HORNADY - LOCK-N-LOAD AUTO PROGRESSIVE PRESS

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  • erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Technically you could run a progressive for the PRS stuff for all the sizing/prep for the brass. Pull it off and dump powder on an rcbs 1500/lite(autotrickler v3 if you want to be more accurate) and then seat the bullet back on the progressive right? Might be the easiest way to get around it.
    My first thought on reading that plan is that it sounds like a recipe for a squib. When I'm charging cases from my CM Lite, those boys are on a tray, and I am triple-checking that they're all filled before I move on to seating bullets. Trying to stuff brass back on to a progressive press just sounds like a dangerous pain in the ass. I know there are people who claim to do this, but I'd be a little nervous to do so.

    You also need to remember that brass prep means decap->lube->resize->TRIM->chamfer/deburr->maybe swage. There are zero presses that can do the chamfer/deburr step, and I don't think any serious PRS competitors are going to be skipping chamfer/deburr for fear of bullet shaving. A progressive press is just not going to save you much time for that. (You can get away with it if you are blasting for 3gun, of course.)

    A lot of this depends on how much F-class-style prep you're gonna be working into your PRS ammo, of course. In the end, if you can get your toolhead setup to minimize run-out, and you're OK with any variance with the Dillon powder measure, you could indeed load PRS on a 750 and probably do OK... but it's not going to fix your brass prep time, which is about 70% of the time I spent loading 223, at least.
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    Dam...davsco sounds like 2 presses might be the best bet.

    Or find a buddy to let you use his stuff.

    If you were closer, you could use mine.

    Edit...

    6.5cm try H4350
    308 try varget
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    Thx speed! So from zero to 2 presses!

    Hell I'm not seeing any presses in stock and even less varget or primers! So it may be zero to zero... heading out Sunday cross country to Colo for elk, will check along the way.
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    Thx speed! So from zero to 2 presses!

    Hell I'm not seeing any presses in stock and even less varget or primers! So it may be zero to zero... heading out Sunday cross country to Colo for elk, will check along the way.

    If you can't find anything, I probably have some spare powder to get you started load testing. Good luck on the hunt!
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Two presses are not so hard to manage using the Inline Fab QD mounts. And, the truth is, OP could get away with just a Lee Classic Cast turret press with reverse ejector... he's just not shooting enough that he really needs that progressive for loading 9mm.

    The sad truth is, you can reload slow pretty cheaply, but going fast is what costs you. Even in terms of loading precision rounds, you're paying a lot more for that Giraud trimmer, RCBS MatchMaster, etc. One of my big projects this fall/winter is finally developing some precision 223 and 308 loads... I have a Criterion barrel on my 3gun rifle, and a couple of 308s that will easily hold under 1MOA with FGMM, so there's really no reason I can't nail this down for once and for all.
     

    RockyTheDog

    Member
    Sep 5, 2011
    54
    I have a Hornady LNL progressive press that I've used for about 10 years. Its loaded between 200,000 and 300,000 rounds. I load 9mm, 45ACP, and 5.56. It took about 150,000 rounds before it would load 100 rounds without stopping and requiring that it be dismantled to fix the stoppage.

    I've spent hours on the phone with Hornady customer service. My press has 43 changes and modifications that it needed before it would work properly.(that I can think of off the top of my head, there's probably a couple more.) Some of these required a lathe and/or a milling machine to make. Some were fixes to bad design. Many were fixes for poor manufacturing. Most, but not all, of the problems are with the case feeder and the priming system.

    If you search on youtube, you will find hours and hours of instructions on how to fix the Hornady press so it will work. You won't find that same thing about Dillon presses. What I should have done was return the thing when I first got it but I wanted to sort of experiment and see if I could get it to work. Now it will work without stoppages but if I try to run it as fast as a 650 or a 1050 will go it won't do it, so its slower. (It still has the occasional problem of the sort that all these presses run into. I'm talking about the kind of issues you don't see with a properly set up Dillon press)

    Some people seem to love this press and others have lots of trouble with it. I suspect there's a wide variation in the quality of individual presses. They all have the same design flaws. The price difference between the Hornady and a Dillon 750 is not that much once you figure in all the other things you need. The misery and frustration saved is well worth the difference over the long run.

