Faulty press & SD/ES

[ronemus]

Youll appreciate getting away from the lnl bushings is my main thing

I would miss my LNL bushings in a big way - they make changing dies a snap. I would get really annoyed at having to screw they dies in and out. I find that the LNL bushings maintain the setup well - I've never found any slop or drift in my setup. I load for 4 calibers, so I switch dies a lot, especially because I load a day or two prior to a range trip; I don't keep a large supply of loaded ammunition on hand.

I minimize the effect of press imperfections by setting my dies so that I make hard contact between the die and ram at the top of the stroke (no cam-over). I adjust sizing the shoulder by using Redding Competition Shellholder sets and leave that shellholder in place for other operations. The exception to hard contact is seating with Forster Ultra Micrometer Seating dies - the spring the sliding sleeve works against stacks before the sleeve hits the die body; in this instance a sloppy press would produce inconsistent seating depths.

I've used my Hornady LNL Classic press for hundreds of thousands of operations over 25+ years, and have never found any variation attributable to the press. I lubricate an clean it (no disassembly) every few thousand rounds, so I have found no signs of wear and my ammunition is as consistent now as it was when I started.

I think presses from any of the major manufacturers (Hornady, Lyman, Redding, RCBS, Dillon, Forster) will work well, but I stay away from Lee because the quality of everything I bought from them is low. The Lee stuff can be used to make good ammunition, but the bad finish and sloppy mechanical fit don't exactly generate trust.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I would miss my LNL bushings in a big way - they make changing dies a snap. I would get really annoyed at having to screw they dies in and out. I find that the LNL bushings maintain the setup well - I've never found any slop or drift in my setup. I load for 4 calibers, so I switch dies a lot, especially because I load a day or two prior to a range trip; I don't keep a large supply of loaded ammunition on hand.

Id go broke buying bushings. I found myself unscrewing them anyway and after a while they get a lil slack in em and throws off the setup

 

[ronemus]

Id go broke buying bushings. I found myself unscrewing them anyway and after a while they get a lil slack in em and throws off the setup

I have LNL bushings that have been in service for 25+ years and the lockup is still toght after hundreds of thousands of operations. Bushings are much less expensive than dies, so the incremental cost doesn't bother me. If either half of the LNL bushing was to wear, it can be replaced for little money. I make my die setup right the first time, and have never had to change it, although I do use Redding Competition Shellholder sets to adjust shoulder bump.

I just happened to see a post with 17 male and 2 female bushings for $60; that's a real good deal. If I wasn't already full up with 3 extras I'd snap up that offer.

 

[drop_point]

Its really weird, and maybe there is user error in this somewhere but I never could diagnose it, but my RCBS Rockchucker Supreme started loading crooked ammo all a sudden several months back. I had used that thing for tens of thousands of rounds over the last fifteen or so years with never a problem.

I started to notice ammo I had recently loaded didn't shoot to nearly the precision of the ammo I loaded a year prior for hunting season with literally the same dies (with the same set-up), same components, etc. I thought it was the rifle. I tore the rifle apart and retorqued everything, bore-scoped it, cleaned it, the whole nine yards. Finally I put the rounds on the runout gauge to find some crazy 10 thou on the indicator. I re-set everything and loader more and the same thing...showing up after sizing. Then I went to some other rounds recently loaded for another gun, which also hadn't shot that great, but not terrible....same thing. I was baffled.

I set-up those dies in my progressive press, a LNL AP, and the runout went away and the rifles started to perform to their previous glory. I took the Chucker off the bench and noticed some uneven wear on the ram. I'm not sure if that was the culprit or not. It also dawned on me that one of my sons liked to "pretend" reload with me and would pull the handle on the press. I caught him hanging off the handle from time to time, so the handle was supporting 30-40 lbs. I don't know if that had anything to do with it.

I called RCBS and they said they would inspect and/or repair it if I shipped it in. I still haven't done it as I had plans to upgrade anyway, which I did, but curiosity has me wanting to see what the problem is.

 

[dstoenner]

Thank you all for your replies.

If the press has no or very little effect on the quality of hand load and or any effect on the ES/SD, then would it be fair to say higher dollar press is not worth the investment?

I was thinking of getting a Redding T-7 to replace the Hornady single stage LNL press. But sounds like "may" be OK with what I have. The Hornady LNL is the only pressed I have owned ever since I started about 3 years ago.

Actually on a single stage press comparison the hornady came in 1st oe 2nd in runout. I have one of the same presses and if i do my job of consistent brass prep coupled with well measured powder loads which are tuned to my rifle i get sd’s in the low single digit

David

 

[dstoenner]

I have LNL bushings that have been in service for 25+ years and the lockup is still toght after hundreds of thousands of operations. Bushings are much less expensive than dies, so the incremental cost doesn't bother me. If either half of the LNL bushing was to wear, it can be replaced for little money. I make my die setup right the first time, and have never had to change it, although I do use Redding Competition Shellholder sets to adjust shoulder bump.

I just happened to see a post with 17 male and 2 female bushings for $60; that's a real good deal. If I wasn't already full up with 3 extras I'd snap up that offer.

I replaced my LnL set up with a screw in insert. I found the LnL would slowly loosen in the mating bushing while sizing. Thereby giving inconsistent sizing. Since i have replaced that part of the set up i am rock solid on consistency.

David

 

[Chiquita]

Actually on a single stage press comparison the hornady came in 1st oe 2nd in runout. I have one of the same presses and if i do my job of consistent brass prep coupled with well measured powder loads which are tuned to my rifle i get sd’s in the low single digit

David

1st or 2nd in having the best (least run out) or having worst runout?

 

[Chiquita]

I replaced my LnL set up with a screw in insert. I found the LnL would slowly loosen in the mating bushing while sizing. Thereby giving inconsistent sizing. Since i have replaced that part of the set up i am rock solid on consistency.

David

I have noticed the same with my LNL. The quick release will loosen just a little smidge.

 

[dstoenner]

1st or 2nd in having the best (least run out) or having worst runout?

Best runout of the stroke

 

[divingin]

Id go broke buying bushings. I found myself unscrewing them anyway and after a while they get a lil slack in em and throws off the setup

I suspect most of the "slack" would be attributable to the O-ring hardening/compressing/wearing. Mine used to take a bit of pressure to get to the "rotate-to-lock" point. Now they're pretty much a drop-in-and-turn". Still feel the O-ring drag, so that's not a real big issue. In any case, your settings will be when the lugs are pressed tight (die pushed upwards) and the O-ring is at it's slackest.

The lugs themselves may wear, but that would be a pretty slow process, IMO.

 

[ebb]

No

 

[ronemus]

I suspect most of the "slack" would be attributable to the O-ring hardening/compressing/wearing. Mine used to take a bit of pressure to get to the "rotate-to-lock" point. Now they're pretty much a drop-in-and-turn". Still feel the O-ring drag, so that's not a real big issue. In any case, your settings will be when the lugs are pressed tight (die pushed upwards) and the O-ring is at it's slackest.

The lugs themselves may wear, but that would be a pretty slow process, IMO.

That agrees with my experience - none of my bushings have any apparent wear after decades of use.