New to reloading - I have lots of questions!

Missy, congratulations and welcome fully to the art and science if ammo crafting! I don't think you will be disappointed in that new purchase. I say that because I am an ardent follower of reloading equipment on ebay and one just doesn't see many of those presses come up for sale which tells me that those that have them are keeping them or passing them along to someone they know.

Of course you just bought your 1st press and are already talking of a second, see how that works! That new model Lee turret can be bought for under $100.00 or if you watch ebay a used value turret can be found cheap. As I mentioned earlier a single stage or small turret press comes in real handy and I use mine often. I am using it right now to work up a new load for my 380's using cast bullets that I just started casting. I also use the turret when running small batches of 50 or less and it works very well.

So happy loading and stay safe. Read and watch videos on that new press, watch the process and disregard the commentary.

When ready to start pick a load that interests you in the loading manuals and then resource the materials needed. Best to start with something that is a common load with easy to get bullets and powders. Stay with that load until you have it right were you want it when you shoot it and can repeat it over a few times before moving on to a new load. This way what you are trying to do is build up familiarity and a repeatable process. Develop good habits! Of course the forum is here to help answer your questions as they come up.

Go for it !

Reminder, The LNL-AP require a shell plate for each caliber you load. The std shell holder does not work.

For hand gun ammo you could get by with just a tumbler cleaner vs US. For high volume handgun I normally use a vibrating type cleaner, till they get real grungy, then into the FART, wet SS pins system.

I use the powder cop because I load 223 ammo on my LNL-AP, and the lockout die does not work with rifle. This way I get in the habit of checking it every cycle. You will see a difference with mixed brass.

Just start off with 1 die in the correct position. Do each die separately till you know your setting is correct. One your comfortable load the dies but run only 1 round at a time. Once your satisfied you can start loading all stations. But beware the OAL will need to be tweaked with all stations loaded.

I have multiple powder die bases for each caliber I load. I also use the PTX to free up a station. I prefer to crimp separately the reason to free up a station with the PTX. Once you setup this way, all you need to do is move the powder dispenser to the new base. No adj needed unless you messed with the PTX Stop, which I never touch.

Tip. Tie a tread to the spring on the primer sled. This will make changing primer size a snap. Just run the ram up, pull back on the thread unhooking the sled. Install other size, using thread slip spring over the post. Done.

Missy Stockholm-Leon said:

Thank you for the tips! What are the benefits of the RCBS Lockout Die over the Powder Cop? I did end up buying a powder cop off from Ebay with a custom pole indicator thingy that was being sold by an old reloader for $13 to start off with.

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The Powder Cop can be used with rifle or pistol cartridges so it is useful but its only function is to give you a visual indication of the powder level. You have to watch it.

The RCBS Lockout Die, which can only be used with straight wall pistol cartridges, will stop your press if it detects an undercharge or overcharge.

Missy Stockholm-Leon said:

......WAS naysaying first the patient pick up of dirty brass at the range, but then had an oddly keen interest in sorting it with me in the living room while we watched gun videos later.

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You're touching on a point I was going to make: In your cost calculations post you allocated $.02 for brass (if I recall correctly). Depending on the locations you shoot I would say there's a good chance you have access to tons of 9mm brass - based on the fact that with today's 9mm prices well-established and experienced reloaders (folks who have done it before and have the components on hand) are just buying ammo. Ammo is so cheap there seems to be brass everywhere. It's great you're starting your scrounging/collection efforts. I started loading about 5 years ago when the ammo shortage was going strong. If I was able to scrounge 40 9mm cases at the range I was thrilled. Now.....well, there have been multiple instances where I've come home from a range session with EASILY 400-500 cases in addition to the empties that I actually shot. Other calibers obviously aren't as voluminous. But even .380 - something I just recently started loading - is more available now than it has been.

Even though I've got thousands of 9mm cases, I think I'm kind like someone who went through The Depression. The image of no usable brass on the ground is so vivid in my mind I struggle to not pick up as much as I can. And it has become a hobby / quest unto itself to a certain degree. When I'm done shooting I love hanging around for 20-30 mins just picking up brass.

I'll also comment that it's clear from your posts that you have two traits that I think are crucial to being a successful reloader: 1/ An interest in doing it that goes beyond just saving money. (i.e. it sounds fun....or interesting....something like that) and 2/ Detailed thinking and attention to detail. Your list of equipment and prices, factoring into your payback calculations, was great. You're thinking things through. IMHO those will serve you well when you sit down at the bench and work through the myriad of questions and issues you'll encounter as you get into this great hobby.

I learned here once the term "unloading" (as opposed to shooting) - as a way of expressing how many see loading as a hobby on par from a satisfaction standpoint as shooting itself. Part of loading is unloading....so we have more to load.

