Hornady LNL Press

[bench]

Starting to do a little research on a Hornady press
Would like all the attachments such as bullet feeder and case feeder??
It must load for rifle cartridges 204.220 swift 223??
I have always weighed my powder and not sure about the powder drop method??
These cartridges will be used for Pairie dog shooting
Let me know what you think

Bench

 

[jkohler]

I've had a LNL progressive for five or more years. I've got the case feeder and a made up bullet feeder. I've only used it for pistol loading. In all honesty I've had to do a lot of work to get it to run worth a dam. Right out of the box everything needed to be deburid. The primer feeder had to be worked over some and polished really well to feed reliably at all. That's after I got the brake away primer set up from Hornady. Adding the case feeder and such adds a lot more machanical timing to the equation that will require tinkering to get it to work all together well. I will say Hornady was very good to work with on some problems. They will send out just about any parts needed to make it work. Seems all the progressive presses I've had want ever brand took some work to get them to reload smoothly weather it be for shot gun or pistol.

 

[bench]

JK
I have started to look at Hornady and dillon but just by the videos I have watched it seems the hornady looks a lot smoother in operation.
Any one that has used both give me your thoughts

 

[Fast14riot]

Cost to change caliber on the blue machines is higher, most say the red ones need some smoothing from the box. Nearly all progressives do though.

 

[LoganDon]

JK
I have started to look at Hornady and dillon but just by the videos I have watched it seems the hornady looks a lot smoother in operation.
Any one that has used both give me your thoughts

I purchased a Hornady LNL over 10 years ago and have never gotten it to work. My son purchased one and he could not get it to work. Both of us are engineers and know the mechanics of moving parts.

 

[bench]

Logan
Well I guess you wont be buying a third press for the third engineer in the family
Sorry could not resist-LOL
Thanks for your input

 

[jkohler]

I've got mine running pretty darn good. The reason I went with Hornady was the cost of caliber changeover vs a Dillon.

 

[Jdne5b]

I had a LnL that I used for Pistol and rifle. The casefeeder was almost pointless in 9mm. It worked decent in .45 and .223. I now use a Dillon 1050, which is in an entirely different league. I do still use a Hornady powder measure with it though.

I would suggest a Dillon 650, and Mr. Bulletfeeder. The Mr. Bulletfeeder blows the Hornady version out of the water.

 

[jlow]

Most people that reloads a lot go the Dillon route. I know a guy who started with the LNL, got big into competition shooting (3-gun master), ended up with three of them and still switched over to Dillon last year. Painful but he still did it. The Dillon are much more expensive but there is a reason why they still sell great.

 

[Barrel Nut]

A Hornady LnL is all I use and mine works perfectly with only a tiny bit of tuning up when I first got it. Years later, it has loaded many thousands of rounds with hardly any attention. I made a very inexpensive DIY auto case feeder.

I occasionally load plinking ammo using the auto powder dispenser and it works great plus or minus about .2 gr. and sometimes better than that. But normally, I use part of the stations to resize brass which I then clean and anneal. When I'm ready to load I make another pass to prime and final size the necks, then I weigh the powder charge, and finally use one station to seat bullets.

I have no complaints and I'd most likely buy another one. By the way, the ammo I produce frequently wins 600yd F-class and BR matches against shooters who are also very precise about their reloading procedures, so the Hornady LnL must be pretty good.

Of course, like any complicated mechanical device, if you're all thumbs you might not be happy with a progressive press. Not everyone has the background to understand how these things are supposed to work and what to do when they act up a little bit.

 

[Rsadams]

Have to add the +1 on the dillon.. Sure it's more expensive but it works and if it doesn't they have a no BS warrenty.. I was gona buy the hornady ap press but just decided to wait on the dillon. Time you add all the stuff to the hornady your getting close to the Dillon , price wise. I would rather pay more than have to tinker with it constantly.. There's a lot of videos on you tube on what to do to get the hornady to run.. I would still only use my rcbs single stage for my rifle reloads..

 

[crash]

I have loaded loaded with dillons since 1983. ive had 3 550's and one 650. cant beat the reloaders . any problems with parts and one call to Dillon and problem is solved . free of charge. very simple press to work on and make changes. get a 650 and a case and bullet feeder and you will never look back good luck. rich.

 

[Jeff A]

I have and use the Hornady LNL for pistol only. I have had my share of issues with primer feeding but finally decided to prime my cases the old fashioned way with my RCBS bench tool. I recently did a batch of .45's with the LNL press. It went like a dream. I do love the press.

FWIW, a friend of mine who lives in another state, recently decided to do the primers separately as well, without knowing I had made the change. He has a Dillon (550 I believe) and decided to make the change after his primer stack blew up for the second time. He was lucky and received only minor shrapnel to one arm. At least I never had that happen!

 

[Rsadams]

I have and use the Hornady LNL for pistol only. I have had my share of issues with primer feeding but finally decided to prime my cases the old fashioned way with my RCBS bench tool. I recently did a batch of .45's with the LNL press. It went like a dream. I do love the press.

FWIW, a friend of mine who lives in another state, recently decided to do the primers separately as well, without knowing I had made the change. He has a Dillon (550 I believe) and decided to make the change after his primer stack blew up for the second time. He was lucky and received only minor shrapnel to one arm. At least I never had that happen!

