Hornady LnL AP

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Sni-per

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I am starting to wonder about some of my purchases for my press. I have a new Hornady LnL AP, and I bought Lee dies for it. I have been working on mounting and setting up my press, and looking at the dies, and wondering if I made the right choice. Is there any reason why the Lee dies will not work with my press, in particular with the powder measure? It almost seems like there is a piece missing or something, to activate the powder drop.

I haven't had the time to experiment with any of it yet, but just wondering if I will be ok with this combination of parts.
 
I believe you need to use the Hornady case activated system to activate the powder measure as the Lee system relies on an external mechanism to operate their, Lee, powder measure.

Hornady makes drop tubes for the powder die that will expand the case mouth and allow the powder to drop through. Therefore, you should not need the Lee expander die.
 
The only issues I've had with the limited number of Lee dies on my LNL is that they tend to be short and the lock rings don't seem to have much purchase on the threads left exposed...I put Hornady Lock Rings on all my dies.

I'm not clear on your question about the powder measure. Your dies don't have any interaction with the powder measure that comes with the LNL...it should have come with all the needed linkage

Why do you think something is missing?

I picture would help a lot
 
The LnL AP will work great with the Lee case-activated powder measure. That's where I started on the LnL AP, until I was ready to deal with a new powder measure. Now I swear by the Hornady unit and can't say I had a good reason to be intimidated by learning to use it.

Note that you do indeed need to purchase a caliber specific "powder through expander" (PTX) to go inside of the powder drop tube. There is no die per se involved with the powder measure. Nothing from any Lee die set would be needed there. You can opt to use a separate expander station, but you still need the PTX to activate the powder measure, even though set to not flare the case mouth.
 
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Thanks for your quick responses. The only reason I am wondering is, that there doesn't seem to be anything inside of the Lee die, that would activate the powder measure to drop powder. Maybe I have other parts to purchase?? Like a powder-through expander or something??

My wife is going to be away from home this next weekend, and I was hoping to spend some time reloading. If I need more parts, I'll need to get them coming soon.

Again, Thanks fellas.
 
Oh crap!!!! Man do I feel stupid :confused:

I continued opening packages, and found out all I needed to know. The part I thought I was missing......yeah......it is already part of the powder measure.

I guess I just need to slow down, and not be in such a rush to get to use this thing.

Sorry for wasting your time, and thanks for trying to be of help.
 
I use a few Lee dies on the Lnl and was happy to find the skinny die nuts from Dillon, although they do not lock. My favorites are the Lymans, which lock and which are more compact in a turret die cluster than Lee nuts. They gain purchase on the die threads more easily than Lee and thus solve the problem of adapting to the LnL inserts.

p.s. do read the instructions:neener:
 
I already had dies before I got my LNL AP. I agree the Lee dies are a little bit more problematic to use. I have a mix of Lee and RCBS.
If I was a new user with an LNL AP just starting out I wouldn't buy the Lee dies.
 
Sni-per said:
I continued opening packages, and found out all I needed to know. The part I thought I was missing......yeah......it is already part of the powder measure.

I guess I just need to slow down, and not be in such a rush to get to use this thing.
Click to expand...
Make sure to get everything unpacked and laid out to make sure you have everything.

Remember to degrease everything before you assemble...also to removed the rubber O-rings (around the powder rotor and insert) before you degrease...I used One Shot cleaner/dry lube; like in the Hornady video
 
If I was a new user with an LNL AP just starting out I wouldn't buy the Lee dies.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't buy Hornady either but do note that at least Lee dies include the right dies for a progressive. Few would use the expander die in most common sets, seems to me. I like the Redding Pro series, wherein "Pro" stands for progressive. They are deluxe in quality and in price, unfortunately. For lead bullets, RCBS Cowboy is indispensable in my shop.

Probably the best all around choice is Lyman, based on the many choices I have tried. Their sizing seems to recognize that there is such a thing as a lead bullet that needs a grunt larger die.
 
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Lees dies are a little short when in comes to the 9mm, 380. Another thing is that AP like a large radius on the sizer for easier alignment. Lee ides locking nuts are useless, so they will need to be replaced. I don't own any more Lee dies. The extra length is needed for the thicker body of the LNL press.
 
Powder/Expander

I switched to a Hornady on a Lee Loadmaster and Lee Classic Turret. Found this expander to work with the Hornady case operated powder measure on Calguns Forum. Been very happy with it, you just adjust the die up or down when making caliber swaps.
Just got a LNL to replace the Loadmaster(tired of messing with it all the time to get it to run). Have 2 Hornady Powder measures now. Here is their website and a video from Ultimate Reloader. Still setting up the LNL and need shell plate to get started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2rtPkTcMkI

http://www.powderfunnels.com/
 
I got my Lee dies set up. :D I had quite a time of it, but mainly because I wasn't getting my primer pin tight enough, as I was afraid I was going to break it.

I ran a few cases through, just to try things out, and I think I got it right! Have not tried reloading anything yet, just running some empties around. This thing works great, and I am going to enjoy it.

Thanks everyone, for your input.
 
Hornady has a good set of videos online on how to set the press up and use the native components. As others have said make sure you clean all the parts very thoroughly as they are greasy from manufacturing and will make a huge difference if you don't. This includes the powder measure rotor, drop tubes, and everything. The other is to note there are two rotors inserts and three drop tube sizes. Make sure you're using the correct combination for the cartridge you're loading.
 
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