Hornady no more...

[jmorris]

The only problem I had with my LNLs was on one of them the powder measure self quick detached. They seemed backwards to me though.

[kryogen]

what I like with dillon is that nothing gets out of adjustment.
I have loaded close to 2000 rounds this week without re-adjusting anything. It just worked, always, all the time....

[308Jeff]

It's the same way with the LNL. Once it's dialed, you're done until you change calibers.

[Carrier]

It's the same way with the LNL. Once it's dialed, you're done until you change calibers.

I've done no adjustments to mine since I set it up other than changing calibers as well. However like any machinery there will be adjustments at some point.

[Lloyd Smale]

I agree with your assement. I bought 2 lnls back when they had a 1000 free bullets. Bullets are long gone and I'm stuck with finiky presses. I ended up setting one up in 223 and one in 45 acp because I shoot those the most. All the rest of my loading is done on my 550. Id gladly swap both of my lnls for one 650. Granted a 650 set up right costs quite a bit more then a lnl but the aggravation of constantly tweaking those lnls in my eyes makes the 650 actually a bargin. Especially if you use it every week to crank out a couple thousand rounds. Some of that aggravation disappears when you do like I did and just set them up for one caliber and tweak them till they run right and just leave them alone. But even then there far from being as reliable as a Dillon be it a square deal, 550 or 650. I consider the two lnls I bought the worse mistake ive made though the years with buying loading gear. Only worse purchases ive ever made was back in the beginning I bought a pro 1000 and a loadmaster. But when I bought those there was no internet experience to steer me away from them and I never claimed to be the sharpest tack in the pack. the loadmaster was given away and the pro 1000 resides at the bottom of my pond!! Been a few times that the lnls almost joined it.

I've had my Hornady LnL AP for about a decade. There was a lot of down time in that decade so the press has seen about 5k rounds. I set up my Dillon 650 this year. The Dillon is pretty much dedicated to .45 ACP right now. I reload everything else on the Hornady.

With the Dillon I can put cases in the feed tube and start pulling the handle. As long as I keep everything filled and put boolits on the brass it just keeps kicking out round after round.

I realized yesterday, when it took over 2 hours to load 90 rounds of 9mm, that I spend way too much time fiddling with the Hornady. The priming system has given me fits since day one. I've polished, deburred and dry lubed everything. The cam wire is upgraded to the latest and greatest.

On Monday the pin holding the wheel came out of my large primer shuttle. Yesterday the same pin came out of the small primer shuttle. The black plastic piece that holds the shuttle wire has a slight upwards bend to it which causes the cam wire to come out of the socket about every other cycle. I managed to fix that with a heat gun. Lately every time I change a shell plate I have to retime the press.

I had plans to one day pick up a second LnL and have one set up for small primers and the other for large. That's not going to happen. I'll get another 650 and have the small and large primer set up. It's going to cost a bit more to switch everything over to Dillon but it's going to be worth it. Dillon just works.

[TexasGrunt]

I agree with your assement. I bought 2 lnls back when they had a 1000 free bullets. Bullets are long gone and I'm stuck with finiky presses. I ended up setting one up in 223 and one in 45 acp because I shoot those the most. All the rest of my loading is done on my 550. Id gladly swap both of my lnls for one 650. Granted a 650 set up right costs quite a bit more then a lnl but the aggravation of constantly tweaking those lnls in my eyes makes the 650 actually a bargin. Especially if you use it every week to crank out a couple thousand rounds. Some of that aggravation disappears when you do like I did and just set them up for one caliber and tweak them till they run right and just leave them alone. But even then there far from being as reliable as a Dillon be it a square deal, 550 or 650. I consider the two lnls I bought the worse mistake ive made though the years with buying loading gear. Only worse purchases ive ever made was back in the beginning I bought a pro 1000 and a loadmaster. But when I bought those there was no internet experience to steer me away from them and I never claimed to be the sharpest tack in the pack. the loadmaster was given away and the pro 1000 resides at the bottom of my pond!! Been a few times that the lnls almost joined it.

