Hornady L-N-L AP press and case feeder review.

[Hunter]

http://www.gunclassifieds.com/blog/hornady-lnl-ap-progressive-press-and-updated-ez-ject-change-included/

http://www.gunclassifieds.com/blog/hornady-case-feeder-an-extra-hand-at-the-loading-bench/

[timtonya]

I'd still take my Dillon 550 anyday.

[Vinne]

One thing I say about a Hornady press is it is massive. If you break one of those then you dropped it off the 30th floor. My friend has three of them and he won't use anything else. He said you can load the toughest cal. on it, just make you have the bench for it!!

[deltaenterprizes]

Tha new LNL does not have the fine finish and the quality of the Pro-7 or Projector as it was later updated to. There are sharp edges and MIM, metal injection molding, parts made from powdered metal are used.
The part that the shell plate attaches to is made of MIM and broke while adjusting the dies to load 9mm, cracked in half.
I made a new from 4140 bar stock in about an hour and now it is better than new.
The replacement part may have failed like the original and I only wanted to fix it once.
I have not loaded any ammo on the new press but plan to do soon and expect it to be much better than the previous edition because of the improved priming and ejection systems.

[ph4570]

I got a new LNL set up last week. I like it but did have some initial travails with the priming feed. I tried all the hints found on the web. I then studied all the parts and operation. The primer magazine tube has a necked down portion on the end that goes into the primer feed body mounted to the press. I found that the necked down portion was not far enough up the tube to make the tube flush with he inside of the feed body. This presented a discontinuity that would hang up about 2 in 20 primers. The supplied fiberglass rod helped a bit but some still hung up. I put the tube in the lathe and increased the necked down length so it fit flush -- problem solved. Since the modification I have loaded 500 9mm and 250 5.56 without a single primer issue.

Seems like everything these days needs some user work to get things fully sorted. However, in the end I am very pleased with the press. I especially like the closed depriming system. I fitted a plastic water bottle to the primer output tube. Yesterday I deprimed over 1000 5.56 cases in about 45 minutes with all primers captured in the bottle and the press as clean as when I started.

I have two Dillon 550s that I have enjoyed for many years (first one began as a 450 in mid 80's). I am going to sell one and likely keep the other dedicated to 45-70 and 38-55. Nothing wrong with my Dillons. They were the best machine at the time and one will still serve me.

[blikseme300]

I'd still take my Dillon 550 anyday.

This comment adds no value to this thread.

I own and operate a number of Dillon and Hornady progressive presses and all work well within their limitations. There is no superiority, they are just different. I reload and shoot on average 500rnds/week with most being from bolt or lever action with accuracy being the primary concern.

[44magLeo]

I cast my own boolits. have for many years. I have used several different loading tools. Mostly single stage presses. I set up and cast a few thousand boolits at a time. I use two cavity molds. Two pots. One as a pre melter. I have one set up on a shelf above the other. I use the upper pot to keep the lower pot full. Then fill the top pot with ingots.
I use my hand tools, A Lyman 310 tong tool and set in front of the TV to deprime and resize the brass. for the calibers I shoot that I don't have the 310 dies I use a Lee hand press and conventional dies.
Once I get that done I can load any where from 500 to 1500 rounds on the bench tools for a week end of shooting In an evening or two.
I do a lot of the non critical things while watching the TV. Then do the more critical things in the reloading room with out any distractions.
Never saw the need for a progressive press.
Leo

[doctorggg]

Each to his own. What works for one may not work for another. I have 3 Hornady progressive presses. I have used one since 1991 without any repairs or problems. The newer LNL primer system has given me some problems. I do not like the fact it doesn't have a primer shut off. Screwing off the shield and loosing bunches of primers on the floor aggravates me.

[Hunter]

I have not had any issues with the primer feed. As far as MIM, there is good and bad MIM. Many firearms manufactures use MIM for small parts and if done well MIM will hold up.
As far as breakage, yea it sucks but the Hornady warranty is excellent. I have an older Pro Jector and it still works but I prefer the L-N-L myself.

[milprileb]

I cast my own boolits. have for many years. I have used several different loading tools. Mostly single stage presses. I set up and cast a few thousand boolits at a time. I use two cavity molds. Two pots. One as a pre melter. I have one set up on a shelf above the other. I use the upper pot to keep the lower pot full. Then fill the top pot with ingots.
I use my hand tools, A Lyman 310 tong tool and set in front of the TV to deprime and resize the brass. for the calibers I shoot that I don't have the 310 dies I use a Lee hand press and conventional dies.
Once I get that done I can load any where from 500 to 1500 rounds on the bench tools for a week end of shooting In an evening or two.
I do a lot of the non critical things while watching the TV. Then do the more critical things in the reloading room with out any distractions. Never saw the need for a progressive press. Leo

If any thread has no value to this discussion, Leo has gone to lengths to provide us one.

