45-70 Lever evolution brass?

[BrowninG77]

I have always shot the factory Hornady Lever evolutions & always saved my brass with the hopes of one day getting them reloaded. A friend has gotten into reloading & is peaking my interest in it as well.He doesn't have the dies so I'm going to pick some up soon & let him guide me thru the process after I get all supplies rounded up.Here's the ?. Will the spent brass I have accumulated work, as I remember reading somewhere on gb that this  lever evolution brass is too short? Thx in advance for input.

[stimpylu32]

In short , ya they'll work , however there are a couple things you need to know when working with the Hornady brass . First is that with them being shorter the case capacity will be slightly reduced if you seat a bullet with a crimp groove down to the groove , so the powder charge must be adjusted accordingly , and second is that most seater / crimp dies will not crimp on the shorter case's so something like the Lee FC ( factory crimp ) die is needed if you want to crimp these rounds .
 
stimpy

[BrowninG77]

Thanks a bunch Stimpy!

[cwlongshot]

IMHO,
 It might be worth saving if your gonna load FTX bullets... otherwise trade it to someone who will do that. If not, its scrap to me..

CW

[GH1]

I've loaded quite a few of those cases. RCBS seat/crimp dies won't work, neither will the Lee FCD. However, both of theses dies can be shortened to work, or you can buy the Hornady seat crimp die.
As far as powder charges go, you'll have to begin at the starting load and work up just like any other round. If you're loading at or near Trapdoor pressures it's not a big deal, depending on your particular firearm. My load is 30 gr AA5744 behind a 405 gr cast bullet. This gives me velocities in the low 1400's, according to the folks at Accurate.
GH1

[BrowninG77]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll be shooting a handy so no need to crimp & will more than likely also use ftx bullets. Thx again!

[GH1]

Another Handi shooter, awesome!
You still may have to use a crimp, it depends on the powder. Good luck with your reloading.
GH1

[sr sawyer]

Although it takes a little more work, the RCBS dies will crimp the Leverevolution brass.  The proceedure is as follows:
 
1.  Seat the bullet to the about the top edge of the cannelure (seating die should be adjusted to
     contact the shellholder)
2.  Back the seating stem out a few turns
3.  Slide the round into the seating crimp die so it is on top of the shell holder in lieu of inserted
     into it
4.  Place a shim between the shell holder and case head and raise the ram to full height to
     complete the crimp.  For shims I use feeler gauges from .020 -.035 depending on the amount
     of crimp I desire
 
Ken
 

[BrowninG77]

Thanks for the head's up on the crimping for compressed powders and for the tip with the shimming.