Which dies in your Hornady LnL progressive

[fuzzysights]

I am thinking about getting a Hornady LnL to use for the "odd" calibers that I reload and leave the Dillon set up for my primary. The much less expensive changeover would be nice. My question is do you use Hornady dies (or any non-dillon) with the expander die seperate? Does this allow the powder measure to only need the new micrometer insert to switch over to a different caliber? I am used to the Dillon method but that would require resetting the ptx every changeover.

[highxj]

Not really. You may have to drop a different bushing in the drop tube, for example if switching from rifle to pistol. At any rate, you'll still have to adjust the measure height to correct the metering drum rotation since it's adjustment is based on case length.

The only way to do a quick adjustment-free swap like you're after is to purchase additional powder dies for each cartridge you're loading, then have extra metering inserts for the powder measure.....

I am thinking about getting a Hornady LnL to use for the "odd" calibers that I reload and leave the Dillon set up for my primary. The much less expensive changeover would be nice. My question is do you use Hornady dies (or any non-dillon) with the expander die seperate? Does this allow the powder measure to only need the new micrometer insert to switch over to a different caliber? I am used to the Dillon method but that would require resetting the ptx every changeover.

[PopPop]

I've used other brands of dies, RCBS and Lee mostly, with great results. The .40 PTX worked OK after a fair amount of trial and error adjustments but it would still trash 2-3 cases per 100. I eventually pulled it out and I use the expander from the 4 die Lee set in station 2. It seems to provide a better bell on the case for lead bullets and the press seems to cycle smoother. The powder dies that highxj mentioned do save some adjustmenting when changing calibers. I don't use the micrometer insert as I find the standard powder measure inserts are as easy to adjust as the Dillon bars and cheap enough to kep a few extras set for various charge weights. I also like the snap-in powder measure drain attachment.

[BallisticianX]

Though any standard 7/8"-14 dies will install on the LnL, not all dies due to there qualities and designs work. I use Hornady Dies in my LnL. I had used some sets of RCBS and Lyman previously. The problem with Lyman dies are they lack enough chamfer on the entry of the sizing die carbide. It makes for quite the hassle because the case HAS to line up with the die perfectly, we all know that is not usually the case! So many times in the loading session the die hits the case mouth edge stopping the press stroke dead. I'm not a fan of Lyman Dies for reasons other than this anyway. As far as RCBS dies, they have too much left to be desired when it comes to quality control. The sizing die does not size enough for auto loader use. The seating dies are not true on center in relation to the inside bore to seating stem. I failed alot of "RCBS" loaded rounds in the chamber checker. The Hornady dies size down correctly and leave a smoother surface from there Titanium Nitride insert. This smoother finish aids in magazine advance and feeding. The Seating die has a sliding alignment sleeve matched with a floating seating stem, same basic design as Redding and Forster competition rifle/pistol seating dies. I get very concentric reloads out of them and rarely do they fail in my chamber checkers. You will want to use the separate expander die and the standard (supplied) powder through tubes in the LnL. The Hornady powder through expanders are a poor design. They do not have enough taper profile to give you a "flaring" case mouth. They use a slightly oversized straight insert and open up case walls. They stick bad and cause battering on the powder measure. Not to mention results in shaving of lead or copper when you seat lead or plated bullets. But the Hornady expander die is a well designed tapered plug to flare the mouths without expanding the case walls. I dont know why they are different. I called them about it and the guy in there warranty dept. didn't understand why the engineers didn't use the same design on both. I was told they were going to release a "lead bullets" powder through expander to improve the design. The last I heard they shelled the project due to lack of demand for any of there powder through expanders. Hope this helps you out.

[CocoBolo]

Hornady are very good dies and work well in the LNL. I have also used Dillon and Lee in the Hornady press, they work as well in the LNL as they do in the XL650 Dillon, that is not a recommendation for Lee die. I've had the sizing die issue, and corrected it by indexing the press correctly.

I've only used RCBS in .223 Rem but it worked much better than the Lee that I broke.

