Dies for 45-70 and cast bullets?

I bought a used set of Hornady 45-70 dies and they work just fine with 405gr Hard Cast bullets.

also not going to be crimping i dont think.

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I have Hornady & RCBS dies & both work fine for flat & round nose/HP bullets. A crimp is not required in a single shot but if you are going to use them in a lever action you will have to crimp them or risk bullet setback in the case from recoil. All the bullets I use in my M95 have cannulures for crimping, and I crimp them firmly. For my trapdoors, not required, not an issue, and since I shoot 99.9% lead bullets in the old soldiers, "No shirt, no cannulure, no problem..."

I don't own 45-70 but the dies I prefer is the Lee. I don't know which seating stem it will come with but you can always flip it over & have a flat one.

Remember to put a slight bell on the mouth of the case. This is a must for seating a cast lead bullet to prevent shaving of the bullet. I've been using the same set of RCBS dies for 40 years with no problems on any bullet type or weight.

Here are a set from Lee https://fsreloading.com/lee-3-die-steel-4570-90561.html

I have RCBS.

I use the Lee dies in my 45/70 and cast my own bullets, and have no issues at all. They make good dies.

I've have used both RCBS and Redding dies and they work well with cast bullets. I cast several bullets for my 45/70,the biggest is 520gr and the current die set (Redding) has no problem seating cast bullets. I have 2 single shots so I use a Redding profile crimp die instead of the standard roll crimp built into the seating die.

I have Hornady new dimension dies. I load 400 gr speer flat nose, and 300 gr sierra hp. Never a problem. I am shooting a NEF single shot so I do not crimp. Hope this helps.

i cast my own 45-70 bulllets and use the RCBS(#20904) set to reload them. The RCBS 3 Die set comes with the plug for the seater die of either a flat nose or a round nose. The only 45-70 have is a Marlin 1895G, so i put a slight (very slight) crimp on mine for the recoil reason Robert mentioned above. I load 350gr up to 425gr flat nose bullets, no big deal just have to re-adjust for the differences in bullet length and crimp band, which is on every bullet.

I think unless you are trying to set some type of super long range record and shoot hundreds of rounds (challenging to do and keep your should in tack using 45-70), all of them will do just fine. If you look at my bench i have every manufacture for presses and dies, i haven't had trouble with any of them. Some take a little bit to dial in that others, but that's also comparing different cartridges so its not apples to apples. Hornady, RCBS, Redding, Lee, they will all serve you well assuming the QC is good on them, and most the time they are. In my experience all these dies can reload them to tigher groups than i can shoot, so I'm usually the weakest link when it gets past 300yds on the 45-70.

Good luck

The RCBS Cowboy series dies were designed for loading lead bullets.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/178912/rcbs-cowboy-3-die-set-45-70-government

rc

The nice thing about the Lee dies is the powder through expanding die that's included. Other than that, if the case is flared, I see no real reason for a special die. None of the bullets I cast ever get deformed because of a seating stem, and even if they were, I usually shoot flat nose bullets for that caliber and as stated before, turning the seating stem around would cure that.

Of course it can.

There is no way to make a seating die without threads on it to screw it in the press.

Unscrew it, and it doesn't crimp.
Screw it down further, and it does crimp.

rc

Sorry if I came up sounding short with you.
I didn't mean it to sound the way it did when I just read it again!

rc

I use RCBS dies for my 45/70 and lead bullets.

Do you like RCBS or Hornady better?

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Tim, my first dies were RCBS and my first loads were the Lee 405 gr cast, and they worked exactly as they should have, and still do. I picked up the Hornady's later on when I started shooting my M95 (mid-70's) and fantasized that I needed a "new and different" die and got the Hornadys. Fantasy it was as both work fine with lead and jacketed. I have no preference - it's hard to choose between two things which give identical results. I tend to like New Dimension Titanium Nitride sizers for straight wall pistol cases, but have Lyman & RCBS carbide sizers, too. In my experience the Hornadys leave no ring at the top of the case web, but that is strictly cosmetic and of no consequence in loading or shooting (or case life). In fact I use RCBS carbide dies in 45 LC. So, you will have to decide which you like best, but I can assure you that they all work. I have not loaded LeverEvolution bullets, so I can't comment on them, but I would think you would need a seater plug designed for that bullet shape.

Good luck, and have fun!
Cheers,
George Jacoby