Pistol Bullet Feeder Die

[kmw1954]

Yesterday I received the replacement shell plate for the one that I ordered wrong for my Lee Breech Lock Pro. Misread the description. So I was looking online for the best price for adding bushings and came across the Hornady Pistol bullet feeder die which piqued my interest for use with 9mm bullets.

Originally the press was purchased to load 45acp with 4 dies because I was having serve chambering problems trying to use just the 3 die set and for this it has been working wonderfully. So I returned the #13 shell plate to Midwest and picked up a #19 for 9mm. Now I'm having no trouble loading anything with the 9mm while using the Lee 3 die set. Which of course will leave a space open on the BLP using only three dies. Enter the Bullet feeder in that open hole.

I was thinking this would work very well on this press as the position that the case is in after the powder drop is towards the rear of the press so this would help eliminate reaching around to the rear to place each bullet. Also because I am not experiencing any problems with seating and crimping in the same die right now with the 9mm.

So the idea is to set up the press like this; 1. deprime and size, 2. powder drop, 3. bullet feed die, 4. seat and crimp.

What do you all think? Does the Hornady bullet die work?

 

[Allen One1]

I'm running a LnL but doing exactly what you are proposing. I use clear plastic tubes to feed the bullets to the feeder die. The Hornady die works good, you may have to adjust the fingers inside to feed your bullet correctly depending on what you are running, plated, FMJ, lead.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I am curious as to why you aren't having any problems seating bullets when you aren't using a plug die to resize the inside of 9mm necks. I would think that with out it you would be seating bullets crooked to some degree.
I would not worry about the bullet feeding die and put an m-die or similar right after the resizing die to help you seat the bullets straight since you only have 4 stations.
I have the Hornady bullet feeding die and I'm not sold on it yet. It is leaving brass shavings on the shell plate of my LNL-AP which has 5 stations. It relies on the case being forced up into a taper that opens the collets to let a bullet drop, and it does work, but my cases have marks on the mouth. Scrapes is more like it, from being forced into the tapered collet to open the fingers. I may not have it set up right but I was out of .357 mag rounds so I took it back out and loaded them by setting them by hand.
I know we are talking about two different presses but the function of the bullet seating die is the same.

Maybe DrainSmith can jump in here and tell me if I have it set up wrong. With the Powder through expander die that comes with the bullet feeder, installed, it acts like an M-die and my bullets seat really well with it.

Again, I don't have to reach around anything on my Hornady progressive press to seat a bullet so you have a different priority.
The Hornady bullet feeder die does work and I think I loaded about 200 .357mags with it in about 25 minutes. but I didn't like all the burrs and scrapes it made doing it.
I ran all my loaded rounds through my rotary tumbler to clean them up after that session.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

The Hornady die works good,

Allen One1, Do you ever see brass shavings laying on your shell plate?
I am using plated bullets, I believe the shavings are brass though, not copper.

 

[jmorris]

I have one and it worked 100% with plated bullets, using all Lee dies except for the Hornady feeder.



I have read about less than ideal results with wax lubed lead bullets. In any case it won’t be much of a time saver unless you have a collator to keep it fed.

 

[kmw1954]

The Lee dies do have an expander in the Powder thru die and I haven't had any problems using it with plated bullets. I did see in the directions for this that they state a flare dimension to use. Maybe you are not opening up the flair enough. Next I'm trying to figure how you fit an M dies in with only 4 positions.

 

[kmw1954]

jmorris, not really looking for added speed as much as I am in filling the empty hole. At first I was thinking of adding a powder cop or lock out die but this looks like it would serve a more useful purpose.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Maybe you are not opening up the flair enough

My sit right in there and stay there. My flair seems to be good.
The collets in the bullet seating die just mark up the outside of the brass and make cutting on my shell plate.
I'll take it apart and see if it needs de-burred.
Forget about what I posted about the m- die. My mistake.

 

[Livin_Cincy]

I deprime & size, clean, inspect and prime of the press for handgun.
-- I am not concerned about the carbide die being damaged by dirty cases.
-- Revolver brass never hits the ground.
-- Auto Pistol brass never lands in sand.

This lets me drop powder, use the Hornady bullet feed, seat, and crimp in a separate operation.

I am on a (4) hole turret.

