Short 45-70 brass

wyobohunter · March 1, 2010, 01:09 PM

I was working on some 45-70 brass. After resizing, the cases measured 2.035. The "trim to" length for 45-70 is 2.095. What the

It is once fired Hornady brass and may have been a box of LeverEvolution I bought when I first got the rifle a few years back.

Will it be dangerous for me to just adjust my dies and use it with my 405 gr. Cast boolits?

The rifle in a Marlin 1895 GS if that makes a difference.

rottieman33 · March 1, 2010, 01:25 PM

Friend has the same gun what he read Hornady had to make the cases shorter cause of the new soft point if they didn't it wouldn't feed right.

wyobohunter · March 1, 2010, 01:27 PM

So are these cases useless for all but Hornady soft point bullets?

TriumphGuy · March 1, 2010, 01:31 PM

I wouldn't think it would make much of a difference, but I'd back of the charge a bit and work your way back up.

wyobohunter · March 1, 2010, 01:58 PM

I'm currently using 48 gr. of H4198. Start load is 46 gr. and max load is 50.5 gr. That puts me at 44% from start to max so I'm not really pushing it. But shucks, I guess you're right, better start over. Maybe I'll just set them aside in case I ever decide to buy some soft pointed bullets. It's not like they are my only cases, vibratory cleaner is currently humming away with some more 45-70 and 30-06...

**Unclenick** · March 1, 2010, 02:00 PM

Any time you seat a bullet deeper you consume powder burning space, and that raises pressure. In your .45-70 you will find you need to reduce charge roughly in proportion to the reduction in case capacity to match the peak pressure seen. Just weigh a normal case and fill it with water level with the top (no meniscus) and weigh it again. Record the difference as water capacity for the normal case in grains of water weight. Repeat this for the Hornady case. Divide your normal case powder charge by the ratio of the two case water capacity weights.

You'll get same pressure but a little loss in velocity from the shorter case load, just because you have less powder making gas.

wyobohunter · March 1, 2010, 11:59 PM

Thanks UncliNick. I'll refer to that when I decide to use the Hornady cases. For now I'm just going to stick to my normal length RP cases. Besides pressure I'm a little skepticle of a dramatic change in head space.

**Unclenick** · March 2, 2010, 11:20 AM

.45-70 headspaces on the case rim, so you won't affect it with the different case lengths. You will increase bullet jump into the throat. Some guns like that and some hate it. You'd just have to experiment to see?

sewerman · March 2, 2010, 01:55 PM

i wouldn't use the short cases because in Theory this will corona ring your chamber so when you happen to use the langer cases they may expand into the etched area causing a difficult extraction.

i have a 1895 marlin 24" and had some hornady rds given to me i shot them and then gave them away to folks who actually reload for that round.

sewerman

wyobohunter · March 2, 2010, 02:19 PM

Quote:

You will increase bullet jump into the throat

Guess that's what I meant. Thanks

March 1, 2010, 01:09 PM	#1
wyobohunter Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Back in Wyoming Posts: 1,125	Short 45-70 brass I was working on some 45-70 brass. After resizing, the cases measured 2.035. The "trim to" length for 45-70 is 2.095. What the It is once fired Hornady brass and may have been a box of LeverEvolution I bought when I first got the rifle a few years back. Will it be dangerous for me to just adjust my dies and use it with my 405 gr. Cast boolits? The rifle in a Marlin 1895 GS if that makes a difference. __________________ Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

March 1, 2010, 01:27 PM	#3
wyobohunter Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Back in Wyoming Posts: 1,125	So are these cases useless for all but Hornady soft point bullets? __________________ Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

March 1, 2010, 01:58 PM	#5
wyobohunter Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Back in Wyoming Posts: 1,125	I'm currently using 48 gr. of H4198. Start load is 46 gr. and max load is 50.5 gr. That puts me at 44% from start to max so I'm not really pushing it. But shucks, I guess you're right, better start over. Maybe I'll just set them aside in case I ever decide to buy some soft pointed bullets. It's not like they are my only cases, vibratory cleaner is currently humming away with some more 45-70 and 30-06... __________________ Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

March 1, 2010, 02:00 PM	#6
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Any time you seat a bullet deeper you consume powder burning space, and that raises pressure. In your .45-70 you will find you need to reduce charge roughly in proportion to the reduction in case capacity to match the peak pressure seen. Just weigh a normal case and fill it with water level with the top (no meniscus) and weigh it again. Record the difference as water capacity for the normal case in grains of water weight. Repeat this for the Hornady case. Divide your normal case powder charge by the ratio of the two case water capacity weights. You'll get same pressure but a little loss in velocity from the shorter case load, just because you have less powder making gas. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle Last edited by Unclenick; March 2, 2010 at 11:19 AM.

March 1, 2010, 11:59 PM	#7
wyobohunter Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Back in Wyoming Posts: 1,125	Thanks UncliNick. I'll refer to that when I decide to use the Hornady cases. For now I'm just going to stick to my normal length RP cases. Besides pressure I'm a little skepticle of a dramatic change in head space. __________________ Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

March 1, 2010, 01:25 PM	#2
rottieman33 Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2009 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 223	Friend has the same gun what he read Hornady had to make the cases shorter cause of the new soft point if they didn't it wouldn't feed right.

March 1, 2010, 01:31 PM	#4
TriumphGuy Senior Member Join Date: October 5, 2009 Posts: 559	I wouldn't think it would make much of a difference, but I'd back of the charge a bit and work your way back up.

March 2, 2010, 11:20 AM	#8
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	.45-70 headspaces on the case rim, so you won't affect it with the different case lengths. You will increase bullet jump into the throat. Some guns like that and some hate it. You'd just have to experiment to see? __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

March 2, 2010, 01:55 PM	#9
sewerman Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 2005 Location: hurricane alley, florida Posts: 304	i wouldn't use the short cases because in Theory this will corona ring your chamber so when you happen to use the langer cases they may expand into the etched area causing a difficult extraction. i have a 1895 marlin 24" and had some hornady rds given to me i shot them and then gave them away to folks who actually reload for that round. sewerman __________________ "When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny!" Thomas Jefferson "They that can give up an essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety!" Benjamin franklin The Armed Citizen PREVENTS tyranny!