Welcome to the madness!

OR

Depending on the locations you shoot I would say there's a good chance you have access to tons of 9mm brass - based on the fact that with today's 9mm prices well-established and experienced reloaders (folks who have done it before and have the components on hand) are just buying ammo.

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I still don't buy factory ammo.
I can't buy cheap ammo that shoots as accurately as my own loads.
That Hornady press will make very accurate loads. The powder measure on mine is very accurate to say the least if I stay above 3.0 gr of weight.

I think you made the right choice. If you learn to load on a single stage you will think the progressives are complicated. It you learn on a progressive you will wonder why anyone bothers to mess with a single stage with pistol rounds, except to clean up your boo boos or to load experimental short runs with.

Yes, the progressive is more complicated but as others have said you can run loads through it one at a time until you get acclimated to it.

Just take your time and look at everything that is going on at each station, and do that one station at a time. First resize some cases and pull it out. Then resize and neck size some cases, then pull them out.
Then resize, neck size, and run the powder measure, without powder of course, then load a dummy or two by putting bullets in the cases to get your overall case length set.
It won't take very long to figure it out. Just learn one caliber and get it under control before jumping to another caliber.

Then put powder in the measure and get it set. After you think it is set run about 20 rounds through it and measure each round, you will find the measure is all over the place, All new measures are a pain until they are coated inside with the graphite from the powder. All measures go through this, it doesn't matter who made them.

You will also learn all kinds of things this winter about what static will do to pistol powder in the winter when the air is dry. I assume you use static guard for your clothes, just drift some down in the measure hopper and let it set for about 15 minutes. You can also keep a used dryer sheet in the measure when not in use. That helps also. But in really dry climates Static Guard really does wonders for static cling in a powder measure.

Anyways, always run about 20 manual powder charges and measure them to be sure it is settled in before you trust the measure. I have been reloading for 47 years now and I still run 20 rounds through the powder measures, measuring each one, before I figure it is settled in and ready to load with.

You may have some bumps along the way in setting it up, we are here to help with that so don't hesitate to ask your questions. Make sure it is bolted down to something good and solid.

Enjoy your new press and if you have problems you know where we are.

By the way, setting up the press is the easy part, learning how different powders react to tight spaces like in the 9mm and the 40 S&Ws compared to say a .357 mag. Get a good manual or two and stick with the published data and the published Over All Length of the cartridge (OAL), per bullet nose profile. All bullet profiles have a different depth to be seated at to stay in a safe pressure rating with a given powder. Some bullets have long noses and will seat deeper per the same OAL as say a truncated shape that has a short nose.

Down load a burn rate chart for gun powders and reference it to your loading data. You will start to see what the correlation is between the burn rates of the powders, where faster burning powders use much less of a charge than slower powder. Read up on pressure curves and understand what it means.

There is a lot to learn and reading the beginning parts of the reloading manuals is your friend. Especially the Lyman books.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Welcome to THE HIGHROAD!!! A wealth of knowledge here!

I can't comment on your post because I only load rifle.... I got into reloading 3 or 4 years ago... Cant save any money... I'm always buying new stuff to experiment with...

You'll like reloading once you get into it.
Again,,, WELCOME

Just a few random thoughts:

Welcome to the THR.

Two things sold me on the LNL. First is the quick setup, and the versatility. Changing things around is super fast. And you can set it up in multiple configurations. If you want to just prep brass, you can set it up that way in a snap. If you want to load your prepped brass, switch it over. It takes less than 5 minutes to do a caliber change, ten if you switch primer size. And yes, if you take out the case retainer spring you can run it as a single stage. Just remember that the shell plate is going to move when you raise and lower it, so grab the case before it does. (I have only done this a few times, not sure its worth the extra thinking you have to do to not screw up. But possible)

Second is that your left hand does all the grabbing and loading. Your right hand just runs the handle. That might not matter to most people, but me being a lefty…

If I loaded in the neighborhood of 2000 rounds of pistol ammunition monthly, I would be looking at a Dillon 750. But that’s just me. And since I typically load pistol 500 or so at a time The LNL is perfect for me.

In your cost analysis we forgot two sets of dies and three shell plates. And you will need bushings for every die. And we don’t need case lube for your pistol brass.

Also (in my humble opinion), ultrasonic cleaners are a messy waste of time and money. For pistol, just dry tumble. And your cold garage is the perfect place to do it. You won’t have to listen to it.

You will also quickly find out that loading primer tubes by hand is a total pain. Extra tubes and a tube loader is pretty much a must.

There is so much to know, so much to learn. But its not difficult at all. If you the type of person that thinks before you act reloading might be just your thing. Let us know how it shakes out. And if you have more questions, THR has lots of opinions.

