bpcr 45 70 with lee hand tool ?

[kennisondan]

HI : I am thinking of using a lee hand held press tool to reload my 45 70 sharps wherever I am and need to do so. I am needing to choose a bullet 480-5-- grains? ) get some filler material, ( what the hell is vegetable discs ) some goex 2 f ( I guess ) and some primers if I happen to be out or not.. could be .
I have a set of dies for 45 70, and a sharps replica
I have this picture in my mind of shooting a few loading a few up and shooting a few more right in the feild.. in any event I would want the kit for the gun to be portable and small and kind of like a package, ready to go .. some components and some reloads ..
If I am not planning a really firm crimp and am thinking that I would fire form the cases to boot, it does not seem like the little hand held press would be any problem at all.
I hope to get started once I get a few of the many questions I have answered here and on other posts/ threads.
thanks to all
dk

[chuebner]

Your plan is exactly what a friend of mine does at the range for his H&R Buffalo Classic in 45-70. He uses the Lee hand press that looks like a giant nutcracker. His kit includes the Lee universal decapping die, a Lee hand recapping tool, a volumetric powder measure plus a 50 cal. nylon bore brush for case cleaning. He also has package of large rifle primers, a can of BP and his bullets of choice. His procedure is to fire about 10 rounds than reload. He decaps each case and swirls the bore brush in each one to clear out fouling, then inserts a new primer. He than measures out his load (65-68gr. of 2F BP) and pours that into the case. The powder is compressed with a dowel he made that goes about a half inch into the case and stops at a small shoulder. The bullet is then slip fit into the case and is ready for firing. Everything in the kit fits into a small tackle box with the trays removed. This makes a nice range reloading package.

charlie

[cajun shooter]

It was done just that way when the Buffalo hunters were in the field. They even recovered some lead and re cast it. My 44-40 Ideal tool has a mold and a bullet sizer built in the handles. I used it and will tell you that it takes very little time for them handles to pass the too hot to hold temp.!!