Best 45-70 Brass for BPCR

[school of mines]

Hello!

My goal is to start shooting my 1884 Trapdoor in competitions w/BP. I would like to buy a large lot of brass and use it exclusively in my Trapdoor. What is the current thoughts on the best make of brass and should I consider nickel plated cases for BPCR?

Thanks for you input.

[duckndawg]

starline brass!!!

[cajun shooter]

Starline direct is the best buy you can find. The brass is made a little thicker than other brands. It is recommended that the brass be annealed before loading.

[Don McDowell]

I guess I'm just wierd, always got along good with Remington and Winchester brass. The Remington nickel brass has been used in some barn burner accurate loads in the rifles lounging around here.

[school of mines]

I've never annealed brass before. I know the basic concept, but seems to be a lot of work and difficult to do consistently. Is it really necessary to anneal Starline brass?


Haven't decided what benefit there is to using nickel brass.

Keep the comment coming!

[August]

I have used Winchester, Remington, Federal, and Starline. Far, and away, I prefer the Winchester. It is softer (without annealing) and seems easier to get a consistent bullet pull with it.

If you haven't bought brass, I'd recommend you get a hundred Winchester cases, which should last you a lifetime.

I like the others for lever guns and prefer them because of their toughness and thicker case walls.

[SharpsShooter]

I use Remington for grease groove boolits, Winchester for paper patch and nickel plated for smokeless loads. The Remington is very good brass. The Winchester is used simply because I require all my paper patch cases to be the same exact length and it is easy to separate them from the rest after tumbling them. Nickel plated brass is a good visual accident preventer if you travel with more than one 45-70.


SS

[John Boy]

School, may want to read this about Starline brass http://www.shilohrifle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11848

As for annealing - Yes. It's not hard ... http://forums.gunboards.com/showthre...ng-Brass-Cases

* I spin them with my fingers and don't use the tempilac
* Be sure to turn the room lights down low so you can see the color of the cases.
* When the mouth of the case turns to a bluish/green color, it has reached the annealing temperature of 650-680 degrees. Then dump them into the ice water bucket

And here's my overview of case preparation of 45-70's, including annealing:
Reloading Steps
Case Preparation
• Anneal the mouth of the cases to the seating depth of the bullet – 650/680 degrees ( bluish/green color using a propane torch) Dunk the case immediately in a bucket of ice water
• Full length size the cases … Not a absolute step to be performed – use a case lube
• Chamfer the mouth of the case with a 22 ½ degree chamfering reamer … to remove any burrs
• Square the primer pockets with a pocket reamer … provides for proper seating of the primer
• Deburr the flash hole with a flash hole reamer … removes flash hole burrs for better primer ignition to the powder charge
• Size the mouth of the case using an M Die or Expander Plug for 0.001 to 0.002 neck tension so there is a very slight bell on the mouth to all the base of the bullet to be seated ½ way into the case
NOTE: Case length trimming (not absolutely necessary unless cases exceed the SAMMI case length a lot. VERY IMPORTANT: Do not trim any cases until AFTER they have been fireformed

Determining Extended COL of Loaded Round
• Drop the bullet into the chamber and tap the base with the eraser of a pencil
• Using a caliper, measure from the base of the seated bullet to the rim of the chamber (A)
• Measure the length of the bullet (B)
• Add A + B = C
• Measure seated depth of the bullet in the case (D)
• C – D = Extended COL of the round




Measuring Powder Charge Height
• Measure the distance from the top of the settled powder to the mouth of the case
• Determine how much you want to compress the powder column
• Adjust your compression die to the required length to achieve the amount of compression you want.
o NOTE: Adjusting the compression die requires … Fiddling – do it in small steps

Charging the Cases
• Primers: Favored primers are: CCI BR2 and Federal GM210M (LR Match)
• Insert an Over the Primer Wad – 0.10 to 0.20 construction paper … punched out using a 45-70 wad punch
• Charge the case using a drop tube with the desired number of grains. The powder charge can also charged directly from the charger and then settled using a vibrator
• Compress the powder to the desired depth using a compression plug …
• Insert wad using a dowel rod. Types of wads that can be used:
o O.030 or 0.060 LDPE – 0.030 to 0.060 fiber wad – hard felt wad (lubed or not lubed) – jute wad under the LDPE or fiber wad – newspaper – wax paper … separately or in any of the wad combinations
• Insert lubed bullet into the case using:
o Seating die
o Finger seated which is the preferred method
• Apply a very light crimp on the case to ONLY to remove the bell on the case

TEST THE LOADED ROUND IN THE CHAMBER SO THAT IT ONLY TAKES THUMB PRESSURE TO SEAT THE ROUND
DONE

[kokomokid]

John Boy ;What is the best way to get a consistent repeat light crimp?? Seems that I never have the same slight bell on my brass.

[ph4570]

John Boy ;What is the best way to get a consistent repeat light crimp?? Seems that I never have the same slight bell on my brass.

Trimming all cases to the same length should give consistent bell and crimp.

[semtav]

get a batch of each and test them.what you like may not be what your gun likes.