On the powder measure issue, you can buy the Powder Quick change (bottom half of the powder case feed assembly) but for small runs of odds and ends is it worth it?

I have lots of powder measure inserts and switch them from caliber to caliber but the ptx adjustment as you call it is ususally about a minute. Keep in mind that LNL is not like the Dillon your not pushing primers out on the ski slope. Just ease a case under the powder measure then raise and adjust to preference.

I would be a lot more concerned about adjusting the Case feed than the powder measure. The bullet feeder has a different die for each caliber.

[rnbore]

I have primarily used Hornady dies on my LNL but I also have tried the RCBS and Lee with mixed results. I have an older moder (pre 7000 ser. #) with their brass feeder that has loaded 20,000+ rounds of various calibers. Currently on my 9mm major set-up I am running Hornady on the first two stations (decapper/sizer and bell dies because I have the old powder measure) then a Redding precision seating die and a Lee factory crimp/resizing die at the last station. When you have this set-up on the older machines the wire rod that ejects the completed round will have to be removed to avoid hitting the bottom of the last die. It's a simple matter to remove the completed round as you are reaching for the bullet to place on the brass after the powder drop.

I have also had indexing problems with the #8 shell plate but finally got that resolved with adjusting the paws ever so slowly. My first attempted set-up for 9mm major had a Lee undesized die for the first station (sizer/decapper) and I was experiencing misalignments and failures to feed because the Lee dies don't have enough on a flare on the bottom of the die. I fought this for quite some time but finally cured it by simply using the Hornady die that came with my set and when I checked the brass they were resizing to the same size that the "undersize" dies was and the wider flare solved that issue.

I'm a Hornady fan having used two generations of the LNL presses for more than 15 years. I have the newest style LNL on order with the brass and bullet feeder and will set that up for the 9mm that I am shooting more of and the older one will be for the .40 and .45's. I'm hoping that this will be somewhat comparable to the 1050 as far as production but about $600-700 cheaper. I'll let everyone know once I have it up and running and have worked out any kinks.

RNB

[Hans Gruber]

I run:

1: Dillon Sizer

2: Hornady LnL Powder Measure w/Powder Funnel

3: Hornady Powder Cop

4: Hornady Bullet Feed

5: Lee Bullet Seater/Crimp

All 9mm for the moment. I was running a Lee sizer for a long time, switched to a Dillon to see if I could squeeze out a few fewer chamber rejects and it worked. With random range brass I was getting almost a 10% "practice ammo reject" rate. Now I'm getting 2-3% rejects that go into the practice ammo bag.

[Mike in CT]

I run a set up much like Hans above.

1: U/EGW Sizer

2: Hornady LnL Powder Measure w/Powder Funnel

3: RCBS Powder Cop

4: Hornady Bullet seater

5: Lee FCD

I use this for my 40 S&W range brass and find that everything passed the case gauge, some with a little more force in the press than others. I recently noticed some cases were hard to seat the primer in, turns out they were Hornady Non Toxic and either have tight or crimped primers. They pass through but I know every time one does.

I am going to switch back over to 9mm and picked up a Hornady FCD just in case I have any case gauge issues as it has been awhile since I have loaded any 9mm

Mike

[Warhammer4k]

I am thinking about getting a Hornady LnL to use for the "odd" calibers that I reload and leave the Dillon set up for my primary. The much less expensive changeover would be nice. My question is do you use Hornady dies (or any non-dillon) with the expander die seperate? Does this allow the powder measure to only need the new micrometer insert to switch over to a different caliber? I am used to the Dillon method but that would require resetting the ptx every changeover.

"Yes" to both.

The micrometer insert is great. While the numbers have no apparent correlation to any particular unit, I can write down the adjustment (e.g. 4 1/2 + 3.2) that dumps a given weight of powder, and it saves a lot of trial and error when I want to go back to that same drop weight later. I can drop far more than 10 grains of powder with the "Pistol" micrometer insert, which is more than sufficient for any of the cartridges I load on the Lock-n-Load (10mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP) with the powders I use (Bullseye, Blue Dot, Accurate #9).

