Does Anyone Here Reload On A Hornady Lock-n-load Ap?

[Bill T]

Here is the deal. In the late Summer or early Fall I'm going to a dedicated progressive press for .223/5.56MM. I am more governed by avaliable space, than I am cost. At present I've got 2 progressive presses for metallic reloading, both Dillon's. A Square Deal, (.44 Mag.), and an older RL-450 with manual powder charging and priming that I've had since the early 80's. It has served me well, and still does, but Dillon doesn't make shell plates for it anymore. I can "convert" it to a RL-550B, but that will cost more than it's worth, so I'm afraid one of them will have to go because I just don't have enough bench space to support another press. The 3 I'm considering are the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP, the Dillon 650, or the Dillon Super 1050. All 3 are quite large, and have a large footprint so like it or not, I may have to get another bench, and make room for it somehow. If I go with either the Hornady or the Dillon 650 I'll get the case feeder to optimize efficiency. I like the strength of the Hornady, (it doesn't have the large cutout to accommodate the tool heads), and I really like Hornadys powder measure setup far more than Dillons which are kind of cheap die cast and don't meter really fine ball powder well. (I've had trouble with both of my Dillon measures). They were very good replacing both with their excellent guarantee, but that doesn't make up for it's design. As far as the presses themselves the Dillon Super 1050 is no doubt the best, but it's also the most complicated. I do like the fact the 1050 primes on the upstroke, and takes care of swaging primer pockets in military brass that I will no doubt be reloading at some point. I would like to hear from anyone who loads on a Hornady Lock-N-Load on what you think of it. Bill T.

[XD Niner]

I bought a Hornady L-N-L in July of last year. I fiddled with that sucker for two months with numerous calls to their tech support. I never could get it to run consistently. I think the record was something in the range of 60 rounds before a failure of some sort.

I did like the powder feed system along with the bushing approach. However, since it was totally unreliable I sold it on e-Bay after two months of near total frustration.

I then bought an XL-650 from Brian, set it up and went to work. It functioned way, way better from the start in the exact same working area and environment. I bought the casefeeder and can now easily turn out 10 rounds per minute of any of the three calibers I reload on it (9mm, .38 Super and .45ACP). Dillon's support has been outstanding.

IMHO, there is simply no comparison between the Hornady unit and the XL550B or XL650. Go with either of the Dillon's you are considering and forget the Hornady.

[5Shot]

I have the AP and have loaded thousands of rounds of 45 and 223 on it, and have no complaints.

I don't have a Dillon and have never used one, so I can't comment there. For me, the Hornady just seemed an easier setup (I looked at both at the SHOT Show one year), and would handle big magnums for less money (although in the end I still do those on a single stage).

I can't necessarily comment on the failure rate, as I don't keep a log of it, but I can load 400+ rounds per hour in 45 (I have the case feeder), which for me seems quite reasonable.

Dillon is more popular by a 50:1 margin though.

5Shot

[raz-0]

The hornady has it's pluses and minuses.

Pros:

-depriming is clean and lets you keep your spent primers contained very easily.

-VERY rigid frame and toolhead.

-Powder measure rocks, especially with the micrometer insert. Very consistent charges.

-Changing calibers is very fast, and changing primer size isn't too bad.

-although people bitch about the retainer spring it makes it VERY easy to ppop a case out and back in wheneveryou want.

Cons:

-The ejection wire. It pretty much requires a lot of fiddling to get it right.

-The thing isn't too smooth using lee dies, and and if you use the factory crimp in the last stage, you are going to have to grind on the die to make it work nicely.

-the shell plate works itself loose no matter what after time, so you have to retighten it. So rigidity in the toolehad is probably made up for in the shell plate.

I've loaded about 9-10k rounds of .45, 3k rounds of 9mm, and 4k rounds of .40 on mine.

When it was new, I'd basically retighten the shell plate every time i reloaded the primer tube. Now that it is broken in and I have a better feel for the thing, it only needs it every 700-1000 rounds.

I've seen a number of people griping about getting it to work right, but they all seem to have newer presses than mine. I just loaded 1000 .40 rounds about a week ago, and in 1000 rounds, I had to tighten the shellplate once, and I had one primer that did not want to behave that caused me to have to finesse the primer system a bit. I also crushed two cases that were just not going to be saved by the resizing die.. but that's the brass, not the press.

If it had a better ejection system, and a more fool-proof shell plate retaining mechanism, I'd say it would be the equal of the 650 with the exception of the aftermarket accesories where the dillon is concerned. Since the price gap has shrunk between the two, I'd be more inclined to go dillon these days.