[Moonman]

Sometimes folks must just interject and ramble on with basically useless personal info.

Just how many rounds might a person be able to Single Stage load before needing to take a dump again?

Just my .02.

[freebullet]

^^^ the answer is 1602
The only thing worse than a useless post is more useless post crying about a useless post.

I am still using a single stage hornady. I would like to upgrade to the lnl ap when I find a decent deal on one. I appreciate all the info being provided.

[Bonz]

My Hornady LNL is my first progressive press and I like it a lot. I discovered that the OAL is more consistent when you keep brass in all five stations. I don't use the priming system only because I prefer to hand prime during my case inspection process. I use a small piece of tape on the case loader drop tube to keep the cases from falling off when they drop down on the ramp in front of the pusher. Been contemplating making a guardrail to keep the brass case in place until it moves to station #1.

[A pause for the COZ]

I am using a projector now and I like it allot. My next one will be a LNL AP for sure. But it seems every time I collect enough cash to get one. I find another gun to buy.
So it looks like the Projector has to hold up a while longer.

[Lloyd Smale]

you post something on the internet and your going to find people that dont agree with it. Its there right to post what they want on here unless its a personal slam to you. I like this statement. "The only thing worse than a useless post is more useless post crying about a useless post."

[41 mag fan]

Only thing I can complain about on my LNL is when forming the 300blk out cases, my plate would flex just enough to not form the necks fully. I had to go back to using my orange crusher for this task.
And to throw my useless post in here.... I like my Lee 4 hole turret and use it for pistol calibers...[smilie=1:

[enoch59]

doctorggg, I use a small piece of plastic to cover the brass drop tube to keep the cases from ending up all over the floor. It came from a Plano tackle box tray divider
simple and easy to use.
78679

Bonz, I use this same piece of plastic to cover the bottom of the primer drop tube to keep primers intact until I put the tube over a flip tray or a container.
78680
786807868178682

[km101]

I have had a Hornady Pro-jector press since they first came out. I continues to serve me well. I haven't seen the LnL press in person, and don't know anyone who owns one.

My question is: What improvements has Hornady made to the LnL, and would it be worth the money to upgrade? From what I can tell from pictures, they look remarkably similar.

Thanks!

[franksr]

Just got a lnl a few months back and really enjoy it. Have loaded well over a thousand rds, only problem is not being experienced with a progressive loader over 35 yrs on a single stage.When I do my part it works great.

[doctorggg]

doctorggg, I use a small piece of plastic to cover the brass drop tube to keep the cases from ending up all over the floor. It came from a Plano tackle box tray divider
simple and easy to use.
78679

Bonz, I use this same piece of plastic to cover the bottom of the primer drop tube to keep primers intact until I put the tube over a flip tray or a container.
78680
786807868178682

Thank you for the info. I always admire the ingenuity of the people on this forum. Be Blessed.

[doctorggg]

My LNL is at Hornady for the second time. Hopefully they will get it right this time. The priming system just doesn't function satisfactory. I was told they had a couple of new changes to help the problems. Time will tell.

[dromia]

I've had a Hornady LnL since they first came out and it has functioned flawlessly from the start, I rate this press very highly and it runs along side my RCBS Ammomaster progressive another trouble free progressive press that has turned out hundreds of thousands of rounds for me over the years.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I do like my Hornady LNLs. I run 2 with case feeders on each. I did have to tinker with the priming system on the first one I bought but the second one did not have the same problems (burrs left on parts that prohibited primers from feeding properly). The second one I bought came in with the toggle broken (where you screw the handle in to). Hornady promptly sent me a new one, free of charge of course. Both run just fine and I am really happy with them.

The case feeding system is not the best IMHO. I occasionally have cases jam at the drop tube of the collator and bind the feed plate. The plates have a built in clutch so if this happens you won't burn up the motor. Also, occasionally I have cases that fall off the subplate when they are dropped down the tube to be fed into the shellplate. Not a huge deal as you can cycle the press with a missing case with no ill effects. It is just more of an annoyance.

As said above, all progressives seem to have their pros and cons.

[Lloyd Smale]

i run three of them, two with case feeders. Seems i constantly fooling with the case feeders to get them running a 100percent. I almost get to the point that i think i could make more ammo without them. If i knew what i know now i wouldnt have even shelled out the money for them

[6bg6ga]

Lloyd,

I have a home made case feeder on my 650 Dillon and it works flawlessly. I looked at one that is made and sold on ebay and copied it after modifying the design. It may just be something simple that you can fix.

