general information for a bfr/4570

good morning to all, this is from a first timer posting a few questions. i have a bfr/4570 and want to start reloading for the first time. a horndy progressive reloader has been in the garage for many years and is about to be used. what dies would be good to accomplish this task, where can they be purchased, how much powder should be used & made by ?? maybe a few tips before starting this task.
also can a 450 marlin round be fired from this pistol or is replacement or different cylinder needed ?

Welcome to the guide Oleyelo!!!

I think the article of http://www.singleactions.com/articles.html will answer some questions and put you on the track for the right handloads.
Check your favorite powder maker website for load table (don't forget to look for cowboy loads which are sometimes separated).

LEE dies are the less expensive and worked for me in ........ every straight caliber including steel dies in 44-40 and 45-70.
Check www.leeprecision.com for their offer. Many online dealers like midway discount them regularly but LEE charges a flat rate of $5 by shipment, which might amount to the same saving.

Do you want to shoot full loads or are you interested in slower plinkers too? You wouldn't use the same powders.

If you cast, LEE molds are notorious for being close to .457 in wheel weight or range lead (mine is). It might be a good idea to check your barrel and chamber mouths. Its better on several accounts to shoot lead bullets slightly oversized like 458/459 for a gun in 457.

Feel free to ask more once you've digested some info ;)
kg

OKayyyy ! You don't have a favorite powder maker !!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
www.hodgdon.com , they own http://www.imrpowder.com/
http://www.alliantpowder.com/
http://www.ramshot.com/powders/ , bought http://www.accuratepowder.com/ I think.

http://www.westernpowders.com/ , www.grafs.com for direct purchase.

LEE has free dowloads of their tools manuals, and a few reloading sites have tutorials:
http://www.stevespages.com/page8.htm
http://www.reloadammo.com/
http://www.reloadbench.com/main.html

And the Marlin round has a belt so you'll need to send the gun to the factory to have a new cylinder fitted.
I would spend the money shooting.
You can reload the 45-70 at different levels of power and pressure, including the 450 Marlin one. Just make sure you can tell the various loads from the outside (different bullets?) so that you don't blow a weak gun or plink a bad bear.

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Originally Posted by oleyello

good morning to all, this is from a first timer posting a few questions. i have a bfr/4570 and want to start reloading for the first time. a horndy progressive reloader has been in the garage for many years and is about to be used. what dies would be good to accomplish this task, where can they be purchased, how much powder should be used & made by ?? maybe a few tips before starting this task.
also can a 450 marlin round be fired from this pistol or is replacement or different cylinder needed ?

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First up welcome to the guide ! I use a lot of Lee Dies myself & any Gun supplyer should be able to help you out there! I would recomend a good Loading manual Lee ,Speer ,Horndy all put one out ! This will explian Burning rates of powders ect . My preferance in the 45-70 is a fast powder as due to the size of the case bore ratio it only uses about 4inches of the barrel to burn to it's optium rate. H4227,H4198 work well out of my Marlin 1895 :-D
I would be looking at another cylinder for the 450marlin better still look at a completely different unit ! Hope this throws some light on the subject ?
Feel free to ask questions & share infomation as that's what this site is all about !

Dave