I still end up fiddling with the knob and weighing 10-12 loads, just because I have a bit of OCD about powder charges. Especially when operating near max.

I use a veritable menagerie of die brands. For example, in 10mm stations are:

1) Hornady .40 S&W/10 mm Custom Grade New Dimension size die w/titanium nitride sizing ring

2) RCBS expander die

3) RCBS seat die

4) Case-activated powder drop

4) Lee .40 cal Factory Crimp Die. I have this one marked with Sharpie so that I can easily readjust it to taper crimp either 10mm or .40 S&W rounds.

Because the cartridges I load (.45 ACP, 10mm, .40 S&W) are all close to the same case height, I do not need to adjust the powder drop station at all when switching over.

I also have an EGW U-die in .40 S&W/10mm size, but I stopped using it because I didn't like what it did to my 10mm brass. It is basically just a modified Lee carbide size die,

You do have to be careful of one thing: Some Lee die sets won't work in the LnL AP. I think it had to do with not being able to lower the seat die enough to seat without crimping, as I like to do. There is less threading on the die body on some Lee dies compared to other brands, so you don't have quite as large a range of vertical adjustment. The Lock-n-Load bushing raises the die an additional 1/8" or so with respect to the shell plate, so sometimes you come up short with Lee dies. I had that problem with a Lee .40 S&W/10mm die set, so much so that I returned it & bought the Hornady Custom Grade New Dimension set (really nice dies, FWIW).

I haven't had this problem with Hornady, RCBS, or Redding dies. They have a generous enough length of threading on the die body that I can use them in either my Lock-n-Load AP, or my Lock-n-Load-converted Rockchucker.

Hope this helps.

[MrVvrroomm]

I am running all Lee dies. I had a fairly vast array of them prior to purchasing my LNL AP

[3gunfun]

I am running all Hornady dies for 9mm .40 and .45, with a case feeder.

1. Size and decap

2. Flare

3. Powder Measure

4. Bullet Seat and Crimp

And of course I visually check EVERY cartridge before I set the bullet on the case to seat it.

[vwynn]

Hornady New Dimension Dies

1). Size deprime

2). Powder + Universal Expander for LNL

3). Powder cop

4). Seat (with no crimp)

5). Lee FCD.

Done!

[ben b.]

I think I'm around 60K reloads now,

In my LnL AP for .40 & .45:

1. Lee/EGW U die

2. Hornady PTX/Hornady Powder drop

3. Hornady Powder Cop

4. Hornady seating die

5. Hornady taper crimp die

The PTX works fine for me in lead, plated & jacketed. No shaving, no crushed cases, no hassles. Case gauge failure rate is about 1-2%.

In 9mm:

1. Lee/EGW U die

2. Powder funnel/Hornady Powder drop

3. Hornady Powder Cop

4. Hornady seating die

5. Hornady taper crimp die

The powder funnel works better with the short 9mm cases than the .357 PTX did for me. When I used the PTX in 9mm, I had to adjust the powder drop threaded shank to get enough push for proper case mouth flare with lead bullets. Case gauge failure rate is about 1-2%.

In .38 Spcl:

1. RCBS sizing/decap

2. Hornady .357 PTX/Hornady Powder drop

3. Hornady Powder Cop

4. RCBS seating die with roll crimp

The RCBS work fine for me. Case gauge failure rate is about 2-3%. The only reason I used these RCBS insterad of Hornady is that a shooting buddy sold some for cheap.

Edited April 20, 2011 by ben b.

[roadapple]

I'm a Hornady fan having used two generations of the LNL presses for more than 15 years. I have the newest style LNL on order with the brass and bullet feeder and will set that up for the 9mm that I am shooting more of and the older one will be for the .40 and .45's. I'm hoping that this will be somewhat comparable to the 1050 as far as production but about $600-700 cheaper. I'll let everyone know once I have it up and running and have worked out any kinks.

RNB

Yes, please let us know the results of the new configuration, especially the production rate as compared to the 1050. On a side note, have you had any problems with any of your LNL's failing to seat the primers below flush? If so, how did you correct the problem? I sure appreciate all the information.