My Hornandy LnL Purchase and Now Im Nervous

[mikey_golds]

Hey all, 

 

Been working insane hours with Covid and decided to treat myself to reloading equipment. I did A LOT Of research between Red vs Blue and value for the money vs time spent to work with the equipment to have it run like a beaut.

 

Decided on Red the LnL AP system. I attached a PDF of what I ordered. orderno=15869820.pdf

My goal was to cast my own bullets and powder coat the, as well for plinking, hence the melting pot, the molds etc.  --> Did I screw up ordering this Hornandy System if I want to use my own cast bullets? Am I missing something entirely, I already have a case trimmer, swage, chamfer and debur tool.

 

All advice would be extremely appreciated. 

[TeedOff]

I’ve had limited success with the Hornady bullet feeder dies and commercial powder coated bullets. The tolerance is pretty tight on the bullet feeder die collets. In order the get it to work somewhat I had to do some grinding to open up the collet. I’m sure this is a ymmv situation. The bullet feeder die is design for plated or jacketed bullets and works fine with those.

[mikey_golds]

Just now, TeedOff said:

I’ve had limited success with the Hornady bullet feeder dies and commercial powder coated bullets. The tolerance is pretty tight on the bullet feeder die collets. In order the get it to work somewhat I had to do some grinding to open up the collet. I’m sure this is a ymmv situation. The bullet feeder die is design for plated or jacketed bullets and works fine with those.

 

I cancelled my order till i learn some more

[TeedOff]

From: https://www.hornady.com/reloading/presses/lock-n-load-accessories/pistol-bullet-feeder#!/

 

"Pistol Bullet Feeder does not work with lead or plated bullets. Bullet feeder dies sold separately."

 

As I said above, it can be made to work somewhat reliably.  My best success was with SNS coated bullets.  Generally speaking, the LnL press works fine...I've got over 125K loaded on it.  The case feeder is really the key to getting productive with the press.  When I am loading coated bullets I find it less of a hassle to just put then on the case by hand.

SEE THE LOCK-N-LOAD^® CASE FEEDER

[MemphisMechanic]

18 minutes ago, mikey_golds said:

 

I cancelled my order till i learn some more

Go with a Dillon 650 and a mister bullet feeder. It’ll feed any bullet you want to load, and the press is much less frustrating than a red one.

[mikey_golds]

8 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

Go with a Dillon 650 and a mister bullet feeder. It’ll feed any bullet you want to load, and the press is much less frustrating than a red one.

 

my thing with the 650 was that you cant have a powder check then which as a newbie i think id like

[MemphisMechanic]

12 minutes ago, mikey_golds said:

 

my thing with the 650 was that you cant have a powder check then which as a newbie i think id like

With the 650 it’s extremely easy to see the powder charge... and if you aren’t placing bullets  on a 650, you have nothing to distract you from “pump the handle, look in the case, pump the handle, look in the case” rhythym.

 

Start by loading without the bulletfeeder until you get a feel for how to clear jams and get all the dies dialed in, then add an MBF.

[mikey_golds]

With the 650 it’s extremely easy to see the powder charge... and if you aren’t placing bullets  on a 650, you have nothing to distract you from “pump the handle, look in the case, pump the handle, look in the case” rhythym.
 
Start by loading without the bulletfeeder until you get a feel for how to clear jams and get all the dies dialed in, then add an MBF.

How tough is caliber change on the 650? That was a pro of hornandy and even if I just go deep end and go mark 7 caliber changes look like easy peasy

[MemphisMechanic]

10 minutes ago, mikey_golds said:

How tough is caliber change on the 650? That was a pro of hornandy and even if I just go deep end and go mark 7 caliber changes look like easy peasy

It’s not bad if you stick with the same primer size. Swapping from large to small primers isn’t hard... but is a bit irksome since the screws are annoyingly placed.

 

I’ve only ever loaded 9mm, so I’m cheating. Lol.

 

You’ll deal with more of a pain setting your bulletfeeder up for a new caliber than with the press itself.  
 

Edited April 15, 2020 by MemphisMechanic

[mikey_golds]

1 hour ago, MemphisMechanic said:

It’s not bad if you stick with the same primer size. Swapping from large to small primers isn’t hard... but is a bit irksome since the screws are annoyingly placed.

 

I’ve only ever loaded 9mm, so I’m cheating. Lol.

 

You’ll deal with more of a pain setting your bulletfeeder up for a new caliber than with the press itself.  
 