    I'm selling mine shortly and getting another Dillon. It actually works now. It has a powder reservoir that doesn't dissolve when you put powder in it. The glue joints on the case collator that broke have been replaced with bolts. The primer arm base has a bracket that won't rotate out of line. Bushings take up the slop in the handle axles. The powder measure has belleville washers that keep it from coming loose and launching gunpowder all over the floor. .. The rifle rotor for the powder measure is still bored off-center, though and the piston has to be knocked out with a dowel and a hammer...

    My advice is, if you get a Hornady press, return it immediately if it doesn't work properly. Its not you, trust me, its the press. Actually, my advice is get a Dillon 750.
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    (another) dumb question - turret press, are you putting different "process" dies in the various holes/slots, are you putting identical process dies in each of the holes/slots? i ask because some have let's say 4 slots and some have 7.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    (another) dumb question - turret press, are you putting different "process" dies in the various holes/slots, are you putting identical process dies in each of the holes/slots? i ask because some have let's say 4 slots and some have 7.
    Depends, but I load a turret head with a single caliber (resize+decap, powder, seat, crimp).
     

    Song Dog

    Active Member
    Jan 2, 2013
    368
    Eastern Shore -Delmarva
    I have a Hornady LNL progressive press that I've used for about 10 years. Its loaded between 200,000 and 300,000 rounds. I load 9mm, 45ACP, and 5.56. It took about 150,000 rounds before it would load 100 rounds without stopping and requiring that it be dismantled to fix the stoppage.

    I've spent hours on the phone with Hornady customer service. My press has 43 changes and modifications that it needed before it would work properly.(that I can think of off the top of my head, there's probably a couple more.) Some of these required a lathe and/or a milling machine to make. Some were fixes to bad design. Many were fixes for poor manufacturing. Most, but not all, of the problems are with the case feeder and the priming system.

    If you search on youtube, you will find hours and hours of instructions on how to fix the Hornady press so it will work. You won't find that same thing about Dillon presses. What I should have done was return the thing when I first got it but I wanted to sort of experiment and see if I could get it to work. Now it will work without stoppages but if I try to run it as fast as a 650 or a 1050 will go it won't do it, so its slower. (It still has the occasional problem of the sort that all these presses run into. I'm talking about the kind of issues you don't see with a properly set up Dillon press)

    Some people seem to love this press and others have lots of trouble with it. I suspect there's a wide variation in the quality of individual presses. They all have the same design flaws. The price difference between the Hornady and a Dillon 750 is not that much once you figure in all the other things you need. The misery and frustration saved is well worth the difference over the long run.

    I'm selling mine shortly and getting another Dillon. It actually works now. It has a powder reservoir that doesn't dissolve when you put powder in it. The glue joints on the case collator that broke have been replaced with bolts. The primer arm base has a bracket that won't rotate out of line. Bushings take up the slop in the handle axles. The powder measure has belleville washers that keep it from coming loose and launching gunpowder all over the floor. .. The rifle rotor for the powder measure is still bored off-center, though and the piston has to be knocked out with a dowel and a hammer...

    My advice is, if you get a Hornady press, return it immediately if it doesn't work properly. Its not you, trust me, its the press. Actually, my advice is get a Dillon 750.

    While yours is a 10 year old LNL AP; mine is more resent manufacture as not aware of any funning changes, only issue was the primer slides which Hornady replaced which solved the problem.

    As far as progressive presses I've used Mec 9000 shotgun for years in all 4 gauges, while the presses are identical they all have their own personality for adjustment of different stages. I shoot with a group of mix LNL AP & Dillon owners as they all like their press decision just have to tweak both while the Dillon owners complain of the plastic parts.
     

