Hornady Reloading

[Richard]

Anyone have input regarding the Hornady Lock & Load AP line of equipment and getting started?

[win38-55]

I do not personally own any Hornady reloading equipment. So I cannot really say anything about that.
I think the best possible press to learn on would be a Lee Classic Cast. Or if you were going to do alot of pistol
shooting a Lee classic turret press 4 hole. I like the Lee reloading stuff for newbies because it is cheaper than some of the other
Manufactures,but it is usually very high quality that works very well at what it is supposed to do, and that is to reload.
It enables a person, just getting into the reloading scene to decide if it is for them or not. If you are mainly doing
rifle I would definently get a single stage press to start on. Reloading is a great hobby
Here was my newbie setup when I first got started.

[BenT]

I've heard a lot of good things about their presses. I don't care for their dies with the zip spindle, they break to easily.

[Richard]

Thanks for the input guys. Looking for more input from "ReLoaders". My nephew uses Hornady and likes the AP. Also looking for someone with experience with an Ultrasonic cleaner (vs the Tumbler).

[kasTX]

I have one of the pre-EZject models that I upgraded to EZject. It is the only progressive I have used, and I don't consider myself an expert.

Overall it has been OK. The primer feeding system hasn't worked that well. Polishing has helped, but it will still jam or fail to feed a primer occasionally.

I have also had problems with the powder dispensing. If the cartridge is not lined up exactly right when it goes into the powder dispenser, you end up with powder all over. Never quite trusted it after that so I don't charge on the press any more.

Biggest problems had to do with the original case retention and ejection system. After the last station, loaded cartridges would either hang up and jam the press, or they would briefly jam before being flung past the collection bin. Upgrading to the EZject system cured this (it works very well now) but that cost money for the upgrade, and more money to get my existing shellplates upgraded to work with the new system (a groove had to be machined in the bottom of each shellplate).

I have also found that Lee dies are almost too short for the dimensions of the press. Screwing them into the holders far enough to do the job leaves you with only about one thread for the lock ring. They do work though.

Other than that it has been handy. I use it mostly to process brass (size/de-cap, bell) and for final loading (seat and crimp). Priming and charging I do separately.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I have two Hornady L&L AP presses. I guess I must like them.

Both of my presses are earlier presses from before when the EZject system existed, so I cannot comment on that. Yes, sometimes a case will get jammed with the old ejector wire system, but it is not the end of the world, I just flip the loaded round into the finished rounds hopper with my thumb. But that particular part of the press has been changed, so it is a moot discussion.

When I was first looking to upgrade from a single stage press to a progressive, I looked at Dillon, RCBS, and Hornady. The Hornady press has five stations and is auto-indexing. In order to get those features on a Dillon I had to spend about $100 more for a model 650. The comparably priced Dillon had four stations and was manually indexed. At the time, RCBS was not offering an auto-indexing press at all. So I went with the Hornady.

Hornady has made several important changes to the L&L AP since I bought my first one. One is the eject system. The other is the primer feed system. The old system had a primer column with a plastic base that would break if you looked at it crosswise. That too has now been upgraded and has a metal base that does not break anymore.

It used to be there was some difficulty using other brands of dies with the Hornady press, not because they did not fit, but because the wire ejector would interfere with the die in station five. The elimination of the ejector wire should have solved that problem too.

Yes, the primer feed system can be finicky, but show me a progressive press that does not sometimes have problems feeding primers. Primer feed systems are probably the most finicky part of any progressive press, I don't care who makes it. You have to keep it clean, if you don't clean it occasionally primer dust will clog it up. But that is true of any brand.

The real value of the Hornady system is how fast you can change calibers. The L&L collet system means you keep your dies set up on the L&L collets. Hornady calls them bushings. This means that once you have set up your dies, all you do to change them is pop them in or out with a twist of the wrist. The quick change system carries over to the powder measure too. The inserts that the powder measure rotor uses pop in and out by depressing a spring loaded button. Rather than resetting my powder measure every time I change calibers, I keep several powder inserts on hand pre-set and labeled for my favorite charges of particular powders. So rather than dialing in my powder charge every time as with some brands, I just pop in the appropriate insert, weigh a few throws for a sanity check, and I am off and running.

The other nice feature about the Hornady press is the shell retention spring. If you want to pop a shell out of the shellplate for a sanity check, you just pop it out, then pop it back in again without screwing up the order of anything. Like all good progressive metallic presses, if there is no shell present when the shell plate rotates under the powder measure, it will not dump powder all over the floor. There has to be a shell present to actuate the powder measure.

I have two presses because I keep one set up for large pistol primers and one set up for small pistol primers. I load a lot of different calibers, with several powder charges and bullets for each, so changing setups is very simple with the Hornady presses.

[Richard]

Thanks for all the great info and knowledge. I'm looking forward to beginning and there seems to be so much to learn, wish someone was close!! (Going to my nephews to learn from him during 'spring break', only 4 hours away!).

[vancelw]

Thanks for the input guys. Looking for more input from "ReLoaders". My nephew use Hornady and likes the AP. Also looking for someone with experience with an Ultrasonic cleaner (vs the Tumbler).

The ultrasonic cleaner cleans and the tumbler polishes. One does not replace the other. Rather, they each have their own purpose.

[Richard]

Thanks for your input. Being able to leverage off anothers experience is great, like I said, lots to learn. Think I'll pickup an ultrasonic and clean some cartridges that I'll take to my nephews. He tumbles so I could see 'before' and 'after'. Have you tried this method: http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html ? The reads interesting and wonder if it has merit

[vancelw]

I've seen the Hornady Ultrasonic cleaner on sale for $79 recently and Lyman has a new one for about $110. I think Hornady even has a large one.

Search the forum for "Ultrasonic" and you should find an old thread or two where pictures of before and after were posted. You can also clean stuff other than just brass in them.

[COSteve]

If you're looking to go with Hornady's LnL and a casefeeder, I think you're better off with a Dillon XL650 with casefeeder. While the LnL starts out lower priced, when you add the casefeeder the price of the two are about the same.

I understand that many think that we Dillon owners are 'drinkin the blue Kool-Aid', however, the fact is that the Dillon is recognized by most in the reloading industry as the best you can buy. The dominant majority of all competitive shooters (well over 80%) use Dillons. They rely on their presses to work day in and day out without fail, and they pick Dillon 550Bs and XL650s.

That said, both brands have the same basic specs; 5 station auto indexing progressive press and both are quality designed and produced presses so either one will likely do you right. If this is your first press, both are a bit complicated to learn on but it can be done. I learned on a Dillon 550B and then moved up to my XL650 with casefeeder.

As to dies, for pistol calibers I like Lee Deluxe Carbide Die sets better than Dillon's or Hornady's. My .223 set is a Dillon.

[Guncase]

Where in Oregon? I'm in Albany. I don't have a L&L, but I have a Dillon SDB. If you are close, I would be happy to show you what I have and use. BTW, I like the Hornady rifle dies the best. For pistol or straight wall rifle, I like Lyman.