Buffalo Arms .45-60

[W.F.CALL]

We'll, my order from Buffalo Arms shipped today via FedEx. I have never reloaded but can definitely see it in my very near future. Surely I can load them cheaper than $61.00 a box. Saw a nice video yesterday on YouTube about trimming down .45-70 casings, of course no one around me has .45-70 brass either. Any advice you guys have on loading black powder .45-60 cartridges would be appreciated. Please bear in mind that I am new to reloading and this will probably be the only caliber I reload. Would a affordable Lee press suffice in my situation? I see that Buffalo Arms does sell .45-60 dies.

[Mean Bob Mean]

We'll, my order from Buffalo Arms shipped today via FedEx. I have never reloaded but can definitely see it in my very near future. Surely I can load them cheaper than $61.00 a box. Saw a nice video yesterday on YouTube about trimming down .45-70 casings, of course no one around me has .45-70 brass either. Any advice you guys have on loading black powder .45-60 cartridges would be appreciated. Please bear in mind that I am new to reloading and this will probably be the only caliber I reload. Would a affordable Lee press suffice in my situation? I see that Buffalo Arms does sell .45-60 dies.

If you are only loading one caliber, and that sparingly, you won't need to drop a fortune on a press.  However, once you start reloading, you may as well start reloading for other weapons so . . . if it were me, I'd start with a well made set up like a rock chucker.  Ask/look around, you might find someone who started and stopped that will sell for cheap.  I got a kit for I think about 300.00, was well worth it.  I have seen Lee Turret presses (great starting press) for well under 100.00, but that was just the press, not a kit.  

I taught myself to reload my current three calibers and am loading some brass 12 gauge shells soon as well.  Loading with black powder is super simple.  Find the line on the case to where if you would fill it and then seat a bullet, you would compress the powder by say 1/10th of an inch.  You can eyeball that by holdiong a biullet next to the empty brass, you will understand what I mean.  Make a measure out of an old piece of brass that carries that much powder, or eyeball it each time (might find a lee scoop of correct or close enough size).  It's that simple.  Loading for the .45-60, I would not worry about speed of reloading, just take your time, do each stage thoughtfully, check the cases and all after each step, you will be fine.  Reloading seems like a scary adventure at first, I mean stuff goes bang right?  But after you've done it a few times your enemy will be complacency.  Never be complacent when loading.  There are hundreds of useful tips on this site alone, let alone the internetz.  

One other tip:  find some BP shooters, order with them and the price of your powder will drop a great deal.  At Powder Inc., 5 pounds of Goex is 24.40 a can.  If you are buying with some friends and ordering 25-50 lbs that drops to 15.40 a can--significantly different.  

Have a ball, you will love shooting your own.  

[W.F.CALL]

This was extremely helpful. I appreciate all info you gave. My dad, my brother, and myself all order black powder together as we do a lot of shooting of cap and ball pistols. I also have a Hawken rifle. I will look into the Rock Chucker press and see what I can come up with. Thanks again.

[Blackpowder Burn]

You can buy 45-60 brass from Buffalo Arms for a reasonable price - better than the effort involved in cutting off 45-70's anyway! 

You'll probably find that after the initial sizing and loading of new brass, you won't have to resize the brass any more.  I load for the 38-55, 40-65, and 45-70 in 4 different rifles, and never need to resize brass - it chambers easily in any rifle I've tried.  BP loads just don't seem to develop enough pressure to expand the brass.  My process is:
1. Deprime and clean the brass (many different opinions of how this is best done - my favorite is wet tumbling with stainless steel pins)
2. Expand the case mouth just enough that you can insert a bullet by hand to sit on top of the powder charge.
3. Reprime case
4. Dispense powder charge (per Mean Bob's description - just enough powder to give a slight compression when seating bullet)
5. Insert 0.030" fiber wad
6. Use a compression die (from Buffalo Arms) for 45 caliber cartridges to compress powder so that when bullet is hand seated
    it is to the proper depth to crimp.
7.  Seat bullet.  Important - soft alloy (20:1 works well) with large lube capacity.  Be sure it is lubed with good BP lube like
     SPG, etc.  DON'T use commercial bullets with hard lubes intended for smokeless powder.  It will provide a painful learning
     experience if you do!    Buffalo Arms sells appropriate bullets it you don't have a local source.  Also try Whyle Leather Works for
     bullets (www.whyteleatherworks.com)
8.  Crimp firmly with a Lee Factory Crimp Die (cheap, about $12)

Also as Mean Bob says, go in with someone on a 25 pound order from Powder Inc.  You'll likely get best accuracy results from Swiss or Goex Olde Enysford.  I tend to stay with Goex to support and American company - call me old fashioned.

I predict you'll have lots of fun learning how to shoot this rifle.  I know I've had a ball.  I was scared of it at first, but now do everything from casting onward.  It's very rewarding.

[Mean Bob Mean]

This was extremely helpful. I appreciate all info you gave. My dad, my brother, and myself all order black powder together as we do a lot of shooting of cap and ball pistols. I also have a Hawken rifle. I will look into the Rock Chucker press and see what I can come up with. Thanks again.

Anytime and there is a world of info out there and on this site for BP reloading.  Ask anytime, we will figure it out together.  

Might ask here, many a cowboy has started with a single stage press--perfect for your rifle loading--and ended up with a Dillon Combine Harvester type and might sell their single stage.