Bullet Feeder Die Trouble

[SC_Dave]

Just added a Hornady bullet feeder die to my LnL AP. I can't get it to drop bullets consistantly. I have read the directions and watch a couple of vids on adjusting the die and adjusted it accordingly. The adjustments I have made have been in very small increments. It will feed several in a row then then none for several strokes. Any suggestions?

Thanks, David

 

[Astroangler]

I was doing a search and found this old thread. Has anyone using the bullet feeder die noticed bullets getting slightly hung up just inside the die, not on the collets, but on what looks like a roughed up area just down from the top. Anyone?

 

[hAkron]

I want to preface this by saying I never completely read the directions, but I always had a frustrating time with my Hornady bullet feeder and dies. The die wouldn't always feed and seemed to need constant adjustments. The worst was when the bullet feeder's coil tube would pop out of the top of the bullet feeder die and rain bullets all over the floor. I might try the RCBS bullet feeder on my Dillon.

 

[Muddydogs]

First question I would ask is how many bullets are you feeding? If you are just feeding a die full sometimes there is not enough weight on the bullet column to feed a few bullets.

I used some Fitz polish on a cotton mop (crafty people use these mops to apply stain to leather) to polish the inside of both collets to remove any ruff burrs and this helped if I had a feed issue.

Case mouth belling is what triggers the die to open up and drop a bullet so if the die is set to longer brass sometimes a shorter piece of brass that didn't get belled as much wont open up the bottom collet enough to drop a bullet.

Astroangler
Your drop tube should fit in the die enough that the bullets shouldn't touch the sides of the die and be lined out just waiting to enter collet B. How ruff is the area? Maybe the die didn't get cleaned up after machining?

I feed 380, 38, 40, 44 and 45 bullets through the respective dies with very little problems. I do keep a few bullets handy for the short cases that don't trigger a drop. I have even removed enough off the inside of the 38 and 40 collets that I can get consistent bullet drops with my bigger lead cast bullets.

 

[GW Staar]

Just added a Hornady bullet feeder die to my LnL AP. I can't get it to drop bullets consistantly. I have read the directions and watch a couple of vids on adjusting the die and adjusted it accordingly. The adjustments I have made have been in very small increments. It will feed several in a row then then none for several strokes. Any suggestions?

Thanks, David

Muddydogs is given you good general advice. On the other hand we don't know from your post what caliber die you are trying to use, or what bullets.

Also are you using Hornady's collator or a home made tube feeder?

Here's some additional thoughts:

Smaller calibers with light bullets need careful smoothing & polishing inside the die parts.
Some of the inside cylinders have burrs and worse sometimes they need opened up just a little. The part that causes most of the problems it the one pictured below, with the fix illustrated:


I recommend you read my review on AR15.com. It explains things one step at a time. If you don't have the collator, just skip down to where it starts talking about the dies.

hAkron: The Hornady bullet feeder can be made into a sweet machine without that much effort. I'd try to tweak it a little before you buy the RCBS version....it's more complicated. As for the spring tube being unruly....it is that and must be controlled somehow. Hornady's wire holder is barely good enough when it perfectly placed....I changed things a little on mine....no more spilled bullets. I documented this carefully to help others deal with it HERE.

 

[sizthediz]

have the same problem with the rcbs version. I am onle loading with the tube and die only though. I bought a 24" 3/8" threaded rod and some nuts. I put the rod in the tube and it adds constant pressure so far so good. I use the nuts for a "stop" so the rod doesn't drop thru the die onto the shell plate. good luck