.45-70 Case Comparison

[Ed in North Texas]

I know the old "you get what you pay for" routine, but in looking at the prices of .45-70 brass I'm not sure that is true. Using Graf's prices and leaving nickel cases out to get Hornady and Win in the comparison:


Hrn: $46.79/50

R-P: $44.99/50

Starline: $45.99/100

WW: $41.99

Now I have found the Starline brass to be excellent brass, but haven't used their .45-70 brass. My only disappointment with them is their abandoned effort to get 7.5x54mm MAS brass on the market.

Anyone have experience with the Starline .45-70 brass and can compare it to the other brands?

Ed

[Larry Gibson]

Been using R-P and WW for 40+ years and other than case capacity (WW has a tudge more) I've not found any difference. Recently started using Starline 45-70 brass along with othe cartridges and find it also good brass. I've more WW and it gets used most often because i use it in my H&R OM, if that means anything.

Larry Gibson

[Garys007]

Ed,

I use the 45-70 Strarline brass and have no issues. I have not used any other brands.

Just as an fyi, Track of the Wolf has Starline brass for $23.50/50, $43.00/100 and $103.00/250. I just realized that Graf's has them for $45.99/100, not much different. I didn't see that Starline was per 100 when I first looked as your post.

I order a lot of stuff from Track of the Wolf and they have great service and very good prices.

Gary

[Garys007]

On Starline's website, they recommend that you anneal the 45-70 cases before sizing. Not sure if that is necessary for the other brands.

[GLL]

When comparing prices remember that Starline provides free shipping !

45-70 = $110.50 / 250

Jerry

[oldred]

I have been using Starline 45/90 brass and find it to be really good, since I only have 40 right now they have been getting a good work out and I have had no failures yet with mid-range and some heavy loads.

[Ed in North Texas]

On Starline's website, they recommend that you anneal the 45-70 cases before sizing. Not sure if that is necessary for the other brands.

I finally got a round tuit and checked the Starline listing for .45-70 brass. The recommendation for annealing is only for using the .45-70 brass for black powder loads. They build the cases to stand up to smokeless hunting loads. Makes the brass a tad hard for sealing with low pressure BP loads.

Ed

[Nobade]

I like the Starline cases a lot, just order them straight from the factory. If they don't have any the order will get you in line and when they make them you'll get some. If Starline makes the cases I want I get them from them. Their quality and pricing beats everybody else.

I anneal all my 45-70 cases since my smokeless loads don't make much more pressure than my black powder ones do. I suppose if you were trying to load up 45-70 magnum rhino roller loads it would be best to leave them alone.

[Ed in North Texas]

I like the Starline cases a lot, just order them straight from the factory. If they don't have any the order will get you in line and when they make them you'll get some. If Starline makes the cases I want I get them from them. Their quality and pricing beats everybody else.

I anneal all my 45-70 cases since my smokeless loads don't make much more pressure than my black powder ones do. I suppose if you were trying to load up 45-70 magnum rhino roller loads it would be best to leave them alone.

My .50-70 Starline cases don't have that recommendation. I'm sure it is because there are few, if any, who would try to make a 40k PSI load for the .50-70 (then again...).

Actually, it wouldn't need to be a magnum rhino roller load, just an average 1886 or Marlin 1895 jacketed load is probably what they are using as the "ceiling" for annealing. Of course there are 1800 to 2000+ fps loads for the Ruger #1 and new Browning/Winchester 1885s too.

Ed

[EDG]

I think I would anneal any large bore Starline brass used with low pressure loads, especially the 40-65 regardless if mentioned by Starline or not. There are more than a few complaints about this.

[Nobade]

Yeah, I anneal my 357 and 45 colt ones too. It doesn't hurt anything and the gun sure stays cleaner with the cases sealing the chamber.

[mold maker]

Don't order from Starline unless they have it, in hand, ready for immediate shipment. It could take most of a year, of 30 day delays. I have personal experience of this twice. There won't be another.
Starline is however the best brass on the market.

[tacklebury]

Starline .45-70 is all I use now. ;)

[Ed in North Texas]

I think I would anneal any large bore Starline brass used with low pressure loads, especially the 40-65 regardless if mentioned by Starline or not. There are more than a few complaints about this.

My .45-70 shooting has been standard Marlin 1895 type loads (and a few Browning 1885 type loads carefully segregated from the Marlin loads). No problem there. Haven't yet loaded BP in .45-70.

