Hornady 45-70 Brass

[Burnston]

I was experimenting with cast bullet loads for my Marlin CB 45-70 when I ran out of brass. In desperation I turned to some once fired Hornady brass to temporarily fill the void until I could resupply. Alas, my RCBS dies will not accommodate these casings, leaving no flare and no crimp. It appears this particular casing is a tad shorter than Winchester and Remington brass, and no amount of die adjustment seems to offer a solution. 
The casings originally held a 325gr Jacketed "Red Tip" as they call it, which I assume are .458, there being no indication on the box. I am using cast 300gr RNFP .459 from Missouri Bullet company and am experiencing a slight stretch in the neck, I assume due to the larger bullet. 
I'd like to know if any of you handloaders have attempted to reload Hornady's casings, and if so, what trouble/solutions have you experienced? Given my limited experience level, the solution could be completely simple and obvious. Unfortunately, for guys like me, a good slap in the face is periodically necessary before I get the point. Thanks it advance. 

H- Hornady
W- Winchester
R- Remington 

[bullseye]

That's Hornady Leverevolution brass which is .060 shorter than standard 45-70 brass for use with the Flex Tip bullets. I have successfully reloaded it using my RCBS 45-60 dies...BUT, I have an Uberti 1876 chambered in that cartridge. I have read that Lee Factory Crimp dies can be adjusted to work for these shorter cases but can't speak from experience. Personally, I would just buy some new standard length brass.

[Burnston]

Aug 7, 2017 17:58:34 GMT -5 bullseye said:

That's Hornady Leverevolution brass which is .060 shorter than standard 45-70 brass

Didn't know that. Thanks for the tip. 

[magnumwheelman]

I don't personally think they should be able to sell a case under the maximum trim length as the original chambering... & I got rid of my Hornady 45-70 cases... I haven't noticed the short cases on any other calibers, but I suspect there are several others out there...

I would think you should be able to adjust your die down enough to get a crimp... but since the cases are so short, ( shorter than the maximum trim length ) I suppose it's possible there is not enough adjustment in the die...

I kinda think it was a "cop out" on Hornady's part, not to redesign the bullet with a crimp groove that would work with standard length cases, rather than changing the case length shorter than the max trim length... BTW... they were running into issues with OAL cartridge length & locking up lever actions... & probably didn't catch that until the final bullet design was already finalized...

I like the bullets... do not like the short cases

[bigmuddy]

All Hornady stamped brass is shorter if it is a caliber offered with the Leverevolution bullets. FYI but Starline makes brass for Hornady. Talked to a guy that works for Starline and he said everything they make for Hornady has to have a shorter length.

Dan

[Deleted]

Got it! No more Hornady brass. I knew about the "LeverEvolution" brass being short, but didn't realize this situation was being carried over to almost all Hornady brass. It's just safer for me to avoid all of it.

[bula]

They caught me with the 44mag version. Sigh. Have to segregate that brass out.