Primer Runout ?

[glock7]

I've always loaded single stage. Just ordered a LNL AP.

How do you, what is the best system to detect when to switch / refill primer magazine. I know you are supposed to "feel" the pimer seat when operating the handle, seems after the fact, I know there is a better way.

Thanks

[Micah]

One better way would be to pick up a Dillon from Brian. My 550 has a little buzzer that lets me know when it's time to reload.

[DanM]

One better way would be to pick up a Dillon from Brian. My 550 has a little buzzer that lets me know when it's time to reload.

I just got a 650 from Brian for xmas. I wish that tube were a lot longer

[DougCarden]

You might be able to order one of the Dillon primer early warning buzzers and retrofit it to your new press. I dont know anything about the Hornady and if it handles primers in the tube you should be able to do it.

Good luck,

DougC

[ihatepickles]

Dillon's use a long thin plastic rod on top of the primer column that hits a buzzer when the primers are almost gone. I doubt the buzzer mechanism would fit the Hornady but the plastic rod probably would. A few minutes measuring and trimming to rod would give you a visual indicator (if you remembered to look) that your primers were low.

On my Dillon I can feel the primer seat very well so it's easy enough. The buzzer is best though because on the Dillon by the time you feel the primer not seat, it's 15 or so handle strokes to queue up more primers. Not exactly conducive to fast loading when you're messing with that.

[Sparky_NY]

I have a Hornady LNL progressive. I put a dillon powder checker on it and the primer warning buzzer. They were very simple to install, nearly a bolt on. For the powder checker I had to drill a hole in the toolhead for the actuator rod to touch the shellplate but it was very easy to do.

As a alternative, a small wooden dowel inserted into the primer tube provides a easy visual indication of how many primers are left. (my prior method).

[glock7]

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll probably try a wooden dowel for now, possibly migrate to something more sophisticated later.

[DougCarden]

Call Dillon and order a primer tube plastic piece, dont use the wooden dowel. You do not want a lot of weight on the primers. If you accidently drop the dowel in the primer tube you could have a Kaboom...it aint pretty.... There is a reason that the engineers use a light plastic piece for the primer tube......

DougC

[Sparky_NY]

Call Dillon and order a primer tube plastic piece, dont use the wooden dowel. You do not want a lot of weight on the primers. If you accidently drop the dowel in the primer tube you could have a Kaboom...it aint pretty.... There is a reason that the engineers use a light plastic piece for the primer tube......

DougC

We are talking a 1/8" dowel here, about a foot long. The weight difference is a joke. In fact, it would not surprise me if plastic was heavier. The reason the "engineers" used the plastic piece was no doubt so it could be injection molded with the knob on the end.

We are talking about the weight of 5 round toothpicks here ! LOL

[Canuck-IL]

One better way would be to pick up a Dillon from Brian

it's that kind of herd mentality that keeps the state of the art from advancing...a rod atop the stack works fine....so does loading in batches (what, you don't sort by headstamp and inspect at the same time!!).

/Bryan

[Resq47]

FWIW, I actually couldn't come up with a narrow enough dowel for my LNL AP, so I used a long pipe cleaner. Long meaning AR15 gas tube type... Anything heavier for me snarled up the feed.

[Sparky_NY]

FWIW, I actually couldn't come up with a narrow enough dowel for my LNL AP, so I used a long pipe cleaner. Long meaning AR15 gas tube type... Anything heavier for me snarled up the feed.

Nice !! "They" say its good practice to occasionally clean the inside of primer tubes to remove residue. Your killing two birds with one stone. Dowels as small as 1/8 are hard to find. Hobby shops are the best source. I also found too heavy a rod would hinder feeding.

Also at hobby shops are brass tubes which I bought in 3ft lengths, cut into 3 pieces, make a small slit at the end with a dremel cutoff wheel, squeeqe slightly, drill a tiny hole at the other end and you have primer pickup tubes for under a buck each. The small clips to hold/release the primers are the same exact thing as the pins used to hold R/C car bodies in place. I now have a dozen tubes each for small and large.

Edited March 4, 2007 by Sparky_NY

[Resq47]

Yeah, the only other thing I had was brass rod, and that was also too heavy. I had that thought about cleaning schmutz, but that's only a happy accident with what I had on hand.

Professionally, I'm not aware of anyone being seriously injured by pipe-cleaner frag

[acrashb]

To add my .02, I use a 1/8 wooden dowel with a nut taped to the end. With the dowel trimmed right, I can tell when there's only one primer left, use it up and dump another 100 in. And yeah, the wood is lighter than the Dillon plastic rod (I had one of those earlier).