help with .45/70

[jemkeith]

I bought a set of Lee dies for reloading my Marlin 1895. I have some Remington brass that has had only factory loads shot out of it, I think they were 405 grain bullets. The empty brass measures between 2.04" and 2.05".
I'm using a Lee Turret Press (not the classic turret) and the problem is that the brass seems too long. I have the auto indexing turned on, and when the turret tries to turn, it catches the top of the brass on the die. Will I have to turn off the auto indexing to load these?

 

[dodgestdshift]

Can't help you with the press, but my Speer manual gives the max. case length for the 45/70 as 2.105 in and the trim to length at 2.095. Your cases seem short.

The case length of the 30-06 is 2.494 in. You probably won't be able to load them either. Any press that can't handle the most popular rifle cartridge is probably only for handgun cartridges which are shorter.

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, the instructions say the auto index is usable with cases up to 2 5/16" but I wonder if they might not really mean cartridge OAL. I guess you could call Lee tomorrow. Or just do without the index.

 

[jemkeith]

The auto index thing doesn't bother me too much, but I hate that it won't load longer rounds. If I had known that, I would have gotten the classic press. This is my first press, and I'm just trying to figure out what I'm doing without blowing myself up!!!