Hornady Bullet Feeder questions

I don't know about the whole "shebang" but I do know you need to lower the whole Kittenkaboodle.

Do they mean the whole shebang or just the adjustment screw?

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The adjustment screw is the 7/8-14 die itself, so you have to move the die up or down, the rest of the shebang, like the collator and such can stay put.

For coated bullets - I use the Blue Bullets in 9 & 45 - you have to adjust the collets inside of the die to get them to feed. I had to slightly open up the top collet and had to open up and spread the fingers on the lower collet.

tcj said:

For coated bullets - I use the Blue Bullets in 9 & 45 - you have to adjust the collets inside of the die to get them to feed. I had to slightly open up the top collet and had to open up and spread the fingers on the lower collet.

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Did you get it to reliably drop bullets after this treatment?

Yes - I loaded up 2k rounds of 9mm a few weeks ago. Only one time with a multiple (2) bullet drop and a couple of upside down bullets; but the upside down ones are due to the collator not the die.

Please note that once you adjust the collets they won't work with jacketed any more and when you spread the fingers you run the risk of breaking them - been there done that .

The upper adjustment is to enlarge the opening in the top collet enough for the bullet to fall through. I used sandpaper and a wood dowel - it isn't very much material to remove but without doing so the coating will cause the bullet to not always pass through. The opening should be just enough that the bullet will just fall through or at least with the weight of a bullet above it will cause it to fall through.

The lower adjustment is also to a collet - the lower one in this case. The fingers need to be spread ever so slightly and you may need to remove some material from the opening as well. Easiest way to see this by taking the collets and examining where a jacketed bullet drops to in the lower collet...it should just catch above the fingers but pass through the opening. This allows the bullet to drop when the fingers are spread by the case cartridge through the die.

The actual setup for the die is per the instructions that came with the die. If everything is modified correctly it will properly feed the blue bullets through the die.

I carefully de-burr the inside of both collets, breaking all the sharp edges, and spread or close the fingers to get the fit needed for coated bullets.
I do not enlarge anything by removing material...just spring the fingers in or out, using a tapered pin to spread, and a tubular cone to close them.
I don't have a "feeder/collator" and just fill 4 ft long tubes with bullets, and have never had a "bullet dump" from the weight of the bullets in the tube (9mm or 38sp).