Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Charge

[cricco]

Anybody got one? I just ordered mine tonight. Most of the reviews I have read give this unit very positive ratings.

[cricco]

Nobody has one of these? Well, I will be sure to post a thorough review as soon as I get a chance to try it out. :)

[ihmsakiwi]

Nobody has one of these? Well, I will be sure to post a thorough review as soon as I get a chance to try it out. :)

Hi Cricco<

I have a LNL progressive but I am unsure as to what you are refferring to.
I have a number of rotors so I do not ever need to reset charge weights for all calibers I load which is a huge advantage. Please explain what this "auto charge" is please? Peter

[gefiltephish]

It's a powder scale dispenser. See Here (http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/shot-show-report-hornady-unveils-new-autocharge-powder-scaledispenser/)

[cricco]

It's a powder scale dispenser. See Here (http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/shot-show-report-hornady-unveils-new-autocharge-powder-scaledispenser/)


Correct. It is a powder scale/dispenser combination. It is brand new this year from Hornady. It seems to be better than the RCBS from what I have read. I'm still waiting for mine to be delivered.

[1hole]

Not that it matters but saying "Lock-N-Load" for Hornady tools is redundant now, it seems most everthing Hornady sells is a "Lock-N-Load" something. It was first applied to their quick-change die inserts and that had meaning. But the marketing people are clearly nuts over the term. Its now used so often it no longer has any meaning, just a sells gimmick.

[noylj]

Should not have check weights on outside. They should, at least, be away from the oils and grit in the reloading area.
General note: Should really keep them under desiccant and NOT handle with bare fingers.
I like having more of a spout on the drain than RCBS came with.
I have the ChargeMaster and love it. I assume that all the units are probably made by the same factory (or they sure copy really well).

[dale2242]

I just got my Hornady LnL Auto scale and dispenser. I`ve used it a couple of times and really like it. I think you will be happy with it....dale

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`m with Cricco, waiting on delivery of mine.Robert

[cricco]

Okay. I got mine today. I used it to load up some 30-06 and .270 win loads. Here are my initial observations:

The good.....

1) Seems to be of decent quality. Made of plastic, but that's expected.
2) Pretty easy to set up, though I had a small issue with calibrating it. The directions weren't really clear for me. Maybe I'm just not that bright?
3) Dispenses powder accurately. I checked weights against my RCBS 5-0-5 scale, and it seems to be within .1 grain.
4) Dispenses pretty quickly.

The Bad.....

1) Unit did dispense .1 grain over on several occassions when set to "normal" speed. Setting to "slow" seems to help, but slows the unit down considerably.

2) On the rare occassion that the unit dispenses too much powder, it will show "OVER" on the display. this is good, except that I have to shut the unit off and turn it back on when it does this. If I don't, it will lock up, and won't do anything. I will contact Hornady about this issue.

UPDATE: I spoke with Hornady regarding the "OVER" display issue. Apparently, I was pressing the wrong button. I needed to press "Enter" to clear the over code.

3) The powder drain tube is a great idea, but you really have to tip the unit on it's side and shake it to ensure that you get all the powder out of the resevoir. I also have to shake the last couple grains out of the dispenser tube.

Overall, I am happy with this unit. I do need to contact Hornady to find out if mine is defective, or if there is a chinese incantation that will clear the "OVER" display issue. I paid $230 from Graf & Sons, and for the money, I think this unit will serve me well, as long as it holds up over time.

[noylj]

Don't shake it. With unit off, I tip mine on its side occasionally.
On my RCBS unit, I simply turn the unit sideway, place the powder bottle with funnel under the drain, and open the drain. When most of the powder is out, I take and brush the insides clean, sweeping the powder to the drain. I then turn on the unit, set it to dispense a large amount of powder (say 99 grains) and dispense, this empties out the trickler tube. At this point, there should be no powder left in the unit. If there is, I take the bruh and sweep it out. I put a small brush into the drain and try to sweep any powder out. Finally, I blow air into the unit to blow any powder out. It sounds complicated, but it is easy and quick to do.
The biggest mistake you can make (I know) is to forget to close the drain and pour in a bunch of powder...
You should be able to hit a cancel/pause button to unfreeze the unit. Also, as I understand, most of the new units will allow you to set when the unit goes from quick pouring to slow trickle. On my unit, it just takes a couple of dispensing runs for the unit to self-correct. The new ones permit you to set and subtract 0.2gn from the point where it goes into trickle mode, so it won't over-shoot.
Also, you can't use your other measure to verify this one, all you can do is see if they agree—you can't determine which is correct. You need at least 1 class 1 check weight to verify the weight to ±0.1gn, and those weights cost $50 and up per weight.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I just knew I would use those check weights I had back in college for chemistry classes. Now I just have to remember where I put them for safe keeping and more than a few moves.Robert

[kfarm]

Thanks for the review, I've been holding off on getting one think I'll supprise the wife and put it on the card.

[Bradley]

Mine works just fine. I do set the charge a few tenths of a grain below what I want. Then it if throws just slightly too much there is no problem. If it doesn't I just trickel in the difference.

[zband]

Im thinking about ordering one - how does it do with lesser amounts say under 5 grains, for 9mm loads?



For those people observing that their unit is over charging- I have read that if you elevate the front of the unit it fixes the problem. Apparently, the reviews state that its the last bit of grains that fall out of the dispenser tube after the unit has stopped that leads to the over charges. Raising the front helps.

Again its just what I had read so take it with a grain of salt!