Hornady projector

[izzyjoe]

i was in a local pawnshop on sat. and they had a horn. projector press. it had a powder measure on top, and it some extra stuff in a small box. the guy there was'nt to helpful, and he did'nt know much about it. but it's marked $225, and he came down to $200 right off the batt. i've been wanting a progressive press since i've got a 357 rifle now, and i can't make 'em fast enough. just wondering what advice ya'll would give on the pro's and con of this, or should i pass. i'd like to have a hornady L-N-L, but i'm on a shoe string buget. any advice will be welcome.

[noylj]

I liked my Projector, but Hornady is not supporting it any more.
I liked the swing-arm priming system. There was never any problem with primers not seating deep enough.
You can, I am sure, still download the manual from Hornady. Be sure all the priming components are there.
For $200, I would buy a brand new L-N-L with the 500 free bullet offer.

[izzyjoe]

well i don't know sqaut about them, so i would have do some research to know what's missing, if there is anything missing. and i assume they use std. dies.

[cheese1566]

They are a good press (I have two and going strong!).

They take shellplates and use common 7/8" dies.

Things to look for are:
-Small and large primer tube in good condition (no longer made)
-Small and large priming cups and punches (getting scarce)
-Extra shell plates (?)
-The powder measure adapter that the powder measure mounts to. This looks like a die extension about 4' long that has 7/8" threads, male on one end, female on the other. This should have a floating brass bushing inside of it that slides up and down. There is actually two sizes of brass bushings, one for small rifle, one for large rifle/pistol. The brass bushing acts like a funnel to channel the powder into the case when the shellplate rises. If not there, powder goes everywhere.
-Shell eject sytem that isn't bent/mangled.
-Large and small metering inserts for the powder measure.

They are good solid presses and will load most all common rifle and pistol calibers. Hornady still has the parts diagram onn the web and I think I have my manual scanned in .pdf form.

Bad thing is Hornady no longer supports some parts and primer tubes are now obsolete, but you can use RCBS and Dillon tubes in a pinch.

If you need pics of parts that I am refering to, send me your email. Feel free to ask questions, I love mine! I even a have Pro7 that preceded the Projector.

$200 is on the high side, but if in good condition and has most of the parts I mentioned above (primer tubes and primer cups/punches) then it may be a decent buy.
Far cheaper than a new unit...

[Hardcast416taylor]

Mine started out as a new Pro-7. Along came the upgrade kit to the newer Pro-Jector series. It didn`t take me long to dislike the case ejector system - removed it. It didn`t take much longer to dislike the newer prime feature - removed that too and primed all cases off press with LEE prime tool (old style). So now I am down to a press system that is dedicated to loading and processing cases. I left the powder dispenser and its mount on the press, tried the old style auto powder drop - removed it after about 1k rounds. The $200 tag is a little to high for an older modle that is possibly missing parts that are not visible inside.Robert

[buck1]

A year ago I sent my Pro-jector to Hornady and they rebuilt it free. I have two and love them.
They have a life time warranty so if They dont want to fix mine i guess they can replace it with a LNL.

[izzyjoe]

i did'nt have time to get by there today after work. but i was looking at the lee pro1000 online, and it has good reviews. so i may go that route.

[jcw1970]

i did'nt have time to get by there today after work. but i was looking at the lee pro1000 online, and it has good reviews. so i may go that route.

i'd take the projector over the 1000. i have both and they both work fine but the projector is a 5 station press where the 1000 is only 3. the others are right about the parts for it, make sure they're all there. i was going to get this pro7 and convert it to the projector but hornady was out of the bottom gear wheel and weren't going to get anymore so i passed on it.

[bhn22]

I hate to tell you this, but when Hornady discontinues a model, all the existing presses of that model are deemed to be obsolete, and at the end of their service life, and the"lifetime" warranty ends. I had first hand experience with this, and now I only buy Redding & Dillon.

[Colorado4wheel]

If you can't afford a fully progressive I would just get a LCT. If you have a LCT I would just wait and find a used SDB. They go for a good price pretty often. Avoid most "deals" that you seem to find.

[izzyjoe]

well i went back and looked at it again, and it did'nt have the primer tube, and it look like it was missing somthing else. so i told him no thanks. i'll leave that one for somebody to fool with! sometimes it better to pass on things like that, esp. when it's missing key parts. thank for all the help guy's.

[jcw1970]

if you're looking to spend around 200. you can get a Lee loadmaster from www.factorysales.com. i've got several parts from them and they're cheaper than getting them straight from lee.