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Range test went well. I do believe it was my overlooking the belled case mouth that caused my pain. I selected 7 random loaded rounds and indexed them with a sharpie with all being loaded with the mark at 12 oclock in the chamber. After firing and allowing the case to cool, I slid them back into the chamber in all different positions from what I had marked. All the empties loaded smoothly with no sign of being tight. Lesson learned. Slow down and pay attention. Thanks for the interest.
 
Good lesson here for all of us. When loading or shooting do not be in a hurry. Im not preaching as I have made my mistakes from being in a hurry also. Gunpowder is not forgiving, keep that in mind.
 
Range test went well. I do believe it was my overlooking the belled case mouth that caused my pain. I selected 7 random loaded rounds and indexed them with a sharpie with all being loaded with the mark at 12 oclock in the chamber. After firing and allowing the case to cool, I slid them back into the chamber in all different positions from what I had marked. All the empties loaded smoothly with no sign of being tight. Lesson learned. Slow down and pay attention. Thanks for the interest.
Glad you found the problem
 
YES ... attention to details, Attention To Details.

This is why I prefer paper patched bullets.

There is no brass prep work involved other than cleaning - any method is good, I prefer an ultra-sonic.
The clean, fireformed and unsized brass gets primed and drop fill loaded with a precise weight of black powder.
An LDPE wad is pushed into the case and on top of the powder column - this can be done with a 7/16" dowel to a depth mark on it.
A PPB is twisted into the case.
(An *optional* extremely light mouth taper is accomplished on a press with a modified taper die.)

There is no cartridge OAL because the PPB is a bore rider.
There is no bbl leading, thanx to the paper patch.
Fouling control can be a blow tube or wiping - wiping is preferred for best consistent accuracy at long range distances.
Bbl cleanup is ridiculously easy and quick.

Black powder cartridges and PPBs are the way to go - everything else is a passing fancy. ;)
 
I agree that you can't bulge a case by compressing. I was using Starline brass to attempt to load my 45-70 with BP. I was going to use a 500 gr Spire point (Lee 90577) over 70 gr of FFg and a .060" veggie wad. Dropping the powder down the tube only left me with about 3/8" of case left to the mouth. Then putting in the veggie wad left me with only 1/4" of case. My bullet needed to be seated 1/2" for max OAL in Pedersoli Sharps. I had no trouble compressing or chambering the round but there was so much pressure that the seating plug on my die made a considerable ring around the olgive of my bullet. I would have to load as little at 50 grs to shoot BP.
 
I agree that you can't bulge a case by compressing. I was using Starline brass to attempt to load my 45-70 with BP. I was going to use a 500 gr Spire point (Lee 90577) over 70 gr of FFg and a .060" veggie wad. Dropping the powder down the tube only left me with about 3/8" of case left to the mouth. Then putting in the veggie wad left me with only 1/4" of case. My bullet needed to be seated 1/2" for max OAL in Pedersoli Sharps. I had no trouble compressing or chambering the round but there was so much pressure that the seating plug on my die made a considerable ring around the olgive of my bullet. I would have to load as little at 50 grs to shoot BP.

Theoretically, you can bulge a case by forcing too much compression, but it takes an amount of press and die compression that one would never want to attempt.

The choice of bullet will dictate the cartridge OAL, with regards to its nose shape and range of diameter along its effective bore length. Early on in my career with the .45-70 I trialed the Lee 90577 and found it not consistently accurate for 200 yards let alone longer. I'm an advocate of light compression with Swiss powder and never loaded a .45-70 Starline case with less than 65 grains of 1-1/2F with no more than .060" compression under a variety of wads such a .025" milk carton to .060" LDPE. In your case with that Lee bullet it sounds like something is amiss - perhaps it's casting oversize, or you didn't size it, or the bore is less than .450" for at least where the freebore ends which should also take into account the freebore length past the chamber mouth.

Yes, the Lee bullet molds are cheap, but they are in no way as good (as in "consistent accuracy and performance") as more expensive molds from makers such as Accurate, Lyman, BACO, and many others. It really does the rifle no good to use an inferior bullet design and mold, for as with archery, where the arrow is far more important than the bow, so is the bullet to the rifle. But, lots depends on what will be the primary use of the rifle.
 
I agree that you can't bulge a case by compressing. I was using Starline brass to attempt to load my 45-70 with BP. I was going to use a 500 gr Spire point (Lee 90577) over 70 gr of FFg and a .060" veggie wad. Dropping the powder down the tube only left me with about 3/8" of case left to the mouth. Then putting in the veggie wad left me with only 1/4" of case. My bullet needed to be seated 1/2" for max OAL in Pedersoli Sharps. I had no trouble compressing or chambering the round but there was so much pressure that the seating plug on my die made a considerable ring around the olgive of my bullet. I would have to load as little at 50 grs to shoot BP.
Dont forget. The original loading for the 45-70 was in the old style balloon head case. They could actually get 70 gr. of black powder in the case. The modern 45-70 case is thicker internally at the base so case volume is reduced. Trying to cram too much powder in a modern case can cause issues as you have found out. Do you intend to hunt with your rifle? Informal target shooting? Silhouette? Mid/long range competition? You are obviously going to have to reduce your powder charge. Using 3F will get you a little more velocity than the same weight charge of 2F. Using a .030 wad might get you an extra grain of powder. Using Swiss powder will get you a little more velocity than most other brands of B.P. Once again, it all depends on what you intend to do with your rifle/load.
 
The choice of bullet will dictate the cartridge OAL, with regards to its nose shape and range of diameter along its effective bore length. Early on in my career with the .45-70 I trialed the Lee 90577 and found it not consistently accurate for 200 yards let alone longer. I'm an advocate of light compression with Swiss powder and never loaded a .45-70 Starline case with less than 65 grains of 1-1/2F with no more than .060" compression under a variety of wads such a .025" milk carton to .060" LDPE. In your case with that Lee bullet it sounds like something is amiss - perhaps it's casting oversize, or you didn't size it, or the bore is less than .450" for at least where the freebore ends which should also take into account the freebore length past the chamber mouth.
Yes, the Lee bullet molds are cheap, but they are in no way as good (as in "consistent accuracy and performance") as more expensive molds from makers such as Accurate, Lyman, BACO, and many others. It really does the rifle no good to use an inferior bullet design and mold, for as with archery, where the arrow is far more important than the bow, so is the bullet to the rifle. But, lots depends on what will be the primary use of the rifle.
Thanks for your input. I was just toying with the idea of using BP in my 45-70 but it appears it may be too much of a hassle. Especially with having to reduce my load down to about 50-55 gr.. I do have molds by Accurate for my muzzleloaders which I cast and paper patch. I chose the Lee mold because of its higher BC than the 405 gr bullet I was using (also cast from a Lee mold) which was really accurate @ 100 yds. My Lee 90577 is very consistent. Here is my process: Once my casting session is done and the bullets cool down I start to sort them throwing any blems into the pot for remelt (blems include wrinkles, rounded bases, dinged bases and any other abnormalities). I normally wait a few days then size them and weigh them. Most all come in to within 1 - 1.5 gr of each other. Those that exceed that range are also thrown into the pot for remelt. I usually end up with approximately 75% rate (75 of 100 good bullets). My finished product exceeds the standards of some jacketed bullets I've purchased.
I make my ingots for casting in large batches at one time and shoot for a 19 BHN in my centerfire bullets and a 10 BHN in my paper patched bullets for my muzzleloaders.
 

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