Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers 45/70 Dies

Don't have any yet for my guide gun, got brass and bullets and need to buy dies. RCBS 3-die set with taper crimp or LEE with the factory crimp die?

Also, does anybody load 45/70 on a 550 Dillon? I'm thinking it might not be worth the trouble since it is a straight-walled case and they'll likely get hung on the die mouths a lot.

I have a 444 Marlin, not a 45/70, but it's also a straight walled case. I use RCBS dies and a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I load mine on a 550B Dillon and don't have any problems with them hanging up on the die mouths; you do need to use the brass locator buttons though, or you will have problems.

I prefer the RCBS dies, but use the Lee FCD for the crimping operation.

I do load mine on a single stage press, so can't comment on their compatibility with a progressive operation.

I prefer RCBS but I got a deal on a Lee set with the FCD, I have had no problems using the Lee set.

Single stage here too so I can't help with the progressive.

RCBS all the way. But my new dies in 45 Colt are Lee with the FCD and I like the way it works. Usually I opt for RCBS -- customer service has been stellar over the years.

Thanks guys. Looks like either one would work as well. I've loaded a bit of 44mag with RCBS dies on a 550 and you really had to slow down from what you can do with Dillon dies in 45acp. I figured the longer 45/70 case would be even worse but I still may give it a go. Slow on a 550 is still plenty fast.

I load 45-70 and 444 (among others) on a Dillon 550. It works fine and I get cloverleaf groups at 100 yds, so accuracy is good.
I'd been an RCBS guy for about 35 years, but was having a little seating problem, so based on a recommendation by my local reloading supplier, tried a Hornady New Dimension set. It has a sliding collet in the seating die that keeps the bullet aligned. I went to the Hornady dies for the 444 as well. I've noticed a finer finish on the cases after resizing with the Hornady too. The Lee factory crimp die is a must.

I use Hornady One Shot for my 45/70 cases also, I guess that works in a progressive?

Fischer, do you use the Dillon powder die to flair the case? Drop powder with the Dillon measure?

Bearcat, I really like One Shot, progressive or not. Lubing the insides of case necks is a tad tedious.

I've used Lee dies for my 45-70 cases for 14 years now with no problems. I do use a Lyman for flaring the case mouth the first time they are loaded. I will say that I shoot BP in most of my 45-70s, so they generally get sized once, trimmed once and flared once. As long as you take care of them, the Lee dies out there will serve you well.

I've been using RCBS dies without any issues.

I use a set of Hornady dies for my 444M, Lyman Cowboy dies for my 45-70 through 120, Lee and RCBS for my 458 American and WM.

I also use the Lee factory crimper.

One problem with roll or factory crimping is it will actually release the bullet and allow it to spin around in the case if you put too much roll on it or if the sizer button is too large or the sizing protion doesn't size enough due to thin neck walls.

When this happens you need a taper crimper...so to be sure, get BOTH so you can solve problems when they happen.

Today I was working with my 450 M using the RCBS 458 WM dies and the Lee factory crimper...I had my mind on the powder amounts and pressures and wasn't watching the crimper...I happened to be fiddling with a loaded round while looking at something else and realized the bullet was spinning around in the case. It wasn't coming out but was just being held by the roll crimp.

Sometimes you can get a taper crimp by just running the loaded round back up into the sizer die again but because of the slight differences in brass thickness and sizer die length the taper crimping wasn't happening.

In any event I've used every brand of die that has ever been produced and in todays world of CNC machining ANY of the die brands will give you many lifetimes of reloading pleasure.

Just remember there is ALWAYS a slight variation in ID's due to machinging tolerances so if one doesn't quite work, send it back and you will get one that does work in return.

Luck

I have the RCBS die set as well as the LEE factory crimp die.
They work well together for me.

Let me put in a good word for Redding - been using a 45/70 set of their dies with complete satisfaction for about 8 years.

I have a set of RCBS available since I just sold my Guide gun. Let me know if you are interested. Some lead too.

Sending PM

Take a Knee -

Yes, I do. I drop powder with the Dillon measure, and it works well, except for the very high end H4198 loads. The Dillon measure won't drop quite enough powder, so I pull the cases out at that station and use my Uniflow to charge them. Then I put them back in at the seating station. It still beats using my Rockchucker.

Could be there's a charge bar for the Dillon that drops more powder - I haven't looked into it. It drops enough for my .444 top end loads. I was dubious at first about the Dillon metering highly extruded powder like H4198, but chrono and accuracy results show that it works just fine.

I only use the rockchucker for .300 WM, 30-06, .260.