Reloading the 45-70 ?

[edgemark]

When I normally reload for a regular bottleneck like a 30-06 that will be used in only one rifle I just neck size the case.

What do you guys normally do with the 45-70 in the Handirifle, and what kind of life can I expect?

thanks,

edge.

[stimpylu32]

Edge

I FL size all of my cases except the 218 Bee , case life will depend on a lot of things , like how much your chamber lets the case expand , how well the brass is made and how hot you load each round . I have some 45/70s that have been FL sized 6 times with some stout loads and still show no signs of stress , but have had others like my 270 that failed in just 2 loadings .

It is hard to put an exact number on how many times you can load a given peice of brass , most expect to get between 3 to 6 loads and some much more , i have 20+ year old 45 Long Colts that have been loaded well over 20 times and still going strong .

neck sizing can prolong the case life some as you only work a small amount of the brass not the whole case , anneling the necks can also help , depends on just how much work you want to put in to the loading .

stimpy

[John Boy]

Edge ... my procedure:
Load up new cases, crimp them and then fire in the rifle they will only be shot in.  Now you have a case fireformed to the rifle's chamber.
Then neck chamfer them and never size them again.
... If you are shooting smokeless, just neck size the case 0.002 under bullet base diameter so the bullet doesn't drop down in the case, reload em and seat the bullet with the seating die and then crimp if desired ... I don't
... If you are shooting black powder, finger seat the bullets and apply 0.002 neck tension using the decapper die with the pin removed ... no crimp
My 45-70 cases are W-W's, RP's and Starlines ... never have had a split case

Best to reload several recipes to see whether your rifle likes a crimped bullet or neck tension only. 

I have some cases, even the thin wall W-W's that have been reloaded with BP about 10 times.

[Dillohide]

A straight walled case should have a longer life than a modern shoulder case. Less pressure for one thing. I've re-loaded my 45/70 cases about 3 times so far and have not had to trim the cases yet. I'm using a Lee Loader for my 45/70 so only neck size but I use a sizing die and expander on the 450 Marlin cases ... haven't had to trim those either.

[DPRinks]

The Lee collet type crimper is my choice, I do not like seating and crimping in the same stroke, only crimps a very small portion of the case.
I full length size, but with the die backed out 1/2 turn, mostly to flare the neck for cast bullets.
My brass cases last a long time, but the nickle plated cases I got when Midway was out of plain brass started splitting necks at the second loading,
over 1/2 are split after 4 loadings, so I do not plan to get any more plated cases.

[edgemark]

Thanks all keep it coming 

The new Lee die sets don't come with a crimper, but I bought the factory crimp die too and that is what I started with. It does seem to put a lot of stress on the case mouth. I think that I will try both ways to see if there is an accuracy advantage.

edge.