Casting and loading .45-70 is a whole new ballgame

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Pulp

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And I'm still very low on the learning curve. Not quite as easy as casting little ol bitty round balls.

And then there is the reloading. Got quite a ways to go there too. Easy with the dinky little 405 grainers, but a different ball of wax with a pointed 500 grain bullet.

But I'll get there sooner or later!
 
Yeah... casting and reloading for pistol caliber cartridges is a whole lot different than doin' it for larger BPCR calibers. "Close" ain't good enough. Not if you want accuracy & consistency.

The first thing you gotta learn is Slow Down.
 
biggest problem with casting the big bullets is heat. You want the lead to be hot. very very hot. same time as soon as you heat up the mold and start casting you might get around 10 bullets on a double mold. Then after that you have to let the mold cool down as it will get so hot that the lead will not solidfy
 
I keep a wet towel handy for when the mold gets too hot, just touch base of mold to the wet towel and ready to go for several more casts.
 
I'm eager to hear how it goes for you. I recently bought a .45-70 and the dang factory ammo is costing me about $2/shot.

I'm thinking of the Lee 405 grain mold to make some lower power and blackpowder reloads so I can afford to shoot the rifle.
 
I have been loading for .45-70 for a long time, and I used to pan lube, and then I started making Carbine loads [I have an H&R and an original 1884 cut down to a carbine] and started useing grease cookies on top of sixty grains of 2F Goex, through a drop tube, with a cork paper card wad in between the ''cookie'' of lube, [which is mostly bee's wax and a little Crisco with a smidge of Wonder Lube or Bore Butter] and the powder, topped with a 405 grain bullet. low recoil, and good accuracy at two hundred yards.
 
biggest problem with casting the big bullets is heat. You want the lead to be hot. very very hot. same time as soon as you heat up the mold and start casting you might get around 10 bullets on a double mold. Then after that you have to let the mold cool down as it will get so hot that the lead will not solidfy
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2nd this. you want the mold just before its too hot for the lead to solidify. a wet cloth or sponge is great for this, if the mold is too hot, sit it down on it and let it lose some heat and have another go. once you get used to whats needed it gets easier.
 
The 45-70 is one of the easier cartridges to cast and load. A lot of fellows have already done a lot of work with it so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. I use two and sometimes three molds when casting so overheating is not a problem. My latest 45 caliber mold is a double cavity one that casts the 405 grain Gov't hollow based boolit. It is nice to be able to drop them 2 at a time. I am looking at a similar mold for my 50s, the hollow base makes them fit a wider range of bore diameters.

Never tried a "pointed" bulelt for BPCR, most of mine are RN or FPRN.

Lube, lead, and powder are all different for BPCR than for smokeless. Your are correct, a whole different learning curve. More like a different class of reloading. But a fun one!
 
What about two molds? While casting with one the other is cooling? Just switch back and forth? Depending no how fast the mold cools the one that's "resting" could be left closed or open by some amount to encourage more airflow and cooling.
 
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