Marlin Forums banner
Cancel

.45-70 LE Short Brass Crimp Solutions.

5782 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  xwrench3, 
Hyphenated
2
Yesterday another member and I exchanged a lot of emails about a reloading problem he was experiencing. The issue was not being able to get a crimp on once fired 45-70 LE brass. I would not be surprised if other people have experienced this, the first time they tried to reload LeveReveloution brass, because of the short length.

After we bounced a few ideas around I suggested using a .45 Colt sizer die for the crimping operation. All that was needed was a little bump in the die to get rid of the flare and put a small taper on the case neck. By using the .45 Colt die, you are not locked into any pre-set positions provided by your crimping die or something similar like the Lee FCD.

The following is my last actual email after I put my plan into use. This explains the steps I used and shows the results.

Okay, I couldn't let my theory go untested. So I hit the gun room after dinner and cranked out a box of 45-70's using my 405gr cast bullets. I did everything as usual, except on the last step I substituted my RCBS 45 Colt sizer die in place of the 45-70 Lee FCD. I bumped the rounds into the die twice, 1/8" at a time, to maybe a depth of 1/4". This should have caught about 3/16” of brass for the actual crimp. Everything went as planned and put a very nice taper crimp on the shells.

I filled up my 1895 with three rounds and cycled them as normal. They fed and chambered perfect. This procedure would work no matter what your brass length. Here are some pictures of the finished product.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
L
Great idea! You gonna ring some dingers with those?
Reply
Save
Like
Hyphenated
I wish I was ringing dingers with them...but I prolly will be putting holes in paper next week. Maybe run a couple of them through my chrony.
Reply
Save
Like
B
Good looking rounds you have there. I'd say you found a way in dealing with LE brass. Nice work!
Reply
Save
Like
Rooster59
Hyphenated,
Do you think your process is consistent and repeatable? I might be afraid I wouldn't get it the same on each round given the press/shellholder isn't bottoming out to create the same stopping point each time. For me at least.
Reply
Save
Like
xwrench3
i struggled with this for a while also, after a few failed attempts, i discovered that using a nickel on top of the shell holder would allow me to make the taper crimp using the bullet seating die. the trouble with that, was that the shell got stuck in there, and i had to use the bullet seating adjuster to push the cartridge out, then back it off so i could do it again. of course, doing that required crimping a separate operation from seating the bullet. after a few months of this, i got fed up with it, and figured out that all that really needed to be done was to shorten the oal of the die. that would allow the cartridge to enter further, and allow the top of the shell to reach the taper crimp section of the die. my brother is a machinist, so it was way easier, and much more accurate, to have him chuck the die up in a lathe, and cut 0.080" off the bottom of the die. these are lee dies. another brand may need more, or less removed. i did not do anything with the fcd die. i will only use the taper crimp on the hornady brass. all the rest will be able to use the fcd if i desire to. this in no way affects any other part of the bullet seating die. i would suspect that a similar modification would work for the fcd, but, it would effect its use on all other brass. if you really want to fcd the hornady's, you will probably have to custom make a separate fcd die just for them.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
M
Hyphenated what mold do you have to cast those 405's?
Reply
Save
Like
Rooster59
xwrench3 said:
i struggled with this for a while also, after a few failed attempts, i discovered that using a nickel on top of the shell holder would allow me to make the taper crimp using the bullet seating die. the trouble with that, was that the shell got stuck in there, and i had to use the bullet seating adjuster to push the cartridge out, then back it off so i could do it again. of course, doing that required crimping a separate operation from seating the bullet. after a few months of this, i got fed up with it, and figured out that all that really needed to be done was to shorten the oal of the die. that would allow the cartridge to enter further, and allow the top of the shell to reach the taper crimp section of the die. my brother is a machinist, so it was way easier, and much more accurate, to have him chuck the die up in a lathe, and cut 0.080" off the bottom of the die. these are lee dies. another brand may need more, or less removed. i did not do anything with the fcd die. i will only use the taper crimp on the hornady brass. all the rest will be able to use the fcd if i desire to. this in no way affects any other part of the bullet seating die. i would suspect that a similar modification would work for the fcd, but, it would effect its use on all other brass. if you really want to fcd the hornady's, you will probably have to custom make a separate fcd die just for them.
Click to expand...
I've just about resigned myself to purchasing a Hornady seating/crimping die for the crimp operation. They claim their standard seating/crimp die will crimp the LE brass. Either that or get another FCD and have a machinist friend modify it as you described. That would be cheaper than buying an FCD, sending it to Lee, pay for the mod, and ship it back.
Reply
Save
Like
xwrench3
Rooster59, please note that the mod i did was to the standard Lee seat / taper crimp die. i did not modify my Lee FCD. as i use that for other bullets. the Hornady FTX bullets are great, but they are on the pricey side for just plinking / target practice / short range or heavy brush hunting. i have the scope sighted in for the FTX bullets, but the others usually only require a height adjustment. and since my scope is a mil-dot scope, those are easy enough to remember.
Reply
Save
Like
aka
how much shorter is the LE brass in comparison to Starline or Win?
Reply
Save
Like
Hyphenated
@ melsdad...
Those bullets were cast in a Lee block and sized and lubed in a RCBS press.
Reply
Save
Like
xwrench3
standard brass length is 2.105". in order to load the FTX bullets, and have the cycle thru the action, the brass needs to be trimmed to 2.050" max. so the Hornady brass is already cut to that length.
Reply
Save
Like
aka
@xwrench3 Thank you.
Reply
Save
Like
xwrench3
oops, double post.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Marlin Forums
A forum community dedicated to Marlin firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about optics, hunting, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Off Topic Lounge Marlin Rimfires General Marlin Discussion Lever Action Introductions
Top