A very slight yet snug taper crimp is all that I use. Just enough to keep the bullet in place while it is sitting nose down in the cartridge case on the way to the range. Some old Trapdoor shooters that I talked to told me once that, with BP, they were just finger seating the bullet and using no crimp at all. One guy even loaded the bullet in the chamber that then followed that with a wadded charged cartridge.
I recall reading somewhere, possibly in the Wolfe book, not to use the Lee .45-70 crimp die. I don't I first seat the bullets with my RCBS Cowboy Action seating die. The I raise the seater plug and crimp in a separate operation. This is the advice that I picked up from the Sierra reloading manual.
The .45-70 brass over here is easy to get and cost about $18 per 50. What are they going for over their the Bastard Blairville?
Personally, I really like the 5744. I have shot the BP, but I hate the mess it makes, with both the rifle and the brass. You really have to scrub both right after shooting. The 5744 seems to give me the easiest loading (no filler/wad) and consistent performance. I just need to find the right load.
On the BP, are you using magnum or regular primers. I believe that magnum primers are recommended for the BP to give it better ignition. Be careful using magnum primers with 5744. In fact, don't. I think that I belled the chamber on my .43 Spanish roller that way.
Jethro
Why can't those bastards go fishing in the aquarium tanks down at Petsmart? I don't see that there is much difference.
