Hornady 45 Colt PTX

It's usually a down and dirty fight to get things working when I install a PTX on the LNL. It's a fight I win although there have been some close calls.

This is going to be kind of hard to explain in text but there are some adjustments that can be helpful.

The major adjustment is the collar on the powder side of the mechanism. Adjust this collar up or down to get close to the amount of flare that is needed. It may just need to move a couple of threads. The collar is designed to be easily adjusted by loosening the two allen head screws a couple of turns and sliding the measure up or down. It's important to keep the alignment in the same plane so that the arms of the case activated (die) parts line up.

The minor adjustment is through the PTX Powder Measure Stop. This device installs under the spring that connects the case activated (die) mechanism and measure. The stop allows the user to adjust the amount of force that is applied once the maximum upward travel has been reached. This is where the fight happens. The bottom screw controls the amount of upward travel. The top screw controls the amount of flare. Small 1/8 or 1/4 turns are the order of the day while testing on empty brass. This part is nothing more than a turnbuckle and some machine screws that you can pick up in a good hardware store.

The variable length of the PTX funnels are based on length of the case they are designed for which makes all of the adjustments necessary again when changing calibers. Going to the expense of a different powder measure for each caliber is something that I have considered and would stop the madness when changing calibers.

The good news is that once every thing is adjusted it works very well. Hope this helps.

.40

I do all of the adj through the powder die and NEVER touch the Stop. I do this since I have a powder base for every caliber In use. This way I can do a quick change without having to adj the powder die every time.

If your original setting was setup correctly the only adj that is needed is the powder die. The extra length is for the longer bullet the 45 colt uses. If you look closely you can see there is slightly more flare at the very top, think M die here.

The very early Hornady PTX didn't flare the brass at all. They had a 90 degree angle at the top.

There are a couple of companies that make custom PTX for the Hornady. Uniquetek is one.

The one I have is marked .452A just like yours and measures 1.651" long. It works just fine.