45-70 Hornady FTX Bullets - Need Help

littleshooter

littleshooter

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Hi There

There is lots of information about this bullet etc.....Here is what I need help with. I have read the data on the Lever Revolution FTX 45-70 stuff I have the recommended specs from Hornady. (Shorter case length etc...)

My question is how to crimp these. I did buy a Lee 45-70 Factory crimp die, I have heard that people are machine .100" off the die to accomadate for the short length to make them work with the FTX. Can anyone give me feed back on this? I take it, that I seat the Bullet to Hornady's Max COL of 2.600" and then crimp with this modified Die? I have also heard the Hornady makes a die now, for these short cases and long FTX bullets is this true? Any experience with these Bullets that you can share would be great.....Thanks for your time.....

PS- I have a Lyman Universal Trimmer - I am having problems with my #45 pilot (recommended for 45-70 from Lyman) The Pilot seems to be a little larger than required and is not sliding in the case as other calibres I have trimmed. Is this the right Pilot? What I am I doing wrong?
 
I assume you have a regular set of reloading dies for your 45-70.
Most have enough adjustment to work for crimping the FTX bullet so you don't have to fool around with the LEE factory crimp die.
 
Hi There

I have a 45-70 FL and Bullet Seating and Power Through Expanding die and also a factory crimp die also.....Not enough adjustment for trimmed cases at 2.040". Regular case for the 45-70 are about .60" larger than the FTX Hornady LR stuff.
 
littleshooter said:
Hi There

I have a 45-70 FL and Bullet Seating and Power Through Expanding die and also a factory crimp die also.....Not enough adjustment for trimmed cases at 2.040". Regular case for the 45-70 are about .60" larger than the FTX Hornady LR stuff.
Click to expand...

With my Hornady set the seating die can be set down low enough to crimp the FTX bullets in the shorter case. I don't even bother to fiddle with the LEE factory crimp die when using the FTX bullets.
 
'Boo said:
With my Hornady set
Click to expand...
Emphasis added.

Hornady made their .45-70 dies to be compatible with their FTX data as well as conventional bullets. If you have Lee, RCBS, Reddings, or other brands they don't have enough adjustment range since they are designed for proper length .45-70 cases.
 
My Hornady dies were built long before the FTX was around.

I have talked to a number of people and some dies will adjust down enough to crimp the shorter cases and others won't. I have talked to one fellow who told me his standard LEE seater/crimper will adjust down enough to crimp the FTX bullets. If his information was correct or not I have no way of knowing for sure.
 
Maybe try it without trimming...

FWIW - I didn't need to trim my cases for use in my Guide Gun.

I was able to seat the FTX deep enough to function in the action perfectly. The case mouth ended up just past the upper edge of the canular such that is completely obscured but the case mouth is still on the bullet shank and not on the ogive.

Because the cases were the proper length I crimped with the Lee Factory Crimp Die. It doesn't really matter if you have a canular or not with the lee die. So as long as you're not into the ogive there is no problem. Of course, Hornady isn't going to mention this...In my mind, the LFCD makes it possible to load the FTX in the 45/70 without having to trim.

No problem with accuracy either. I'm running these at just under 2000fps using RL 7 and I get reliable sub MOA groups (3 shots - from sandbags). The best was just under .8" at 100 yards. I've shot several groups at 200 yards as well and every one of them is just under 2". My GG has a 1-4x20 Leupold mounted. This is the first load I tried with the FTX. Very gratifying.

If you can get an overall length that will function in your particular action and still have enough bullet shank to crimp on with the LFCD it's a lot less monkeying around than trimming the cases. I suggest making a dummy round and determining the greatest length that will cycle reliably and see where the case mouth is in relation to the ogive. It's going to vary with various guns I'm sure.

I have a Redding die set and lacked a suitable seating stem for this bullet profile. I ended up using the body of a 270 Weatherby seating die to seat the FTX bullets. This worked just fine. Any seating die in a bottle neck caliber of the appropriate length should work for this purpose as long as it's fat enough to accept the 45/70 cartridge. You just have to remember that you're not using the seating stem at all and that seating adjustments are made by screwing the die body up or down in the press.

The FTX bullet performed very well on the moose I took in NF on Sept 17 / 12. It penetrated completely and came to rest under the far side skin. The bullet was lost while quartering the animal (it was almost dark and it must have fallen into the grass) so I can't tell you how well it held together but the bullet path through the body cavity and the mark on the skin on the far side were plain to see the following morning when we came back for the quarters. I can tell you that it knocked that bull down with authority on a raking, quartering-toward shot on the run. It was very impressive, he reared back, collapsed and did not get back up.

I've read some opinions that the FTX is too lightly constructed for use on moose and was a bit concerned about trying them. I'm no longer concerned. It knocked that moose down HARD. This is a test sample of 1 but I intend to use it in the future on various game so we'll see...

My Newfoundlander guide called them my 'Lipstick Bullets'. After everybody was tagged out some of us (guides and hunters) had some fun shooting at a rock in the 'pond' that was 241 yards away. Many hits shooting off-hand. I think several people were surprised that a short 45/70 could make hits at that range.
 
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