Lokt were manageable but stout on recoil. My hand loads consisted of 25gr and 29gr of IMR4198 under an Oregon Trail 405gr bullet. both the factory loads ran well and grouped same point of aim. The two test loads grouped similarly but a little higher on the target than the factory ammo. My Son and I agreed that all things feeling equal, a load in between the 25gr and 29gr would be pretty sweet. I loaded up the rest of my brass at 27gr of IMR4198 for the next trip out. Should be pushing the 405gr bullet about 1300fps I believe.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Oh, and definitely Thank you for all the advice given so far