handloading for 45/70 gov't info

[original]

i am going to try and start reloading for a handi 45/70 bc.   there are not many selections of parts to choose from in my area.   my questions are what are some good, inexpensive online sites for supplies and sites for reloading data.  thanks

[stimpylu32]

A lot depends on what you want to do with the rounds , for general shooting & hunting , a good cast bullet in the 300 to 405 grain range will do just fine , now if your looking at something for bears you may want to step up to a jacketed bullet .

Beartooth as well as most of the other cast bullet suppliers sell bullets at decent prices or you could go with Midsouth or Midway , as for powders , Unique , Trailboss and Reloader 7 all work very well with standard Large Rifle primers .

And for data , just about all the powder companies have on-line data to work with .

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm

And heres a great place to look .

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?action=links

stimpy

[shot1]

Midway USA will have everything you need. Don't get sucked into the "I have to have the most velocity I can get out of this thing wave." A Sierra or Hornady 300 gr jacketed JP at 1800 fps is a deer hammer. A 405 Speer at 1600 fps or so will take anything in the US. I shoot a lot of cast 405 through 500 gr bullet with black powder and I have not found anything they can't do. Cast bullets in the 400 to 500 gr range at 1100 to 1400 fps just about wiped out all the buffalo. A big chunk of lead does ont have to be moving too fast to get the job done on almost anything. IMR 4198 is a good powder for jacketed bullets and Accurate 5744 is great for cast bullets.

[tacklebury]

I use Lee products for both economy and have gotten great accuracy for reloading .45-70, .45 LC and .45 ACP.  I bought all my gear at their factory sales site which is typically less than most of the big guys.  Their site is a bit of a pain, but their prices are often 1/2 the regular Lee site.  They are like 2 miles from the factory also.   I got all my dies, press, sets of classic loaders, molding pot, all for under 500 bucks. 

http://www.factorysales.com/

[Blackhawker]

I almost exclusively use Midway for my loading equipment.  Either that or when I have time to take a long trip, I'll find some loading accessories at Cabela's as well.

As tacklebury said, Lee stuff is inexpensive and I've had great luck with it for over 20 years.