Hornady Lock N Load Auto-Progressive Reloading Press

Crunchy Frog, "order an RCBS Lockout Die (accept no substitutes) for loading pistol ammo."

Good advice.
I started putting seatbelts in all my cars from age 14 on.

I like my lockout die. If you like seatbelts you'll probably like a Lockout Die, if not ...

I like the powder cop die

If you buy the LNL-AP, order an RCBS Lockout Die (accept no substitutes) for loading pistol ammo.

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I have one and feel it was money well spent. Shop around I have seen big differences ($20-$30) in the price on them.

I have a powder cop as well.
I use the powder cop for rounds I don't load as often and the lockout die for 9mm.
Once I have the lockout die adjusted I don't like to mess with it.
The powder cop still depends on you watching it, the lockout die will prevent you from raising the case and the shell plate all the way to the top if things are not right.

Walkalong said:

Which is why I went back to seeing the charge in every cases years and years ago. I like the LNL because I can see the power in the case while I see a bullet as it is going on at the front of the press. If I was in need of the kinds of numbers of reloads as some who shoot the gun games, I might adapt to a faster way of doing things, but for my usage, I am happy with that.

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The only time I have issues is when loading 3 grains of Bullseye in a .357 case and then I use the powder cop as its a pain to see the powder. But so far I have never had an issue with the LNL powder measure but I still look in every case or use the powder cop.

If you have a bullet dropper you usually give up the powder check and just watch with your eyes. Hornady has lots of options with their alarm system to keep things from going haywire, they even have a lockout die of their own, but once you drop bullets and want a complete round after each cycle I don't think you can have a powder checking die. BTW.. I don't believe in seating and crimping in one step.
Also, things have to go completely sideways for a squib load on a LnL AP.

I probably loaded 40K rounds of 9mm on my LNL before volume caused me to buy a Dillon 1050. If you want to load on an LNL in reasonable volume definitely buy a bullet feeder (MBF is the way to go), but I'd hand-place the cases. I never could get my case feeder to be all that reliable and it really did slow me down. The setup on the LNL shellplate makes hand placement of cases very easy. And, FWIW, I never had a problem with SPP.

+1 for egd's recommendation for the Highboy76's LNL setup videos on youtube, they helped me a lot
Don't hesitate to use Hornady's tech support as they are knowledgeable and very friendly.
9MM is easy to load, I also load 380 acp which is even shorter, I have found that keeping the press lubed prevents powder getting slung when indexing.

Jo Jo, I normally do not recommend a press to anyone. For a few reasons.

1. I do not know your education level, Do you have a Masters degree in the women's study, and one in fine arts. Or do you have a Doctorate in common sense?

2. I do not know your mechanical ability. Is your tool box a shoe box with a large rock and a small rock. Or do you have a complete machine shop?

3. Do you need a progressive press or a single stage press? Do you load 50 rounds a week or 5000?

Now you did ask about power spillage on the Hornady. So I will let you know that I have 4 Hornady Ammo plants with the deluxe control panel, and I do not have any power spillage. And I load 100 rounds in about 6 min. To achieve this you need to do two small things.

1. Time your press perfectly, not close, not good enough, but perfectly.

2. On your shell plate, there are two detent balls push them in until they barely touch.

Now you have received a lot of misinformation. The first is about the Dillon NOT having any mix reviews. The first thing I want you to do is practice saying "Holy crap on a cracker" Now go to the Dillin web site WWW.dillonprecision.com then go to the bottom of the page and find the form for Dillon. Now read all the mix reviews. All I have to say is "HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER" Dillon has a lot of problems. But to be honest Dillon has a fine press and most of the "problems" can be fixed with a little common sense.

Now it has been said, "order a RCBS lock out die (accept no substitutes)." Well, it is true that the RCBS lock out die will lock up the press if it is low, or high of power. But Dillon has a die that will send out an alarm letting you know the same thing. But Hornady has a die that has the best of both worlds. The die will not only lock up the press but also sends out an alarm.

I started with the bare bones unit, always decapping and priming on the press, and gradually built it up to have a case feeder and Bully adapter bullet feeder with Mr Bulletfeeder die (for one caliber), not Hornady's. It works well, but at that level there are many variables, so I would say starting as simple as possible would be best, just the basic press, some LnL adapters, and maybe a primer tube loader. Like others, I like to view the powder before placing a bullet for seating, but do use the Powder cop die with the bullet feeder. I have an RCBS lockout die but am not a big fan of using it. My machine is modified slightly in that I have replaced the subplate to get more reliable ejection and have a very thin spacer on the hub to keep the shell plate from rocking.

I like mine alright. I don't know a hard number, but I'd say I am around 25k rounds loaded, both rifle and pistol. I have quit resizing rifle cases with it, but I do full progressive on all pistol ammunition. Case feeder really is a must if you intend to be time efficient, although I would not start off with one. I have broken the main toggle that the handle screws into, but I am pretty sure it was a defective casting but Hornady sent me a new one right away. Other than a primer slide and the occasion case retention spring, it holds up pretty good.