Didn't have a problem with the .50-70 I've shot so far (full 70 grain 1.5 KIK with .030 veg wad behind the Lyman .515141 - OK, the .515 was .5125). Perhaps I was just lucky.

Ed

[Ed in North Texas]

Don't order from Starline unless they have it, in hand, ready for immediate shipment. It could take most of a year, of 30 day delays. I have personal experience of this twice. There won't be another.
Starline is however the best brass on the market.

Thus far I've bought from Graf's, but that was because I didn't want 250 cases at the time I was buying. The per case price is somewhat comparable (a bit over a penny more per case at Graf's), so the $4.95 "shipping" charge is adding almost a nickle more per case (and when is it that I only order one thing from Graf's??).

Ed

[TXGunNut]

I like both RP and Starline in 45-70, like the Starline a bit better. Buffalo Arms has good price and availabilty as well. No minimum qty on brass, can buy one piece if that's all you need. Sealing usually not an issue for me, I resize as little as possible and use boolits that fit well also. My current hunting load is a bit of a thumper but even the mild loads seem to seal well enough.
I'm beginning to be a fan of Hornady brass but haven't used enough of it to say for sure. 45-70 brass lasts so long for me that I'll pay a little more for brass that I like.

[EDG]

My .45-70 shooting has been standard Marlin 1895 type loads (and a few Browning 1885 type loads carefully segregated from the Marlin loads). No problem there. Haven't yet loaded BP in .45-70.

Didn't have a problem with the .50-70 I've shot so far (full 70 grain 1.5 KIK with .030 veg wad behind the Lyman .515141 - OK, the .515 was .5125). Perhaps I was just lucky.

Ed

Ed
Thanks for the information on the 50-70. You are the first to mention use of the Starline 50-70 to me. What is your 50-70 rifle - I am interested in the twist. My Pedersoli has a 24" twist that I have yet to fire. How well does the 515141 bullet work? I have the Lee version of that mold but do not have an outdoor place to cast so I am waiting out the rain. I use mild 4759 loads so I expect to anneal the brass to keep it from leaking. What county are you in in NT. In am in Central Texas.

Added.
I use only Remington and Winchester brass in the 45-70. Up till a few years ago it was easy to swap for and I got a life time supply. I traded off the other head stamps.
I had nothing against Starline. I just did not have much of it.

EDG

[Dragoon 45]

Just a quick question. I thought all Hornady .45-70 brass was considerably shorter than standard .45-70 brass? IIRC they had to trim almost .1" off the case to allow for OAL standards with their LeverEvolution bullets. Or am I wrong on this?

[TXGunNut]

I thought all Hornady .45-70 brass was considerably shorter than standard .45-70 brass? IIRC they had to trim almost .1" off the case to allow for OAL standards with their LeverEvolution bullets. -Dragoon 45

The only short Hornady cases I've found were those factory loaded as LeveRevolution rounds.

[Ed in North Texas]

Ed
Thanks for the information on the 50-70. You are the first to mention use of the Starline 50-70 to me. What is your 50-70 rifle - I am interested in the twist. My Pedersoli has a 24" twist that I have yet to fire. How well does the 515141 bullet work? I have the Lee version of that mold but do not have an outdoor place to cast so I am waiting out the rain. I use mild 4759 loads so I expect to anneal the brass to keep it from leaking. What county are you in in NT. In am in Central Texas.

Added.
I use only Remington and Winchester brass in the 45-70. Up till a few years ago it was easy to swap for and I got a life time supply. I traded off the other head stamps.
I had nothing against Starline. I just did not have much of it.

EDG

My rifle is an unmodified Remington NY State Militia Rolling Block. Twist is a LOT slower than yours @ 1:42. I've had it out once so far to test it out. I didn't have a huge number of boolits cast because I was casting several different boolits for new to me rifles. Then the rains finally came (same problem you have), and everyone caught some crud, so more casting has been delayed. Here's the rifle and the results of the last 7 rounds my youngest son left me to finish shooting. 50 yards and I really can't see the rear sight (have a Merit disc coming thanks to someone who reminded me of them in another thread). I'm in SE Kaufman county, almost into Henderson county. For older folks, like me, the rifle is a thumbnail which will expand (don't really need to expand the target). I found out about that when I was apologizing for a posted pic being so small - some kind soul pointed out that it could be clicked on. Never got into anything much beyond word processing, data bases and spreadsheets when I was working.

Ed




http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_174564f199971bb22d.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3519)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_174564f199988d2b4b.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3520)