45-70

[chrisco]

I have never done any reloading before but plan to start soon. I am planning to start with 45-70 and want to know what the deal is with Hornady Leverevolution brass. I was told that it can not be reloaded because the case is too short. I have compared the Hornady case against a Remington case and it is indeed shorter. Should I just go ahead and pitch my Hornady brass or is it reloadable?

 

[BrotherRockeye]

haven't thrown any of mine away...

 

[H4831]

With big, slow bullets like the 45-70 uses, I can see very little advantage in a pointed bullet. My advice would be to forget them. Just use standard bullets in standard cases.

 

[rommelrommel]

They are reloadable, but you do have to be comfortable in understanding what all the shorter case changes. With short 250/300 grain bullets you won't have much bullet inside the case, unless you load them to a shorter OAL. Loading to a shorter OAL can produce significantly more pressure.

Basically I would suggest not using them, but don't throw them away either. Once you've gotten more comfortable reloading you may want to use them for low power loads, shot loads, or something like that. You also can buy the pointed Hornady FTX bullets now and duplicate the factory load to some extent.

 

[Johnn Peterson]

With big, slow bullets like the 45-70 uses, I can see very little advantage in a pointed bullet. My advice would be to forget them. Just use standard bullets in standard cases.

That would be my choice as well.

 

[gorram]

Soooo...the same issues with reloading my still small supply of Hornady Leverevolution 450 Marlin brass?

What of using 400g flats in the shorter cases?

Tis been a long time since my 9mm reloading days, haven't reloaded the long gun rounds.....yet.

Thx, G.

 

[tbrwlf]

If you are planning to use Hornady FTX rounds then keep the brass and use it for that. I have reloaded the brass but only for use in a single shot. The problem is that you cannot crimp the brass for use in the levers.

Have fun reloading it is a blast. Don't forget to get lead cast bullets too. They are much cheaper and lots of fun.

 

[unstableryan]

Save them for shot loads or round ball loads or whatever else you want to try without messing up the proper brass one you start reloading for 45-70 you want to explore it a bit.

 

[Al-Sway]

Unless you are planning to load them with maximum loads, I don't think the pressure issue is a problem with the shorter cases. You should have no problem using them with loads between 1200 - 1600 fps.

 

[sunray]

What rifle are you using?