Hornady LNL AP 9 mm brass not fitting in Shell plate

[mike88605]

I have been loading for about 6 years and Just bought a Hornady LNL AP. This thing is awesome and has worked flawlessly. But some of my brass will not slide into the shell plate. Doesn't seem to matter what kind of brass i use. Some types of brass are worse then others CBC brass seams to be the worst about 2 or 3 out of 10 will not fit into the shell holder. Any ideas on what may be the problem would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Mike

 

[rbt50]

i have the same set up as you do and the same problem with some of the odd ball cases i have.
i think some of the rimes are a little thicker then others.with a little playing around i can get most of them in.
i try to stay with win,rem, or hornady brass but i have alot of mixed 9mm and to lazy to sort them out.

 

[ReloaderFred]

There is a lot of variation in the rims and extractor cuts on 9x19 brass. You might try polishing the shellholder cut outs on your shell plate with a Dremel Tool, using a felt wheel and Flitz Metal Polish or J-B Bore Cleaner. It won't take a whole lot.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Walkalong]

Like this.

If it continues, Hornady will replace it. They are very good about standing behind there products, as are all reloading equipment manufacturers.

 

[Myke_Hart]

I have had the LNL for years.

I don't have any issues with getting 9mm in the shell plate.

I used to have a eject issue with 9mm but now I have converted to EZ-ject system and my problems are gone. My shell plate was polished to help with ejecting when the press had a wire eject but I wouldn't call it polished now.

You might have the wrong shellplate (you need shell plate #8) or a bad one with tight tolerences.

If you have the correct shell plate I would go ahead and call hornady they will fix you up.

 

[Walkalong]

My shell plate was polished to help with ejecting when the press had a wire eject

The 9MM plate has been notorious for being finicky about ejecting.

 

[Randy1911]

I had the same problem when I got mine. I called Hornady and they asked me to send them the shellplate. A couple of weeks later I got a totally new shellplate (I marked the old one with a scratch). It fixed all of my problems. I guess I just got one out of spec.

 

[mactex]

With the newer EZ-Ject system I've not had any problems with 9mm cases either putting them in the shell plate or having the press eject them. I also did not have to modify the plates is have in any way for any of the calibers that I reload. Maybe I'm just lucky?

I did have one plate that became warped and it caused several problems with .380 ACP cases. Replaced the plate and all was well.

 

[mike88605]

Thanks for the replys. I have polished the shell holder already but it didn't seem to help much. I guess I will have to give hornady a call.

Mike

 

[Walkalong]

They'll take care of you. No worries.

 

[Depdog]

I have fournd shell plate issues with .223 a (the 380 uses the same shellplate) as well as the 9mm one. Looking at the pics above and tinkering with my own LNL. The problem for me is the metal lip on the bottom of the plate. The one that pushes the retaining spring down so that new brass may enter the shell plate at station 1. On the two I have this lip is only about 1/2 the size of the one shown above. It is not large enough to push the spring completely down. When the brass slides across from the case feeder it hits the spring and is tipped up slightly and wont enter the shell plate. I took the both shell plates and ran a bead of superglue around the edge of that lip to make it wider. It was a temp. fix as the glue chips off pretty quickly, but it cured the problem completely until the glue chipped off. Called Hornady and they are sending me a new .223 plate (number 16) but they are back orderd. Gonna call em about the 9mm one tomorrow. In the mean time I have sanded the lip and am applying JB weld (it should last a good bit longer).

I will try and take some pics to show you what I mean.

Thanks
Glenn

 

[thorn-]

I seriously think you have a wrong plate, or it's badly out of spec. I've used every brand of 9mm case i can think of (except amerc) , and have never had a problem like the one you're describing.

thorn

 

[Depdog]

Thats exactly what I have been telling Hornady, but only on the 16 plate, I just got the 8 plate and it's doing the same thing. Looking at the pics above, that lip you see sticking up, it's twice as big as the one on my 8 and 16 plate. My 45 plate and whatever number it is for the .40 SW have the same large groove as above and they work just fine.

Glenn