So I Thought I Was Good...

[338Shooter]

I thought I was a pretty good reloader, then I got this Hornady L-N-L AP press. I haven't spilled this much powder total since I started reloading. Aparently, you have to put a bullet on the last stage before it ejects or the powder goes everywhere. You also have to put the primers in or the "loaded" rounds leave a little trail of powder flakes behind.

Also, RCBS dies suck. I'm going with Lee from now on and just buying the hornady lock rings.


There is definitely a learning curve to a progressive press. You've got a lot to watch happening. If you want to start off reloading on one I suggest loading one round at a time for a long time until you get the hang of what the heck is happening. I did load up 200 rounds in the time it took me to load 50 on my Redding T-7.

 

[cjjtulsa]

It's what I'm afraid of, too. Was going to go with a T-7, but the L-N-L was on sale, so I figured what the heck. I'm very OCD, so I'm not sure how this will work out....I really, really like to visually check powder charges, and I think it will be hard on this thing. Yes, I know about the Powder Cop and RCBS Lockout dies, but they aren't the same as putting eyeballs on things. I guess if it's too much for me, I'll sell it and step back down to a turret press, but I think it will work out fine - I'll just go nice and slow, and keep a close eye on powder levels in cases, etc. No one says you have to load 500 rounds an hour, but even taking it easy it should be much faster than the Rock Chucker I have now.

As for the Lee dies, it's my understanding that they'll work with the L-N-L, but may be a little on the short side? Someone else will know better.

 

[alank2]

Hi,

Going from a single stage style of loading to progressive is a change, but one you'll probably warm up to after the first session or two. I load on a Dillon 550 and it has a primer alarm and a little plastic pin that pushes the primers down so you can always gauge about how many you have left by glancing at it. I have sort of a rhythm I go through which is cycle press, rotate shellplate (my press in manual indexing), add a new case, check powder in case before seating bullet on it, seat bullet on it, repeat. While cycling I try to keep an eye on the powder level and primer level.

Congrats on moving up to a progressive! You'll get the hang of it soon.

Thanks,

Alan

 

[doublearon]

The videos at www.ultimatereloader.com for the LNL AP are fanastic. Between the instruction book and the vids there, I was off and running in no time flat.

 

[Roadking Larry]

Definitely a learning curve to the LNL.
It has it's little quirks but any complicated machine will.
I loaded 300 rds of .223 this afternoon and only missed 2 primers. Not a fault of the machine, it was my error. The more I load with this thing the easier it gets and the faster I get with it.

I do have one problem with it but I'll start a new thread for that.

 

[338Shooter]

My powder thrower bushing keeps working itself loose from the press. I have to keep an eye on it and that bugs me a little.

 

[Roadking Larry]

My powder thrower bushing keeps working itself loose from the press. I have to keep an eye on it and that bugs me a little.

See the thread I'm getting ready to post along those lines.

 

[Shifty]

I havent invested in a progressive yet, but Ill agree about RCBS dies. Ive broken several of those.

 

[1mathom1]

I thought I was a pretty good reloader, then I got this Hornady L-N-L AP press. I haven't spilled this much powder total since I started reloading. Aparently, you have to put a bullet on the last stage before it ejects or the powder goes everywhere. You also have to put the primers in or the "loaded" rounds leave a little trail of powder flakes behind.

Also, RCBS dies suck. I'm going with Lee from now on and just buying the hornady lock rings.


There is definitely a learning curve to a progressive press. You've got a lot to watch happening. If you want to start off reloading on one I suggest loading one round at a time for a long time until you get the hang of what the heck is happening. I did load up 200 rounds in the time it took me to load 50 on my Redding T-7.

You probably already know but the Lee Pro 1000 is too short to load full length rifle cartridges. You can load .223 length but nothing longer. It also has some quirks to watch out for. The shell plate needs to be kept really clean or the primer seating punch will give you fits. You also need to keep plenty of primers in the pan as it relies on gravity for consistent feed....and the primers like to hang up going from the pan into the feed ramp. Just watch it and your fine. I do like the fact I can see down in the case as I place bullets in the case mouth. No experience with other brands of progessives since I can't afford them.

 

[dennishoddy]

My only suggestion to Hornady would be to find a way to alert somebody when the primers are getting low. Since it will only hold 100, I only get out 100 bullets at a time, so at least I can keep count that way.
I've never used anything but RCBS dies, and have always had good luck with them so far. I can't compare them to any other brand as I haven't used anything else.