Browning BPCR 45-70 - A few questions
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Re: Browning BPCR 45-70 - A few questions
Just don't use the bullet to compress the powder and wad.
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Re: Browning BPCR 45-70 - A few questions
People play with compression, card thickness, primer, powder size, and seating depth.
BP has to be compressed. You can compress a little or a lot…
The bullets really soft and you don’t want to deform or shave it.
You’ll need to get a compression die (so the weighed powder is compressed the same every time)
And an expansion die to expand the case in the bullet area the size of the bullet at least on the first firing.
If your bullet is .451” you’ll need a .451 expander. The bullet should be seated till it bottoms out on the powder and like a rimfire it’ll engage the rifling. Again, that is tunable also….

BP has to be compressed. You can compress a little or a lot…
The bullets really soft and you don’t want to deform or shave it.
You’ll need to get a compression die (so the weighed powder is compressed the same every time)
And an expansion die to expand the case in the bullet area the size of the bullet at least on the first firing.
If your bullet is .451” you’ll need a .451 expander. The bullet should be seated till it bottoms out on the powder and like a rimfire it’ll engage the rifling. Again, that is tunable also….

Emmett Dibble, Houston, Texas. Where's my buddy Jason? Keeper of electronic records and banisher of little pieces of paper?
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Re: Browning BPCR 45-70 - A few questions
Another thing to keep in mind , is that chances are pretty good that once you have the cases fireformed, they will seldom need resized, so the expanding die can be delegated to a compression die.
Crimping won't be necessary, so just thumb seating the bullet works fine.
Be sure to check the case mouths don't get peened in a bit when cleaning, if they do a quick twist of a chamfering tool will take care of that.
16-1 alloy will likely be your friend if you get into looking for serious accuracy at distance.
Crimping won't be necessary, so just thumb seating the bullet works fine.
Be sure to check the case mouths don't get peened in a bit when cleaning, if they do a quick twist of a chamfering tool will take care of that.
16-1 alloy will likely be your friend if you get into looking for serious accuracy at distance.
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Re: Browning BPCR 45-70 - A few questions
Thanks all. Great info. One thing that had me a little intimidated was in the Texas Mac book he says to anneal case necks after each firing. And to turn all the case necks.
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Re: Browning BPCR 45-70 - A few questions
I don't think I have ever annealed a 45-70 case. But I don't use Starline either, but it might not be a bad idea with those when new, and then every once in a while afterwards.