The primer punch will create a divot in the aluminum frame over time causing some issues. I flatten a spent primer into the divot and carry on.

The snappy shell plate can be reduced by adjusting the timing a bit, but mostly by adjusting the ball detent depths in the shell plate itself. Use a small hammer and punch to adjust the protrusion and subsequent spring pressure. On 9mm I let my bullet seating hand drag a finger on the outer diameter of the shell plate as it rotates to dampen the effect.

The LNL bushing system annoys me and the first (sizing) station has generated a tolerance that allows the die to slightly come loose. I can watch the die bobbing up and down as I size, so I must adjust the die appropriately. Otherwise, after a few cases it will loosen a bit and the cases wont be sized enough. (This is mostly troublesome with .223 Rem., the only cases I resize on the AP) I have tried to tighten the bushing up and change them around to no avail.

I guess I would say it has been relegated to pistol ammo and bulk rifle loading. Anything I care about in terms of precision gets loaded on my Forster Co-ax.

119er said:

I like mine alright. I don't know a hard number, but I'd say I am around 25k rounds loaded, both rifle and pistol. I have quit resizing rifle cases with it, but I do full progressive on all pistol ammunition. Case feeder really is a must if you intend to be time efficient, although I would not start off with one. I have broken the main toggle that the handle screws into, but I am pretty sure it was a defective casting but Hornady sent me a new one right away. Other than a primer slide and the occasion case retention spring, it holds up pretty good.

The primer punch will create a divot in the aluminum frame over time causing some issues. I flatten a spent primer into the divot and carry on.

The snappy shell plate can be reduced by adjusting the timing a bit, but mostly by adjusting the ball detent depths in the shell plate itself. Use a small hammer and punch to adjust the protrusion and subsequent spring pressure. On 9mm I let my bullet seating hand drag a finger on the outer diameter of the shell plate as it rotates to dampen the effect.

The LNL bushing system annoys me and the first (sizing) station has generated a tolerance that allows the die to slightly come loose. I can watch the die bobbing up and down as I size, so I must adjust the die appropriately. Otherwise, after a few cases it will loosen a bit and the cases wont be sized enough. (This is mostly troublesome with .223 Rem., the only cases I resize on the AP) I have tried to tighten the bushing up and change them around to no avail.

I guess I would say it has been relegated to pistol ammo and bulk rifle loading. Anything I care about in terms of precision gets loaded on my Forster Co-ax.

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I wonder if the shims used to tighten the powder die would serve as well on your sizing station. Hornady would probably send you some gratis. Have you tried a newer bushing?

The LNL bushing system annoys me and the first (sizing) station has generated a tolerance that allows the die to slightly come loose.

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One of my LNL's self "quick detached" the powder measure twice before I installed a slightly fatter O ring, fixed the problem and would solve your die bobbing issue as would the shims Hornady sends out.

I have probably 30k loaded through mine, and bought it used at a garage sale. I will tell you again, as others' have said, do not get your finger in the way when pressing in that bullet. LOL You may look at it and say to yourself, it doesn't look like it takes much to push that bullet in that brass, but, believe me, that is some force, and , yes, it hurts. Good press and I would buy it again. Hornady helpful when called.

The LNL bushing system annoys me and the first (sizing) station has generated a tolerance that allows the die to slightly come loose. I can watch the die bobbing up and down as I size, so I must adjust the die appropriately.

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119er, call Hornady and ask for a new bushing insert/adapter, the part that goes in the press. I don't remember the correct name for it. I had 2 on my first LNL (bought used) that were worn and had small parts of the lock stubs broken off. They do come off and can be replaced.

The powder cop still depends on you watching it,

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Just the Hornady one. The RCBS locks up the press, the Dillon is audible.

I love my LnL AP, though I have had to make some minor adjustments. Most of those adjustments came from when I added the case feeder. Without that case feeder it was smooth. After adding the case feeder and making my adjustments it is very nice.

Reloaded 500 rounds of 44mag here priming on press


Reloaded 500 rounds of 9mm here priming on press.


Reloaded 1500 rounds of 45 acp here priming on press

Hint -- 9MM on my LnL: Cases bounced when dropped from the case loader. Took a 2 inch piece of 1" masking tape, leaving 1/3 of the width sticky, folded the other third back on itself lengthwise to cover the stick. Attached it around the bottom of the drop tube towards the press to corral any loose bouncing cases. It has lasted through 1000 rounds. Cheapest fix to a nagging problem.

Hornady makes a tip stop for 3 bucks to stop that now. If you call them they will send you one for free.

Mr.Revolverguy said:

Hornady makes a tip stop for 3 bucks to stop that now. If you call them they will send you one for free.

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And it works really well.

Mr.Revolverguy said:

Hornady makes a tip stop for 3 bucks to stop that now.

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What a great forum THR is!

Contribute experience to the community and get even more back!

Jo Jo, I don't think you were weak. I think you were smart. Even though I wouldn't have any thing other than a Hornady Ammo plant on my bench, it's not for everyone. But I do shoot more in a week than you do in a year. With the amount you shoot, I feel you made a wise choice. You will know when you "need" to step up.