sergeant69
Active Member
FWIW..........i have been using hornady dies for my 45-70 loading for awhile. i shoot only cast (so far) that i make myself. WW, lead, tin. i use gas checks to keep leading to a minimum. i load only in the 1100-1500 fps range to keep recoil down due to shoulder surgery. plus, GARRET and NATHAN FOSTER have both, among others, have definitively shown that slower velocities result in deeper penetration and higher velocities penetrate less. and a 45-70 bullet is a slow mover compared to most. someone recently put a 45-70 cast slug thru 14 one gallon jugs of water with the slug exiting the last jug. a 300 win mag (??) i think, not sure, stopped at 3 jugs at same range going flat out. so a slow moving super wide meplat slug is fine for me and my shoulder.
dies....the hornady seating die continues to put a ring around the top of the slug as it seats the bullet due to stem design (not suited for a wide meplat bullet). i have in the past when experiencing this just poured molten lead into the stem making it a "flat" seater. i heard that RCBS makes cowboy shooting dies to address this. relunctately, i bought a set and i can now seat and and crimp in one operation w/no bullet nose deformation. and a good crimp. and yes, you need a good heavy crimp on a 45-70 in a tubular magazine.
dies....the hornady seating die continues to put a ring around the top of the slug as it seats the bullet due to stem design (not suited for a wide meplat bullet). i have in the past when experiencing this just poured molten lead into the stem making it a "flat" seater. i heard that RCBS makes cowboy shooting dies to address this. relunctately, i bought a set and i can now seat and and crimp in one operation w/no bullet nose deformation. and a good crimp. and yes, you need a good heavy crimp on a 45-70 in a tubular magazine.