This is scary and it happens.. I clean all my primer pockets before so even if I was useing a progressive press I would just use my hand primer afterwards it really doesn't take that much time..
I have seen holes in roofs from primer tubes going off and that was enough for me. Luckly your friend only got shrapnel in the arm and not in the eyes.
I will admit I dont wear safety glasses when reloading.. But I make sure when priming to point it away from myself.. Glad your friend is ok.

 

[NA Woody]

I have had a Hornady LNL for several years and am very happy with it. No case feeder but do have a home made bullet feeder that works well as long as the bullets are uniform in diameter. I don't use it for precision loads....use a single stage press for those. Once set up and adjusted for a certain cartridge it works great.
A few things to consider about the Hornady LNL-

• They are fast but can also produce a lot of mistakes if you aren't focused on what you are doing. Don't try to load while distracted by TV or conversation etc. I'm sure this applies to all progressive presses!
• Just because they will load 500 rounds an hour doesn't mean you should attempt to go that fast. A constant steady rhythm works much better than trying to max out speed.
• Keep it clean. Especially in the primer feeding slot. Just a little bit of powder spillage can cause problems.
• If you feel any extra resistance on the handle don't try to muscle it. Stop and see what is wrong. I imagine this is where people set off stacks of primers.
• Add one of those LED light strips to the press so you can see into the case necks. Not expensive and very helpful.
• My most common mistake is forgetting to seat a primer. I've learned that when I stop for any reason, seat the primer first and then stop. Then you don't have to remember if you still need to seat a primer before continuing.

 

[jlow]

The only time I have seen a primer tube go off with a Dillon was when one of my friends decided to clear a jam in the primer tube with that pole... Ham fisted it down and BOOM... Well that was not exactly a surprise....

 

[Savage243]

I use and love the Hornady LNL AP. It's a good press. For rifle, I would rather a single stage and electronic powder measure but I have still loaded some extremely accurate rifle loads. I got it to reload 9mm for USPSA matches and have put a few thousand 9mm loads through it. I currently reload 9mm, 44M, 45-70, .223 and .243 on the press. I use the powder thrower that came with the press on all. For Rifle loads, I suggest a ball type powder. I used to check every load before making the switch and now it's the same every single time. For handgun loads and the .45-70, I'm not worried about a .2-.3gr difference in charge weights. Also, Hornady CS is great. I've used them for a couple parts that broke and haven't paid a dime. Zach.

 

[basshusker]

Mixed with mine. Nice that I can set it up easy for multiple cartridges, but have had to deal with that stupid primer feeder from time to time.

5 stations can be nice. Getting pretty dangconsistent drop weight using Ar-comp. I am not a fan of ball powders myself.

Dillon or Hornady or single stage, it is really important to use a consistent stroke of the handle. Especially so though with dropping powder.

If I shot more of 1 caliber, I might add a 1050 or 650. Wouldn't get another lol.

 

[msinc]

I bought one back when they first came out. No, I didn't get the free batch of bullets. I have only used it to load pistol ammo...mostly 9mm, but I have loaded many other handgun rounds. I have never loaded any rifle ammo because what do you do after the resize??? You know, that part about the trimming of the case????
I have always had a lot of trouble with it, and no Hornady DID NOT take care of the main problem or offer to send me any corrective parts, in fact they refused to acknowledge a problem even when many were complaining.
Here is the problem I have: either the "ejector" completely fails to move the loaded round out and off of the press, completely locking up everything, or it throws the finished round through the wall...it will spring the loaded round out so hard it tries to penetrate 1/2" drywall about a foot away.
I tried to reconfigure that stupid little spring that is supposed to do the ejecting...then I started googling the problem and found quite a few similar complaints and even one guy that for $50.00 would send me his design ejector. I called Hornady and explained the problem to no avail...the guy I got on the phone did a pretty poor act of trying to say he "had never heard of such a thing." It was like the "what" look....like the Mexican border town lost and found and you are asking about a diamond ring.
I just nursed it along and hand picked the finished round out to get around the problem. Then about a year or so later I learned that Hornady changed the shell plates to help correct this problem. I already had all the shell plates I needed so I just ground them to match the "newer" style I had seen. It worked okay.
The one thing that does work pretty good, if you keep it clean internally, is the powder measure. I don't know about rifle powders, but with ball and flake pistol powder mine throws very accurate charges.
The finished round ejector hasn't been the only trouble either, I had a lot of trouble getting it to index properly. Hornady did in fact send me updated parts to cure that.
I don't know, it does load pistol ammo quick and that's good if you shoot a lot. I would not buy another one if this one got stolen.

 

[ranger3]

I would go with the Dillon 550, I have one and I also looked at the Hornady lnl. my observation was that the tolerances were better on the dillon a little more control and while a calibur change over maybe cost little bit more, it seems like a better machine. the Rifle Club I belong to has 5 dillons. on my Dillon only use the drop powder for ball powders. I use my charge master for stick powders, my charge master kicks out charges in 10-15 seconds. How many rounds per month do you plan to reload? Some of my some of my friends have a dedicated Dillon for each caliber.