Missy Stockholm-Leon said:

Well....I have to admit I was thinking the same thing. Getting a progressive and running it slow when I take that step, but to start with a cheap single or turret. Further....I have to admit I bought a Hornady LNL AP last night.

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Your LNL will only behave like a progressive when you load it with enough brass to act progressively. Just load one case at a time and it will act like a single-stage. You can learn everything there is to learn about your press this way. In fact, your LNL will happily allow you to load one and only one station and size 400 cases with no other actions.

So there's no need to purchase a second press. You merely need to command the LNL to behave like you want.

Since when did machines tell humans what they were going to do ?

rfwobbly said:

You merely need to command the LNL to behave like you want.

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Well said, sir.

Welcome to THR. This subject is gonna get a bunch of response and some folks are nearly rabid when it comes to promoting “their” preferred product. As you have probably figured out, you can spend what you want to on reloading equipment. Quite a few folks started out using Lee products. My first progressive machine was a Lee...and that was more years ago than I care to admit. Lee has done their homework when it comes to design. They have also done a good job of keeping cost down. In the end, the Lee progressive I had just had too many plastic parts to go the distance. The one piece of advice I will give you is that you might as well start out with what you’re going to end up with and save yourself the time and money involved in going with the cheap stuff.

The Achilles heal of all progressive reloading machines is the primer system. 99 times out of 100, when something stops running on a progressive machine it’s the priming system! I hear good things about the Hornady progressive. I personally use a Dillon 550B. While I can afford one of the more sophisticated Dillon machines, I like the 550 because I can back up a step if something doesn’t feel right...can’t do that with the Dillon 650 on up. While a progressive is the way to go when you’re reloading quantities of handgun ammo, I still use a single station press for anything that I make that I’m going to have to put resizing lube on or trim the cases or clean the primer pockets...that’s rifle ammunition.

Never reload when you’re tired. Pay attention to the way things feel. Over time you’ll develop a very good sense for when something doesn’t feel right and is about to cause a problem. ONLY ONE CAN OF GUNPOWDER ON THE BENCH AT ONE TIME!!! ONLY ONE CAN OF GUNPOWDER ON THE BENCH AT ONE TIME!!! And forget about the argument that reloading will save you money...that’s total BS...YOU WILL SHOOT MORE...MUCH MORE!

Check out Hornady's "Free bullet offer" I believe you can get 500 bullets with the purchase of the press if you pay the shipping on the bullets.


https://www.hornady.com/get-loaded-2019

Since you got the LNL I would recommend the RCBS lockout die.
Very handy to have. Only works for pistol but you don't have to watch it like the Hornady powder cop.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011853529


https://ultimatereloader.com/2010/09/19/rcbs-lock-out-die-part-i-theory-of-operation/
https://ultimatereloader.com/2010/09/21/rcbs-lock-out-die-part-ii-setup-and-maintenance/

I like my LNL and am quite happy with it.

Since you are starting on the LNL I would only feed one case at a time until you have some practice/experience with it. Lots of things going on at one time on the progressive.
That is one nice thing about the lockout die, it pretty much prevents low/no charge or double charges from making it thru the cycle,. (basically the press won't go up if it's not happy)

Short cases should not really require dedicating a station to a powder check, because you can easily enough see the powder charge with adequate lighting. The problem arises with rifle and also with tall revolver cases for cartridges that evolved from black powder and have significant unused volume. The case being both narrow and relatively tall requires almost tiptoes and strong, focused light to see the powder with many smokeless charges. I start by favoring a powder with the higher VMD, then rarely one like TiteGroup. 38s are not even well filled with Trailboss, and .357 at only a slightly higher charge is even more challenging to view, but I can see it. When I get to .45 Colt at close to the same height as .357, I can easily see powder because of the larger diameter of the case. I can get an angle of view down into the case. When .45 ACP, the powder is in plain view because of both case height and diameter. When 9 mm or smaller, then it gets challenging. Happily, there is then no use for a separate expander to aid with revolver bullets, so there could be a spot open for a powder check.

For casting I use the Lee 4-20 bottom pour pot. And I have Lee 6-cavity tumble lube moulds for 9mm and .45, among others. It works well for me, and I think you'd be happy with that setup. ( Lee 6-cavity moulds need the lyman handles , sold separately. )

Missy, I think for your own safety I have to give you this advice. If you've never reloaded before, I would strongly suggest you start with a Turret or Single Stage Press and start with straight walled pistol cases, like 38 Special. Read a few Load Manuals on how to reload. Read this information very carefully and make sure you completely understand the information before you start. This is a very fun and rewarding hobby, but jumping into a progressive press right away, without prior experience, is just asking for trouble. Taking an NRA Class on Reloading is also a good idea. Understanding Over Pressure signs is critical.

