Full length resizing - or not, with .45-70 tube magazine?

[Wardo1974]

I have read different opinions on full-length resizing.

I will be using .45-70 patched boolits in my tube-magazine 1886.

If I simply don't resize these cases after firing - wouldn't it just mean that I have an easier time reloading the cast boolit? Or would this possibly interfere with cycling rounds as I work the lever?

Another consideration is working the brass - I don't want to wear out my brass early by full length sizing, then belling the mouth every time to accept a patched boolit when I could make life easier on the brass by not sizing it.

Thanks for your advice!

[Goatwhiskers]

Well, I can't speak as the resident expert, but I shoot .357Max, .444, .445SM, and .44Mag and never resize. I do put a teeny flare, just something to prevent damage to the patch, then use my sizer to close the flare. You'll feel it give, just don't squeeze the boolit. Works for me. Incidentally your patched boolit should be a nice snug fit in the mouth of a fired case, some actually seat the boolit with finger pressure. GW

[BK7saum]

I don't paper patch, but size the case only enough to provide neck tension. I do expand the case mouth with a custom M die that is right under boolit diameter..I don't see any need in working the cases more than necessary, either.

Brad

[303Guy]

I've used ordinary printer/copier paper to patch fro my 303 Brit. I don't size the case necks unless I have to but the trick is to insert the patched and unsized boolit with a little case lube on the patched boolit (by rolling on the lube pad). I can get the patched boolits started into the neck by rotating the boolit which gets in to align. I then fully seat in the press. This process does not expand the neck and only compresses the paper but once the lube has soaked away from the surface that boolit is held fast. With a harder alloy a little case neck expansion would be fine and gives more leeway in neck sizing. But then one needs a softer alloy for the 45-70 does one not?

[bbqncigars]

The most important thing to watch with a tube magazine is bullet setback. You can get dangerous pressures when a bullet is pushed farther into a case. I had setback when I tried PP boolits in my Marlin 1895 Cowboy. I now run crimped gg boolits in it and save the pp for the Sharps.

[Nobade]

A case full of ball powder takes care of that problem...boolit can't go anywhere.

-Nobade

[303Guy]

A case full of ball powder takes care of that problem...boolit can't go anywhere.

-Nobade

My limited experience with ball powder is that it is very compressible. That's Lil'Gun which I should think no-one would use in a 45-70. Are other ball powders not compressible?

[Nobade]

My limited experience with ball powder is that it is very compressible. That's Lil'Gun which I should think no-one would use in a 45-70. Are other ball powders not compressible?

Most of it will compress a little and then stop. Nowhere near as much as stick powders which have a lot more room between them. For an experiment, try throwing a charge of stick powder and see where it is in the case. Then take the same charge and run it through a drop tube. It's a lot lower in the case. Now do the same with balls - they don't change any. They pack really well just normally.

Lil' Gun is not really ball powder, it's more flattened balls. Also very fine. But anything appropriate to use as a full case load in the 45-70 is likely to be real balls, and quite hard once it's in there.

-Nobade

[303Guy]

Thanks for that. I have another ball powder so I'll get it out and see how it behaves.

[Wardo1974]

As a follow up, I did a bunch of loads this weekend. I didn't full length resize, and added some cream of wheat for extra bulk.

Once the boolit was seated, I used my decapping die, minus the pin, to kind of turn in the flare I'd created with the case mouth. Just a touch, I eased the ram down and gave it a bit of a mini crimp. Worked great, I will never full-length resize again!

[bigted]

with your pp in a lever ... just ensure that there is little paper showing above the case mouth. this has served me well with my marlin. i shoot the 405 Lyman 457643 [i think ... if memorie serves] ... and size it with my Lee .452 pushthru die and paper it up to .460 with #9 paper wrapped wet ... then allowed to dry overnight or for 1/2 hour in a 200 degree oven ... these do very well with a full case ... minus the amount for the greese cookie ... then shot over a charge of blackpowder. i have shot these over a case full of IMR 3031 also and also a case full of IMR 4064 ... these work well and shoot lights out for a hunting load.

i also do not crimp these loads ... merely run em into the size die to remove what little flair i have and make the case tight enough that the boolit has resistance to it when turned.

i have great luck with brass that has been shot in the chamber before and then i dont ever have to size again.

another fun and interesting project is to meassure the case mouth of a fired cartridge and paper boolits up to just barely fit into the mouth with just the slightest flair. then do the size die thing just enough to have resistance on the patched boolit. these will probably not work thru the action on some rifles but ... for a first shot at game when loaded thru the open action ... is the best possible scenario. then your follow up shots can be levered in from the tube and all is spiffy. one proviso tho is that the case mouth should be nice and clean as in scrubbed with a brass brush to ensure no debri will tear your patch upon loading onto the powder.

i lube my paperpatch's with case wax. Redding's seems to work well with smokeless.