For loading large quantities of 5.56, I'm told the 1050 is the king. But have no experience with one. It's out of my price range.

[jeffham222]

I know I am being sacreligious here (sorry Brian), but I have an RCBS Pro 2000. I am new to reloading (only about 1500-2000 rounds, but for what it's worth...), but the thing functions outstanding. Any screwups while reloading have been my fault. Customer service is also awesome, in my experience. I have heard the Pro 2000 is a press you have to really tweak with in order to get it to "run right" compared to other presses (esp. the 650). Well, I guess it's better I learn on something that takes more time to know exactly what I am getting into instead of doing something and NOT know how to or why, right?

I have a friend who has the 650B ("B"--right?), and I will say that there are features on that that I like above my RCBS--I can reload with both hands at the same time (put a bullet on one case with my left and put a fresh case in with my right), and the priming system seems a bit more to my liking. My friend who is pretty experienced (20 years of reloading) and has had his 650 upgraded numerous times, has said that there are things he likes about my RCBS too--the spring that keeps the case in the shell holder is better, and he doesn't have to change out the powder measure for different calibers (though this may be to his own laziness and/or anal retentivity), which on a Dillon costs what, like $50-$75 a pop?

If this RCBS ever craps out, or I get more money, I'll be part of the Dillon club too. To me that ongoing debate really seems like a "ford vs chevy" all over again, they're both good, but you have people on either side for one reason or another won't accept a good comment about the other. And that's just BS.

[Bill T]

If I could still get shellplates and retaining pins for my old RL-450, I could simply purchase the Hornady Lock-N-Load Powder Measure System, and install it on my RL-450. I would then have automatic powder charging with a better measure, and wouldn't have to by another press. At least not yet. Bill T.

[mike cyrwus]

Myself and another guy here, 1911user, did some fairly intensive testing on the merits and pitfalls of the LnL AP, and had them side by side with dillons, a 550 and 650.

If youre a tinkerer, and like to load, say maybe 50-100 of a caliber at a time, then the LnL isnt all that bad.

But If you need to crank out massive quanities, like 1k at a sitting, the 650 is without peer.

1911user should be by in a little with his cut and paste reply to this issue he gives to the gun boards.

[1911user]

If I could still get shellplates and retaining pins for my old RL-450, I could simply purchase the Hornady Lock-N-Load Powder Measure System, and install it on my RL-450. I would then have automatic powder charging with a better measure, and wouldn't have to by another press. At least not yet. Bill T.

The RL-450 uses the same shellplates, powder funnel, and locator buttons as the 550B. I started with one and upgraded it to a 550 configuration. You'd be wise to add the auto-eject upgrade and either the auto primer or auto powder upgrade as a minimum. Doing both operations manually make reloading real exercise.

It is possible that you have a 450 jr. dillon press which I have not used but IIRC it was closer to the current square deal B in that it used smaller, proprietary dies.

Loading 223 on the LNL-AP should work OK, but a small percentage of the loaded rounds will jam in the shellplate instead of ejecting. The main weakness in the press is case ejection and there are no easy fixes; it also affects crimp die selection. It's not so bad with larger cases, but 9mm and/or 380 case ejection is a real problem. I had 15-20% ejection jams loading 9mm even after tuning the ejector wire. I'm tired from almost a year of internet fighting about the LNL-AP and hornady QC issues. I just enjoy using a dillon 550 again and keep quiet. That is unless a new reloader is convinced they need to reload 9mm on the LNL-AP (gotta have those free bullets...) then I send a private message on how to research the press issues. I'm to the point that I just want to load ammo instead of working on the press. If you want a real details about the LNL-AP, look at my posts on glocktalk. I was at the decision/breaking point to sell the press and detailed all of the issues.

Edited March 25, 2007 by 1911user

[wide45]

Since you would be getting the case feeder anyway, just step up to the 1050.

It does not use a strong mount, so footprint is less than you might think.

You are just loading .223 with no plans to change calibers.

No brainer. If you can pry loose the cash, 1050 all the way.

[nb forrest]

I have a lnl ap and I have had no problems at all.

[Bill T]

The RL-450 uses the same shellplates, powder funnel, and locator buttons as the 550B.

I just found that out today. I was told some time back they wouldn't interchange. I may do as you suggest, simply upgrade the prime and powder drop. I love my old RL-450. It's built like a tank. How many presses come with a die cast metal spent primer catcher? Bill T.