The Progressive Press does multiple operations at the same time. You need to know exactly what you are doing and keep vigilant and know exactly what is going on at all times with no distractions.

Reloading 9mm to start is also not recommended. The 9mm is a very efficient cartridge and changes in bullet seating depth can result in catastrophic pressures.

If you start with a Turret or Single Stage, you will learn each operation and master them which will help you become proficient when you move to the Progressive. You will also continue to use this press for rifle and some specialty loads, so you won't be wasting money.

I sincerely hope this helps.

I only go through 500-1000 rounds a month with the wife, we've been only shooting once a month now, so it's just 500 rounds. But when we were going through 1000+ rounds a month, I kept up just fine with a single stage, 2000 would have been a lot of work. Might not hurt to start with a single, then get a progressive, a single stage will always be good for loading 5-6 rounds with different loads to find out what works best for you and the particular gun. Once you get the right load, then use the progressive to dump out 500 or so rounds. You're not going to save a lot with 9mm, but you will get the loads you want, and they will always feel the same. You will get the best of saving and consistent loads with the .380 and 40 (I don't own a 40). I own both the Layman and Speer manuals, you should own a couple reloading manuals, and read through them. Keep logs, I log every load I make.

I don't think you will have any trouble with using an ultrasonic cleaner, I've been using one for 10 years. It cleans my cases very well and very cheaply. I use Lemi-shine and dawn like everyone else does, it works well. 16 minutes is usually all it takes in my 2 litre. It also cleans my wifes jewelry, our shower heads and my pistols.
If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. We are here to help.

As far as the difference between the Hornady powder cop die and the RCBS lock out die, the Hornady powder cop you have to watch each and every load that goes through there.
To me its worthless, I have other things to watch, like seating bullets and so on. If you are going to look down each and every time, just look on down into the case, the case with powder in it will be right in front of you because of the way the press operates.
The RCBS lock out die will physically stop the press and not let you go further if the charge is 3 gr above or below where its set at.
Even with Titegroup powder that I use a lot of, the die can be adjusted to catch a no charge and a double charge both.
Personally I have the Hornady powder die with the sensor that came with my control panal. It works the same way, it will also stop the press and set off an alarm.

I would highly advise buying the RCBS die and learn how to use it, because sooner or later you will forget to look in the case at the charge, then you will start second guessing yourself as to whether the load are good or not.
It will give you a lot of peace.

tightgroup tiger said:

I don't think you will have any trouble with using an ultrasonic cleaner, I've been using one for 10 years. It cleans my cases very well and very cheaply. I use Lemi-shine and dawn like everyone else does, it works well. 16 minutes is usually all it takes in my 2 litre. It also cleans my wifes jewelry, our shower heads and my pistols.
If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. We are here to help.

As far as the difference between the Hornady powder cop die and the RCBS lock out die, the Hornady powder cop you have to watch each and every load that goes through there.
To me its worthless, I have other things to watch, like seating bullets and so on. If you are going to look down each and every time, just look on down into the case, the case with powder in it will be right in front of you because of the way the press operates.
The RCBS lock out die will physically stop the press and not let you go further if the charge is 3 gr above or below where its set at.
Even with Titegroup powder that I use a lot of, the die can be adjusted to catch a no charge and a double charge both.
Personally I have the Hornady powder die with the sensor that came with my control panal. It works the same way, it will also stop the press and set off an alarm.

I would highly advise buying the RCBS die and learn how to use it, because sooner or later you will forget to look in the case at the charge, then you will start second guessing yourself as to whether the load are good or not.
It will give you a lot of peace.

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The powder cop is useful on rifle cartridges that don't allow a clear view into the case. It can also be useful with smaller revolver cartridges derived from black powder, where some higher density smokeless powder choices don't fill the case enough to easily view the powder surface. Smaller diameter Magnum-length cases are especially problematic (327, 357).

Welcome to THR.

From your post I get the impression that you're an organized, methodical, details oriented person. This is perfect for reloading. I'm going to also assume that you have mechanical skills to one degree or another. You will need them, whichever press you get. Given this, I see no reason to start with a single stage press as some have suggested. Just start one round at a time for a couple dozen. Then go slowly, checking everything at each handle pull. Start with something easy and relatively forgiving like 9mm.

My only experience is with a Dillon 650, so I can't comment on any others. What I will say is "Buy once, cry once." If you believe that you're in this for the long term and lots of rounds, buy the best press you can afford. Even if it means holding back on the extras and optional calibers. (A lock-out die or powder check die should be considered an essential safety feature.) I've made the mistake of buying too low with machinery several times and regretted it later each time. Also, higher end presses hold their value better in the resale market.