Which 45/70 dies?

[bl4ckd0g]

I'm getting a nice Siamese Mauser conversion in 45-70 that I will definitely handload.

So far, I've been disappointed with Lee dies and have been served well by RCBS, but I would like to know if there are other 45/70 die brands to consider?

 

[CBS220]

The Hornady dies come with free bullets- about $20. So if you decide for some reason you don't like them, it's no big deal- you've nearly covered your costs with free bullets alone (plus S&H).

 

[Uncle Chan]

Where's Lee? I've been competing with my 45-70s for years. Everything was handloaded with my Lee Dies. Never a problem.

 

[achildofthesky]

I like the lee as well...

No problems and easy to set up.

Be safe
Patty

 

[K3]

Yep, Lee dies have produced some accurate .45-70 ammo for me.

 

[xtarheel]

I have many Lee dies and never had a problem however I just bought Hornady .45-70 dies for my trapdoor because of the free bullet deal.

 

[moooose102]

same here, love my lee dies. have had rcbs and hornady as well. never had a problem with any of them. but i especialy like the lee factory crimp die, it makes for a MUCH nicer crimp!

 

[Bad Flynch]

The best dies for a Trapdoor are, by a wide margin, Lee. I won't go into that here, but it is so.

The very best dies for a bolt action are Redding. Redding offers what amounts to a neck-sizing die for the .45-70, and that is the hots. I know, the .45-70 does not have a neck, but this die is set up so that only the bullet holding area gets much sizing and saves brass and improves accuracy a little. It is the best that I can think of for anything but a Trapdoor and maybe lever actions.

In addition, Redding offers a special straight-line benchrest-style bullet seater that seats the bullets the best that I have ever seen. Buy one, even if you can't eat for a month.

I own RCBS, Hornady, Lee, and Redding--plus a couple of custom dies. The above are the results of my experiences.

 

[benchgrinder]

Bad Flynch Says: "Buy one, even if you can't eat for a month."

I agree. I bought one, didn't eat for a month, but it was worth it.

 

[Uncle Don]

To the OP: You didn't include Lee in the survey because you personally don't care for them? Not sure why, but you can put me in the Lee die camp. Have used them for a Marlin and a Rolling Block Pedersoli that I've shot at 800 yds. They work just fine and all I do is neck size the brass - simply decap seperatly and then run them into a raised sizing die.

 

[bl4ckd0g]

I have not been impressed with Lee pistol dies in the past. I loaded in .38 Super and .45 ACP and both lee die sets gave me trouble with expansion and bullet seating. I do own a few of their FCD dies and will swear by them, but the rest of the dies were a letdown. THey were both traded for RCBS carbide die sets- and my problems stopped. So I will not consider Lee .45/70 dies.

I have about eight other RCBS and Redding dies and my only complaint is the weak stem on the RCBS universal decapper (not worth the $12).

I'll have to check out the Redding competition seater. I'm very impressed with their plain vanilla .223 Rem dies.