I've seen L&L that work fine and I've seen others with problems. I seem to watch the operators and how they function before a blame any machine. Usually its the operator ....

[avogunner]

A question for the progressive user;
How do you deal with the lubed rounds when you're done loading? What I mean by that is.... if say, you were going to load up a bunch of 5.56, you are probably going to spray your brass with an aerosol type lube (Hornady One Shot for example), dump in your case feeder, and then get busy. Now when you're done loading, don't the cases still have the lube on them? How do you get it off? You certainly wouldn't wipe each round individually, especially if you just loaded a few hundred. Also, I also prefer to brush out and lube (mica) the inside of the case necks, do you guys do that prep also?
Thanks for your thoughts.

[Bonz]

I use the Hornady One Shot lube and it works great. It actually dries at some point. If you spray too much on the cases, they will end up with a wax like feel to them. I have read on other posts that a lot of members actually tumble the finished rounds in just corn cob to remove any excess lube. I use a lot less lube now but still enough to ease thru the reloading process.

[Lloyd Smale]

I load my 223 in two stages. Im one that believes in trimming after every shot for ammo used in an ar so i do this. I set up one of my lock and loads with a sizing die and my dillon trimmer. I size, decap, reprime then trim. with the case feeder it goes fast. Then i tumble all the sized cases. then i set up another lock and load to charge the cases and seat bullets. I do 500 to a 1000 at a time and have found this to be a pretty effiecient way to do it. I have many times though tumbled loaded rounds and have never had a problem doing it.

[Advil]

My Hornady LNL is my first progressive press and I like it a lot. I discovered that the OAL is more consistent when you keep brass in all five stations. I don't use the priming system only because I prefer to hand prime during my case inspection process. I use a small piece of tape on the case loader drop tube to keep the cases from falling off when they drop down on the ramp in front of the pusher. Been contemplating making a guardrail to keep the brass case in place until it moves to station #1.

Ahhhh Bonz, I can tell you really do use that LnL AP. :) Yep it's slightly more consistent on OAL if all the positions are filled. I also try to keep the shell plate more firmly level by using an additional oversize washer on top.

We are way north of 100,000 38spl loaded on ours and the first primer shuttle still hasn't quite worn completely out yet though the hole is decidedly oblong after so many primers fed. We are only on our 2nd shell plate spring (they don't break unless you nick them when your remove and reinstall them), and 2nd set of brass teeth (palls) for the shell plate. The thing is a beast and has been an amazing investment. The powder thrower has been totally inhuman. I think we have only needed to tweak the throw a couple of times in all that time (it only drifted about 1/10th gr... likely due to powder lots changing density over several years).

So I have nothing against Dillon, but man... for bulk pistol loading I can't imagine anything better than the LnL AP.

I have no opinion on the case feeder, don't have one. It's so easy to load cases I still don't see a need even after 100k rounds.

[M Hicks]

A question for the progressive user;
How do you deal with the lubed rounds when you're done loading? What I mean by that is.... if say, you were going to load up a bunch of 5.56, you are probably going to spray your brass with an aerosol type lube (Hornady One Shot for example), dump in your case feeder, and then get busy. Now when you're done loading, don't the cases still have the lube on them? How do you get it off? You certainly wouldn't wipe each round individually, especially if you just loaded a few hundred. Also, I also prefer to brush out and lube (mica) the inside of the case necks, do you guys do that prep also?
Thanks for your thoughts.

For my 223 I lube them and throw them in the case feeder and size/decap. Then they go into the SS tumbler. After that I hand prime the cases and put them into the case feeder when ready to load and go to town.

I have had a few instances with the primer feeder that either missed picking up a primer, inverted one or sent one in sideways. That is my reason for handpriming.

[TMSCU]

I bought my LNL last January and have had zero problems with it. It is a fantastic progressive press. I did make a very simple modification to keep the cases from sometimes bouncing off the guide plate and falling off the press when using the case feeder. I taped a large paper clip to the front of the bottom aluminum drop tube with electrical tape, then used wire cutters to cut the bottom loop off the paper clip. This left two prongs (pointed downward) that will guide the case onto the guide plate when it falls through the drop tube. (The prongs slow the dropping case down abit so it does not bounce.)

Trim it to a length with the wire cutters that just barely allows the prongs to not touch the guide plate when the handle is pulled down. You can bend the paperclip abit backwards or spread it apart to adjust for different cases. Once you have it adjusted it works like a charm and you do not need to put tape on the side of the guide plate as some have suggested to keep cases from falling off. 380, 9mm, 45acp, 38 special, 223, 30-06 will all work with the same adjustment to the prongs. I'm sure other cases will work the same.