What Brass Is Best For 45/70?

[Huvius]

I have been wanting a rifle that will allow me to shoot in Silhouette BPCR and have finally picked up a roller in 45/70.
Now, I have numerous molds (PP and GG) and can also swage for 450s but I am wondering if there is a preferred brass manufacturer out there.
Is there a brand with more case capacity or longevity?
Starline is by far cheapest new and I see good deals on Hornady too so, before I order up, thought this a worthwhile question.
Also, I ordered the rolling block already, so if that is a dead duck, please let me learn by myself...:veryconfu

[NSB]

A word of caution on the Hornady. Hornady makes some brass in 45-70 that is for their LeveRevolution ammo that is shorter than regular 45-70 brass. You can't reload it on regular dies. It's made so that their plastic tipped ammo will cycle through a lever gun. It's messed up a lot of reloaders who found about it the hard way. I load several different brands of 45-70 brass and so far I haven't noticed any one brand actually being better than another. I sort it all by brand but it all seems to work the same.....very well. What I have found is that I find a couple of defective Remington cases per hundred once in a while and at the selling price of this brass it kind of tics you off. However, the remainder all work well.

[Maven]

Huvius, Unless something has changed, you'll find some Hornady brass to be 1/10" shorter than standard 2.10" 45-70 brass.

[Huvius]

Good to know about the Hornady stuff!

[Lumpy grits]

I use Starline and anneal the case mouths.
SL is very consistent.
LG

[aspangler]

I use the Hornady and the Starline. No problems with either one but I am useing them in a bolt gun.

[Don McDowell]

Hornady component brass is a full 2.1 inches long, and the finest 45-70 brass I've ever seen. RP is my second favorite. Winchester is pretty good, but it has as some lots with varying rim thickness.

[country gent]

I'm using star line and Winchester brass Winchester is supposedly the thinnest available when you can get it. Star line recommends annealing it first off for BP loads but that's not a big issue. I anneal every 2-3rd loading. I have yet to lose a case to cracks or splits from these 2 but have lost a couple to not paying attention to what I was doing.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I've got Starline and Winchester. The Starline needs to be annealed, you'll see soot from blowback pretty soon. I use Winchester with the 550 gr. boolits for javelina turkeys and rams. I just use Starline for chickens. Like Country Gent says, the Winchester is thinner which is more desirable for a good seal with a .45-70.

[Maven]

All, No argument with the characteristics of various brands of brass. However, the Hornady brass I had was 1x fired factory loaded with the "plastic" ballistic tip, and it was indeed 2.00" long. Hornady component brass, which I've never seen, must be different than the factory loaded stuff.

[Don McDowell]

component[/I] brass, which I've never seen, must be different than the factory loaded stuff.

And that is how internet legends live on and on, altho there is a serious flaw in that legend...

[NSB]

Hornady does offer component brass in the "correct" length. The point is that if you buy their LeveRevolution loaded ammo in 45-70, the brass is shorter than standard length brass. There are dies available to load this short brass, but I think their intended target with these dies is the people who want to reuse the brass in their lever guns with the plastic tipped bullets. I actually think Hornady did a big disservice to everyone by creating these short brass. It just creates confusion and rework among reloaders. Oh well, what else is new.....we're confused enough already.

[Maven]

"Hornady does offer component brass in the'correct' length. The point is that if you buy their LeveRevolution loaded ammo in 45-70, the brass is shorter than standard length brass". ...NSB

That's exactly what I was trying to tell Don. My short[er] brass was exactly that, 1x fired by a friend.

And Don, you can apologize to me any time for your dismissive, rude remark.

[Don McDowell]

You gave false/incomplete information about the Hornady brass. It's been something that has floated around the internet ever since the Leverevolution stuff came out. The Hornady 45-70 component brass has never been to short,, and neither was the factory ammo brass, until the lever evolution stuff and the gummy tipped bullets came on the scene.
Then by your own words you admitted you had no knowledge of the component brass.

[John Boy]

99% Starline

[Eldon]

Back 10 years ago, I bought a 100 box of Federal nickle cases. Still using them.

[Maven]

"Then by your own words you admitted you had no knowledge of the component brass."

No Don, reread my post: I merely said I've never seen Hornady component brass, but then I don't live in an area where most propellants or reloading items are commonplace or available. And, I modified my original post so as no to be deceptive. Don't bother to reply as I'm finished with this thread.

[BrentD]

Starline. Straight from the box. No annealing!

[M-Tecs]

1. Starline 2. Winchester 3. Remington. Never used Hornady so I can't comment. Picked up 2,000 of Starline years ago so it will be a while till I need some more.

[Huvius]

Well I'm glad I asked.
Asked the seller to measure his Hornady brass and it was all 2"
Mistake averted!

[Huvius]

Which brings up another question.
Wouldn't reducing the case length by .1" render it out of SAAMI and CIP specs so how is Hornady not required to give these cases a new designation?

[Don McDowell]

Well I'm glad I asked.
Asked the seller to measure his Hornady brass and it was all 2"
Mistake averted!
He must have a bunch of once fired lever evolution brass.
The shorter case from that stuff isn't out of saammi specs as it comes loaded from the factory as the col falls with in the 2.55 length.

[Don McDowell]

Huvious have you looked in Sportsmans Warehouse? Last time I was in the one in Loveland they had a fair amount of Hornady and some Remington, and the prices weren't bad.

[rfd]

i don't think there's an overall "best" .45-70 brass, it's whatever is "best" for you after some experimentation.

i'll take starline as my "best" and ymmv.

[rondog]

FWIW - I've encountered "short" Hornady brass in .45 Colt too. No doubt from Leverevolution rounds.

[Don McDowell]

One thought on the Leverevoltion 45-70 brass, it may be a good option for those that want to form 40-65 brass. I'm wondering if the length would come out about right without having to trim 45-70 down.