Help! Lee bullet seating die crushing 45-70 brass

Do you have the die for flaring the case mouth? That's one possibility. The other is having the die screwed in too far. I've had this problem before when trying to put a roll crimp on a cartridge. The solution to that problem is to get a Lee Factory Crimp die. They're a beautiful thing. I've crushed my share of 45-70 cases and this is what I've learned from my experiences.

Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

Regards,

SS1
 
Sounds like your die is screwed down too far.
Try putting a piece of brass into your shell holder and stroke the press closed with the seater die backed way out then screw the seater in until it touches the top of the brass (you'll feel it), stroke the press open then turn the seater in about 1/16-1/8 of a turn and adjust as required to get the crimp you want.

Or as stated above buy the factory crimp die and don't worry again.
 
Well I have the three die set. I don't usually crimp since only have single shot rifles. I will pull back die a bit as suggested.

What about lube?
Flare?

Could they be factors?

Just odd because I never had this issue with the lee classic - just when using press.
 
Hmm - didn't have brass in when set up seater die. This could be the issue. I've done that for other calibers (RCBS) but lee instructions didn't mention brass to set up. Figured Lee / 45-70 was just different.
 
In addition, take a look at your shell holder and make sure it's clean. I've got a few squashed brass because the shell holder had some debris in it and the cases were not centered properly.
 
Your die may be set up just fine. If the bullets tip over as the round rides up in the die, the seating plug may not (and usually doesn't) realign it. Try this: push the bullet into the case enough to hold it in place then seat the bullet just a little (roughly 1/8"). Now lower the ram and look at the round from the top. If the bullet is off-center then realign it and seat it. This will also eliminate most bulging from seating off center. If you want a fool proof way to seat jacketed bullets or cast up to .458" then get a Classic Lee Loader. They seat the same as Lee's dead length seating die and will seat bullets nice and straight in the .45-70 and other non-bottleneck cartridges. The roll crimp seating die doesn't handle large bore bullets very well. And of course to set the roll crimp seating die for no crimp, you set a case in the shellholder and run the ram up to the top. Screw the die down onto the case until it makes contact then back it out a turn. As for flaring with the Lee die, I found for flat based jacketed bullets I liked to flare the case mouth to bullet diameter. The slight radius on the base of the bullet got bullets started fine, additional flaring didn't improve anything.
 
Read your instructions and reset your dies, your next round will be perfect. I messed up 4 44-40 rounds and was getting frustrated and as a Hail Mary pass I read the instructions and sure enough I had the procedure messed up. You are moments from success.
 
Did the same thing a couple weeks ago. Reloading the 45-70 is a three die process I learned, not a two die like most others. 1. Size. 2. FLARE. 3. Seat. I was not flaring the case mouth that is required of this caliber. I felt really stupid that I kept crushing cases after reloading for ten years with minimal issue. Big bore strait wall cases are a different animal. Good Luck
 
Though I read the lee instructions and always refer to my manuals - I found a good video on YouTube (fortune cookie 45LC) as suggested. Don't know why I didn't think of that before.

I was doing most things right but will now clean before decapping so lube on throughout process. I was lubing, decamping and resizing then cleaning so primer pocket was also free of discharged primer and would therefore also be cleaned. I think I'll clean the pocket after because lube was coming off.

Also think that not flaring enough - will adjust die to flare more. That seems to be the main issue. The case mouth isn't wide enough to accept (in this case factory Hornady) .458 bullet. If all fails I will go back to classic - never had an issue w it.
 
gfol70 said:
Though I read the lee instructions and always refer to my manuals - I found a good video on YouTube (fortune cookie 45LC) as suggested. Don't know why I didn't think of that before.

I was doing most things right but will now clean before decapping so lube on throughout process. I was lubing, decamping and resizing then cleaning so primer pocket was also free of discharged primer and would therefore also be cleaned. I think I'll clean the pocket after because lube was coming off.

Also think that not flaring enough - will adjust die to flare more. That seems to be the main issue. The case mouth isn't wide enough to accept (in this case factory Hornady) .458 bullet. If all fails I will go back to classic - never had an issue w it.
Click to expand...

There is some logical problem solving! The 44-40s required seperate seating and crimping for me anyway. I'll buy a thrird die to speed this up.
 
Make sure you know what kind of brass you are using. If you are using Hornady, there are 2 different lengths but they are stamped identically. Their Leverolution 45/70 like othe Lvrn calibers are actually shorter than 45/70 Govt cases and can be a real source of aggravation if you are not aware. For example, not knowing, you set up your press to load the shorter brass, but end up using regular length Govt brass. Seating the bullet becomes deeper and the crimp crushes the case. Not saying this is the problem, but just ensure that you are set up for the proper length. Always a good idea to separate Leverevolution brass from traditional Govt length. The difference in case volumes may be problematic with respect to pressures(altho 45/70 is relatively low pressure)if you are not loading accordingly. Same scenario exists with any Leverolution caliber. Be aware and load accordingly.
Cheers
dB
 
Lol, that is exactly what I did and had been reloading for at least ten years. I thought I was an expert! Ah, the instructions...
 
Have done everything - used all three dies, widened flare to better accept bullets. It creates ripples in case like the bullet is too big. Using hornady with in star and rem brass. Nothing to do with depth - it starts from the very beginning.

May try lube and see what that does - do folks normally lube inside of case like necked cartridges?

Fortunately the lee classic worked fine so have that to keep things going.
 
Describe the riffles. Like a bulge at the base of the bullet in the case?

gfol70 said:
Have done everything - used all three dies, widened flare to better accept bullets. It creates ripples in case like the bullet is too big. Using hornady with in star and rem brass. Nothing to do with depth - it starts from the very beginning.

May try lube and see what that does - do folks normally lube inside of case like necked cartridges?

Fortunately the lee classic worked fine so have that to keep things going.
Click to expand...
 
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