Back when the ONLY thing I loaded on the LnL was .45 ACP I loved that press. But once I got the Dillon and set it up for .45 ACP and started loading .38/.357, .44 Mag, 10mm, 9mm, and .223 on the Hornady I realized it wasn't that great. Sure the die changes are easy and the powder measure is leaps and bounds better than the Dillon, but fiddling with the pawls to get the press timed, fiddling with the primer system to get it to feed and hoping it keeps feeding gets old really quick. I'm also to the point where the ejection system is starting to wear down and ammo is not always ejected.

[coatessey]

Another LNL user. Set mine up for the most part per highboys video as well and haven't had any issues. I do only reload .45acp and never adjusted the primer feed or pawls.

I have loaded over 1000 rounds and the only issues that I have had was the oal, and the primer feed.

The oal was because I set the oal with only one piece of brass in the press instead of all stations with brass. Once I went back and reset with all stations with brass I have had no issues.

The primer issue was again me. Somehow I had the primer feed tube bevel side up instead of down.

Other than those self induced issues I have had no other hiccups and hope that it remains that way.

[Lloyd Smale]

get back to us with another assessment when you've done about 50k on it. A 1000 rounds is one session for some of us. Also let us know what you think about it after you swapped three or four calibers back and forth a couple times.

Another LNL user. Set mine up for the most part per highboys video as well and haven't had any issues. I do only reload .45acp and never adjusted the primer feed or pawls.

I have loaded over 1000 rounds and the only issues that I have had was the oal, and the primer feed.

The oal was because I set the oal with only one piece of brass in the press instead of all stations with brass. Once I went back and reset with all stations with brass I have had no issues.

The primer issue was again me. Somehow I had the primer feed tube bevel side up instead of down.

Other than those self induced issues I have had no other hiccups and hope that it remains that way.

[dannyd]

get back to us with another assessment when you've done about 50k on it. A 1000 rounds is one session for some of us. Also let us know what you think about it after you swapped three or four calibers back and forth a couple times.

I done one that over 70,000 both still work okay.

[dverna]

Do a YouTube search for Hornady tweaks and Dillon tweaks. The results are interesting and shed some light on the subject. I believe almost anything can be made to work (expect an RCBS Green Machine) but some require more effort, attention and care. I have owned six Dillon presses because I do not enjoy reloading, and I really hate it when I need to fiddle phart around to make ammunition.

[dannyd]

Do a YouTube search for Hornady tweaks and Dillon tweaks. The results are interesting and shed some light on the subject. I believe almost anything can be made to work (expect an RCBS Green Machine) but some require more effort, attention and care. I have owned six Dillon presses because I do not enjoy reloading, and I really hate it when I need to fiddle phart around to make ammunition.

You are are right on the money. I love handloading and reloading, but think shooting is boring. So I love to work on the equipment. My first Dillion equipment 1988 SDB and 550 1989 took some maintenance too. It's just like I don't do automatic pistols or rifles. To me if you need more than one round you may want to re think your shooting skills.

[ole 5 hole group]

I have an LnL, my SIL has an LnL and several acquaintances of ours have LnL's and none of us have problems like some of you complain about. I reload 32 mag up to 30-06 cartridges on my LnL and never touch the pawls when changing over shell plates - none of the others do either. The LnL powder measure is second to none. Every now and again I'll have a powder kernel or two on the shell plate - when it comes time to reload the primer tube, I'll also give the shell plate and primer slider a shot of compressed air (from a can) seems to keep everything running as smooth as a hot knife through soft butter.

I think some of you guys are just snake bite, in like, if you didn't have bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all. Blue or Red - both are great progressives on a solid bench.

Another thing - if by chance you notice a little surface rust on the dies and the progressive - after cleaning it off, give everything a light shot of Hornady one shot lube every 6 months - solves that problem. SIL is set up in his garage, one shot was the cure.

[dverna]

Dannyd, you make a good point. I had 6 Dillons and a Star at one point and never reloaded rifle ammunition on a progressive. I did not shoot a lot of rifle and my rifle needs were for varmint shooting, a bit of hunting, or just working up accurate loads....so no need for a bazillion rounds. CAS, IPSC, and even Bullseye call for significant production if one wants to reach a high level of competence. Although CAS does not use semi-automatic weapons, I would still go through 400 rounds a week...so reloading was a necessary "chore".

