Quick Kudos to Hornady

[osteodoc08]

First of all, theyve updated their greeting and include some funny banter. Glad to see (hear?) that back.

Took me all of 5 minutes to get my lock n load promotion back ordered bullets switched to something else and a few small parts.

They are sending me a new small and large slide primer assembly, a new spindle assembly on a 223 die I broke on an off center flash hole, a small plastic piece I dont recall the name off and a new retention spring. No questions asked. Cool.

Just relating my experience. They may change my mind on Hornady stuff as I was soured on an out of spec 45 acp die that caused me grief earlier on. That was remedied, but still.

[1911KY]

Did you switch to a different caliber on your back order? I asked if they would switch my 185 gr to 230 gr and they said they aren't doing any swaps on the promotional bullets.

[osteodoc08]

Did you switch to a different caliber on your back order? I asked if they would switch my 185 gr to 230 gr and they said they aren't doing any swaps on the promotional bullets.

I switched to their 9mm promotional bullet.

[DR Owl Creek]

...

They are sending me a new small and large slide primer assembly, a new spindle assembly on a 223 die I broke on an off center flash hole, a small plastic piece I dont recall the name off and a new retention spring. No questions asked. Cool.
...


I HATE those off-center flash holes!!!

I've been using mostly Hornady equipment, e.g. presses, dies, etc. for at least 11 years, and that's always been my experience too. Every time I've called Hornady's customer service department, they've always sent everything I asked for, free of charge.

The only real problem I've ever had was with a Hornady 45 ACP sizing die that developed a problem back in 2012, after about 7 years of really heavy use, not by just me, but also from a number of my friends who I let use my loading equipment too. I've posted about what happened elsewhere, so I won't do it again here. Hornady quickly replaced that sizing die free of charge.

While I was on the phone taking to the Hornady tech about that die, I also asked about upgrading my older style Hornady AP L-N-L press to the newer style "ezject" cartridge ejector. The rep told me if I would send the press in to them, they would replace the old style "subplate" with the new style ezject subplate, along with replacing any other worn parts, and then return the press to me free of charge. The rep said the turn-around time would run about 6 weeks, so I never actually sent it back to them to take them up on their offer.

The only down side was that all of my old style shell plates would have to be modified by milling out the bottom of each one to work with the newer ezject subplate. They would do that for $10.00 each. The rep said the turn around time on that work would also run about 6 weeks.

I might take them up on the offer some time, but being able to use the new case feeders and bullet feeders on my AP L-N-L isn't that important to me right now. There really wasn't anything else on the press that needed repairing or replacing anyway. The bottom line is Hornady would have renovated my old press to basically like-new condition for very little investment on my part. I couldn't be happier with Hornady's customer service.

Dave

[osteodoc08]

I did call one time about some
parts and the rep said something to the effect that I sure have had a lot of small part issues....if I could reach through the phone.....

[prs]

I do not have one of their presses, yet. You got a pack of those case retainer springs, right? Are they prone to wear-out, or did you just manage to mangle one? Glad to hear they are good on customer service. I would probably want to "swap" whatever bullet to their largest one available, that way I get more lead to melt down into my own boolits ;-)

prs

[r1kk1]

I would probably want to "swap" whatever bullet to their largest one available, that way I get more lead to melt down into my own boolits ;-)

prs

Or sell them and buy lead.

r1kk1

[daniel lawecki]

They been good to me no bulls*** warranty. My grandson put a hurt on some parts told the truth offered to pay. Lady said no charge parts on the way. You can say what you want about Hornady they are stand up in my book.

[BK7saum]

They've been good to me, but when I upgraded to the ezject, it cost me about $89 for the upgrade and $80 to upgrade my shellplates.

I was a little put off at some of the charges but needed the conversion done as the wire ejector on my press wasnt working out very well.

[osteodoc08]

I do not have one of their presses, yet. You got a pack of those case retainer springs, right? Are they prone to wear-out, or did you just manage to mangle one? Glad to hear they are good on customer service. I would probably want to "swap" whatever bullet to their largest one available, that way I get more lead to melt down into my own boolits ;-)

prs

i managed to mangle it. I was trying to size 308 brass with a SB sizing die and the Shellplate lifted and smashed it. That's the first and last one I will try sizing on it. I'll stick to my rockchuker and Lyman turret for the heavy duty stuff.

[DR Owl Creek]

... You got a pack of those case retainer springs, right? Are they prone to wear-out, or did you just manage to mangle one? Glad to hear they are good on customer service...

prs

I don't think the cartridge retainer springs on the AP L-N-L are any more prone to fatigue, or wearing out, than any other type coil spring. The problem I've had is usually the result of having a primer not seated fully, and then locking up the press. The easiest way to un-do the jam is to back up the shell plate manually, and remove the offending piece of brass. This, however, can pinch the spring between the shell plate and the sub-plate, causing a kink in it. This eventually causes the retainer springs to break at that point.

For me, these high primers have usually been caused by either using military brass that's had the primer pockets swaged rather than reamed, off center flash holes, or some brands of brass (e.g. Sellior & Bellot) that seem to have tight primer pockets. The problem of high primers also seemed to be worse with Winchester primers than other brands. For me, I went with reaming primer pockets on military brass with crimped primers, instead of swaging them. I also try to use only CCI and Federal primers now too, and really haven't had to replace a cartridge retainer spring in at least a couple of years now.

I haven't had much of a problem with the primer system on my AP L-N-L either. Some brands of brass with tighter primer pockets can sometimes get little slivers of brass (either little semi-circles, or more) shaved off by the primer seater punch. These can eventually tie up the primer feed if they aren't brushed out periodically. The same thing can happen to the primer slide recess if you run out of primers, and spill powder on the top of the shell plate. A clean AP L-N-L is a happy AP L-N-L.

If you are one of those who insists on runing military rifle brass (especially .308/7.62 NATO) with the crimped primer pockets swaged out in you progressive press, with small-base dies, and some types of spray lube, the AP L-N-L may not be for you either. The same thing goes with some other cases like the 500 S&W. For me, processing these on a single stage press with either Hornady Unique case lube or Imperial sizing wax is enough fun.

Dave