    Mdphotographer

    Active Member
    Feb 10, 2009
    176
    Frederick MD
    +! on the Hornady LnL I love mine I have loaded 20K+ on it in the last year. Dillon might be a better choice for a press where you want a case feeder etc. and are reloading tons and tons each year and want to save time. I got a 3D printed case feeder and Mr. Bulletfeeder dies with SoCal S&W bullet magazine for bullet feeding. I load .30 Carbine,.38 Super,.40S&W,.45 ACP,.308, and 5.56. I use a single stage for STW
     

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    Song Dog

    Active Member
    Jan 2, 2013
    368
    Eastern Shore -Delmarva
    +! on the Hornady LnL I love mine I have loaded 20K+ on it in the last year. Dillon might be a better choice for a press where you want a case feeder etc. and are reloading tons and tons each year and want to save time. I got a 3D printed case feeder and Mr. Bulletfeeder dies with SoCal S&W bullet magazine for bullet feeding. I load .30 Carbine,.38 Super,.40S&W,.45 ACP,.308, and 5.56. I use a single stage for STW

    I'm still using the Hornady pull handle, how do like the after market handle you pictured ? I think its by Inline ? is it the shorter on longer model ?
     

    Mdphotographer

    Active Member
    Feb 10, 2009
    176
    Frederick MD
    I'm still using the Hornady pull handle, how do like the after market handle you pictured ? I think its by Inline ? is it the shorter on longer model ?

    I like the roller handle a lot yes it is by inline not sure if it is shorter or longer but the biggest benefit is when you are all the way down the handle is in a higher position.

    Here you can see the difference between the handle heights between a LnL AP w/ roller handle and LnL Iron press with the stock handle. I have to reach down to bottom the stroke on the Iron press
     

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    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    I like the roller handle a lot yes it is by inline not sure if it is shorter or longer but the biggest benefit is when you are all the way down the handle is in a higher position.

    Here you can see the difference between the handle heights between a LnL AP w/ roller handle and LnL Iron press with the stock handle. I have to reach down to bottom the stroke on the Iron press


    Thanks for this post. I didn’t know that inline fab already made such a handle. I’ve just been sucking up the pain and blisters using the stock handle. I just went ahead and ordered this.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    speed, erwos etc seem to be hinting that a progressive press doesn't have the exacting precision needed for PRS, is that right? is there some rule of thumb that if you want to get down below x MOA, to use a single stage? perhaps i'm just reading all this wrong... frankly i have enough factory match 6.5 and 224 valk for a couple of years of matches, so this is prob last on my list for reloading.

    I think you can get away with loading PRS stuff on a progressive, I'm sure others do it. If you are looking for the utmost accuracy, single stage likely the better choice. A progressive press would match or better a factory load.

    There are a few people on youtube that prep brass for fclass on a progressive, Fclass John and Eric Cortina are 2 that come to mind. Maybe take a look at what they suggest.

    I only use a single stage press, I'm not much help on a progressive.

    I run off precision 308 loads with my Dillon, and have never had an issue with what it generates.
     

    Kirkster

    Active Member
    Jan 9, 2009
    329
    Severn, PRoMD
    I have an ancient Dillion 650 with all the extras, case feed, bullet dropper, etc. I only stop to drop 100 more primers in the primer system (occasionally add bullets and cases). I take my time and put out around 300 rounds in 35 minutes or so with 10 weight checks in a session. I have it set up for 9mm, .223 .45 and .308.

    Usually for my rifle I do switch over to my Forester Co-AX and AutoTrickler v3 for when I want to be meticulous. But will load rifle on the Dillion if going to a class where I need 500-1000 rounds for the class.

    I wish my 650 had one more station since I added the bullet dropper as I am not giving up my powder check, but just have a hard time justifying moving up to a 1150 or Mark 7 with only loading 1.5K a month

    If I had it to do all over a 1050 (at the time) or 1150 now would be what I save for an extra couple months while I start with a good single stage.

    A 750 is a good start and will be good unless you see yourself making more than 3K in a month.

    The big myth on reloading is that the ammo is cheaper, you just have a whole lot more of it to shoot.
     

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