I think I’m gonna go with the mark 7 evolution. Their diet set and the bullet feeder. I like having a trimmer in the stage 

[donno]

I have had a 550, 650 and a LNL. I prefer the LNL to both Dillons I've had, I am one of the few that finds the Hornady smoother and easier to set up. The switch over between calibers is just as easy on the LNL as it was on the 650. The primer system on the LNL is way better than the 650 as far as I'm concerned. Much simpler design and no wasted primers. The powder drop seem to be about the same on both as far as consistency. Maybe a slight edge to the LNL. I have never used the Dillon warranty but you cant beat it if needed.

[DJRyan13]

1 hour ago, mikey_golds said:

I think I’m gonna go with the mark 7 evolution. Their diet set and the bullet feeder. I like having a trimmer in the stage 

 

Fantastic decision!

[TeedOff]

I think I’m gonna go with the mark 7 evolution. Their diet set and the bullet feeder. I like having a trimmer in the stage 

That escalated quickly. Nice choice.

[mikey_golds]

That escalated quickly. Nice choice.

Buy once. Cry once ?

[MemphisMechanic]

9 hours ago, mikey_golds said:

I think I’m gonna go with the mark 7 evolution. Their diet set and the bullet feeder. I like having a trimmer in the stage 

 

You were shopping Toyotas. Consequently I didn’t list a space shuttle as an option!

[DJRyan13]

41 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

You were shopping Toyotas. Consequently I didn’t list a space shuttle as an option!

I know I am going to piss off the couple Hornady fan boys by writing this but here goes...

 

but Toyotas are reliable!

[mikey_golds]

I know I am going to piss off the couple Hornady fan boys by writing this but here goes...
 
but Toyotas are reliable!

Well I been working my regular day job. Finance. Then my second gig is working with truck leasing for delivery partners. So the money on a space s#!t ain’t an issue it’s more I like getting value for my money. I felt the hornandy was. Like do I NEED to cast my own lead bullets - no but I think it’s a great experience

[RangerTrace]

2 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

You were shopping Toyotas. Consequently I didn’t list a space shuttle as an option!

I love my Toyota.......and my 1050!!

[RangerTrace]

1 hour ago, mikey_golds said:

Well I been working my regular day job. Finance. Then my second gig is working with truck leasing for delivery partners. So the money on a space s#!t ain’t an issue it’s more I like getting value for my money. I felt the hornandy was. Like do I NEED to cast my own lead bullets - no but I think it’s a great experience

If you can afford a Mark7, I don't think you need to waste your time casting lead bullets.  It might be good to know how if we ever have a total collapse of the Nation, but you work too much to waste time with that....

[MemphisMechanic]

@RangerTrace he obviously intends to do it as a hobby to decompress. Not because it’s necessary.

[mikey_golds]

[mention=13546]RangerTrace[/mention] he obviously intends to do it as a hobby to decompress. Not because it’s necessary.

Yeah and only for plinking rounds. Not for match ammo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MemphisMechanic]

@mikey_golds I get that. I’ve often thought it’d be fun to cast bullets if I had sufficient free time, and someone handed me the equipment for free.

[broadside72]

I have no real issues with my LnL AP but I use a Mr. BulletFeeder instead of the Hornady feeder. I do use the Hornady case feeder though. With dies, InlineFab upgrades, etc I am still less money into the equivalent Dillon setup. 

 

It took a few sessions to get all the components tuned to working together best, but now I can turn out ammo pretty fast, at least 9mm now that its setup for that. But that fine tuning applies to all presses, especially as you add more automation features. 

 

When I buy another press, I am torn between red and blue since I know red well and for the cost, but I do like the idea of more stations and full automation possibility of a 1050/1100 base system. Though I am not sure I really need that level of automation as I don't shoot that much to justify it.

 

[mikey_golds]

I have no real issues with my LnL AP but I use a Mr. BulletFeeder instead of the Hornady feeder. I do use the Hornady case feeder though. With dies, InlineFab upgrades, etc I am still less money into the equivalent Dillon setup. 
 
It took a few sessions to get all the components tuned to working together best, but now I can turn out ammo pretty fast, at least 9mm now that its setup for that. But that fine tuning applies to all presses, especially as you add more automation features. 
 
When I buy another press, I am torn between red and blue since I know red well and for the cost, but I do like the idea of more stations and full automation possibility of a 1050/1100 base system. Though I am not sure I really need that level of automation as I don't shoot that much to justify it.
 

I actually cancelled my LNL Press and working with Joe from Mark7 to build out a system. Buy once cry once and something that is modular seems well worth it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[broadside72]

20 minutes ago, mikey_golds said:

I actually cancelled my LNL Press and working with Joe from Mark7 to build out a system. Buy once cry once and something that is modular seems well worth it

 

I can understand that. I just can't justify the cost and setup time to me. I can't shoot enough ammo to break even for a decade