There was a saying in CAS. "Some dress up to shoot....some shoot to dress up"

Reloading and casting are the same. Some reload/cast to shoot....some shoot to reload and cast

One of the mistakes we make is not framing our recommendations when people ask for advice. What many reloaders find acceptable will be marginal for others....their needs and desires differ. The other mistake is the lack of exposure or experience with different machines. It is one reason I heed what guys like Jmorris say.

The LnL is not a bad machine, but there are better options if one wishes fewer issues and cost is not a significant factor.

[dannyd]

Dannyd, you make a good point. I had 6 Dillons and a Star at one point and never reloaded rifle ammunition on a progressive. I did not shoot a lot of rifle and my rifle needs were for varmint shooting, a bit of hunting, or just working up accurate loads....so no need for a bazillion rounds. CAS, IPSC, and even Bullseye call for significant production if one wants to reach a high level of competence. Although CAS does not use semi-automatic weapons, I would still go through 400 rounds a week...so reloading was a necessary "chore".

There was a saying in CAS. "Some dress up to shoot....some shoot to dress up"

Reloading and casting are the same. Some reload/cast to shoot....some shoot to reload and cast

One of the mistakes we make is not framing our recommendations when people ask for advice. What many reloaders find acceptable will be marginal for others....their needs and desires differ. The other mistake is the lack of exposure or experience with different machines. It is one reason I heed what guys like Jmorris say.

The LnL is not a bad machine, but there are better options if one wishes fewer issues and cost is not a significant factor.

Shot CAS or SASS for three years. Now that is work between driving to match, practice and working the match (picking up brass resetting targets). It was to much work for me

[coatessey]

Will do I realize 1000 rounds is nothing however was stating my experience with the press over the last few months.

I also spray the primer tube and the rest of the press with compressed air after each use and use hornady one shot on the shell plate about once a month.

[jmorris]

You are are right on the money. I love handloading and reloading, but think shooting is boring. So I love to work on the equipment.

You should be buying Lee progressives.

[dannyd]

You should be buying Lee progressives.

Had three not bad for starter gear.

[HeadLead]

The old Red vs Blue battle. I like Lee classic turret, would love a big blue, have a (LNL) and reload just about everything I shoot. The best press for my money is the one I'm loading on (at the time). Reloading is stress relief even if it causes me stress, but it's better with any machine than none at all.

JMTCW.

[Lloyd Smale]

Yup ive never heard of anyone so frustrated with a 550 or 650 that they sold it and bought a lnl and found it better. I have 3 lnls. I bought them because they were cheap and came with a 1000 free bullets. the bullets are long gone and I'm stuck with the presses. I sold one so I'm down to two. I keep one set up in 223 and one in 44mag and don't ever change them because when I do it takes just to long to get them adjusted right. Biggest flaw in them is the case feeder. A case feeder on a lnl is an add on. A 650 is built right out of the box for a case feeder and it works a 100 percent more reliably. Even the case feeder themselves have been trouble for me. Now granted I load a lot more then the average guy but both of my case feeder motors have given up the ghost. thankfully one thing hornady has going for it is great customer service and a lifetime warrantee. They replaced both with completely new case feeders. Then the timing headache with the lnls. I sold one that wouldn't stay in time for a 1000 round loading session. One of the ones I still have about constantly needs tweeking and defineately needs tweaking every time you change calibers. the other one set up in 223 has been pretty good. I don't remember having to fool with the pawls on that one. Bottom line is I bought caliber conversions to load about everything I load and they sit and collect dust because if I'm going to load something other then 223 or 44 mag I just use my 550. To be honest id bet I can load as much ammo in the same time period on it as I can on a lnl with a case feeder if you factor in all time I fool with machine problems. True bottom line is I don't shoot as much as I did 10 years ago and could get by with just that 550 (a press by the way id NEVER be without)

No one has

[Carrier]

Not being rude or nothing but I just don't understand it.
I have bought many things in my life that didn't work the way I thought they were suppose to but I sure didn't keep them around to annoy myself.
If this LNL I have starts to do what some say theirs have done or doing its gone whether I loose money or not. Life is just way too short to be aggravated by a piece of metal.