45-70 reload for a trapdoor

Nevada Smith

Nevada Smith

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Hi guys

First of all let me wish to all of you a very happy new year, love, health and lots of bullseyes!!!

My question is about reloading 45-70 for a trapdoor and the crimp die. I'll use smokeless powder.

Is it necessary to crimp ammos for a single shot rifle like the trapdoor ? and if yes of heavy should the crimp be ?

Many thanks and happy trails to you !

Nevada Smith!
 
Depends on the diameter of your bullets. I cast .460 for my rifle for a nice fit. It's very snug in a new case. You will have to at least crimp the flare down though. I'd say yes, you more than likely will have to run it through a crimp die, but no, you don't have to put a substantial crimp on it.
 
You don't need any crimp at all if you want to minimize bullet deformation or working the brass. Just be sure they fit in the chamber if you are belling the cases.

Some shooters even like to leave a little bell to help center the bullet in a loose chamber.
I've shot some 45-70 where the bullet is a finger loose slip fit in unsized cases.

Depending on your powder and load it might be helpful to crimp for a little back pressure while the powder fully ignites.
 
I can only relate what I do, but here it is:
I've shot literally thousands of 45/70 out of Rolling Blocks, Trapdoors, and Marlins. Yes, THOUSANDS. Cast and jacketed, smokeless and black.
I crimped every one to varying degrees. Some with cast bullets and black or Pyrodex I crimp hard. I'm not a walking encyclopedia of what powders burn better with crimp but I don't know of any that burn WORSE with a crimp.
45/70 brass is neither rare or expensive enough that a light crimp is going to make you bankrupt. Even with a crimp you should get at least 5 loads per cartridge. I usually get 7 to 10 or so.
 
I never crimp, but I'm only loading BP.

I think the only real answer is to try both with and without and see what performs better in your rifle with your loads. I would suspect that a crimp will help things with smokeless loads, but you never know.
 
I load 330gr, and 405gr lead bullets in .45-70 Gov't and only bell the cases enough to seat bullets without scraping them. Then I seat with just enough crimp to return the case to just a bit past straight, if that makes sense. (minimal crimp)
I also anneal all my brass after each firing to improve brass life and shot to shot consistency.
I DO get quite a number of powder kernels left in the barrel when using IMR3031 with minimal crimp though. Trail boss- seems to work fine. Light recoil and reasonable accuracy.
I also tried a .030" cardboard wad between the powder and bullet. No noticeable change, but I may try some filler to try and get better ignition.
 
BigRobb said:
I would never recommend this to anyone.
Click to expand...

Every Round Ball load I've ever shot in 45/70 (and others) has been thumb-pressed. Very little grip on the bullet and no problems. Brass lasts practically forever when used as such. Only ever did this single shot, but that's what the Trapdoor is. The concern is that the bullet will move, and worse yet fall into the case. Blackpowder uses full cases and the concern is that it will fall out completely or partially. It comes down to having "enough" grip.
 
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