 

[Dudedog]

I use the Hornady bullet feed die with tubes on my LNL, I really like it.
I feed cases with one hand, work the lever with the other.
Olny one task for each hand makes it easier on my brain
I have Hornady tubes as well as some hard clear plastic ones. Plastic ones need some kind of support but not hard to make something.
Amazon and others have the plastic tubing. With support if you have the space you can have one that is fairly tall.
Drill a hole in the bottom and use a paper clip to hold the bullets in.
It works well with plated/jacketed bullets, but I haven't tried it with lead/coated.
I would say give it a try, for the die and plastic tubes you are only looking at maybe $40-$50 and if you don't like it I am sure you could sell it here quick and get at least 1/2 your money back.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Does the Hornady bullet die work?

Mine, in 9mm, has worked very well for thousands of rounds using both plated and FMJ RMR bullets. It does take a bit of "touch" to adjust the collets correctly, but if you follow the directions it shouldn't present an issue.

When I got mine, it was really down to either the Hornady or the RBCS bullet feeders...I didn't even consider the Lee one at all...but since that time the Mr Bulletfeeder die has become available. If you haven't committed to one yet, the MB die is well worth a look

 

[kmw1954]

So I've spent the afternoon watching videos instead of football and my interest has increased. I still need to order more die bushings and may just have to add one of these along with the bullet tubes. So I'll be watching Midway and Midsouth for their next free shipping offer.

I've tried that Off press stuff already and just don't feel comfortable doing it. It just feels awkward and un-natural. Gets me out of rhythm.

 

[jmorris]

jmorris, not really looking for added speed as much as I am in filling the empty hole.

In that case, I would pick seating at one station and crimping in another over just filling a hole with something that won’t be much benefit.

 

[jmorris]

I didn't even consider the Lee one at all

I enjoy a lot of Lee stuff because of the value relative to cost but their bullet feeder was a disappointment to say the least. I would have been better off just to burn the money at least I wouldn’t have been out any time wasted.

Whenever instructions tell you to boil reloading equipment when it fails, you should know to avoid implementing it.

 

[kmw1954]

In that case, I would pick seating at one station and crimping in another over just filling a hole with something that won’t be much benefit.

Maybe I used the wrong expression. I am perfectly comfortable loading 9mm while using just the regular Lee Pistol 3 - die set as I have been in my Pro1000, only the Breech Lock Pro with the 4th hole will allow me to add either a crimp die, a powder check die or the bullet feeder. Each would add something that is not available on the Pro1000 the way I am currently using it. Now from what I've seen and what I am experiencing the bullet feed die would add the most benefit to the Breech Lock Pro as far as adding ease of use..

 

[Allen One1]

Allen One1, Do you ever see brass shavings laying on your shell plate?
I am using plated bullets, I believe the shavings are brass though, not copper.

I don't remember seeing any brass shavings coming off. I am using Xtreme plated bullets with no issues feeding the bullets, or at least not much of any issue, every once in a while one will get stuck and need a little help. I wonder if you have the case pushing up into the die too much, it should be real smooth, now to make that work you may have to spread the fingers in the die just a little bit, too much and the bullets will just fall through. You have to play with it to get it to feed just right then it is like magic.

 

[Allen One1]

I have one and it worked 100% with plated bullets, using all Lee dies except for the Hornady feeder.



I have read about less than ideal results with wax lubed lead bullets. In any case it won’t be much of a time saver unless you have a collator to keep it fed.

JMorris
It can save a lot of time. I have three clear plastic tubes that I fill with around 60 bullets each and swap them as they empty. Then reload the tubes and do it again. A little bit more setup time but you can really crank the rounds out after you get rolling. Not like a collator but much quieter.

 

[jmorris]

I understand, I too started with case and bullet feed without collators. The time spent picking a bullet up and orienting it bottom down and dropping it into a hole, so you don’t have to pick up a bullet, flip it base down and set it in a hole on top of the case, just doesn’t save much time.

Kind of like the time it takes to load 100 rounds. If you can load 100 rounds in 4 minutes.



If it takes you another 4 minutes to fill case tubes, 4 minutes to fill bullet tubes that means it actually takes you 12 minutes to load that 100.

If you can top everything back off in a minute and a half.

 

[George P]

Yesterday I received the replacement shell plate for the one that I ordered wrong for my Lee Breech Lock Pro. Misread the description. So I was looking online for the best price for adding bushings and came across the Hornady Pistol bullet feeder die which piqued my interest for use with 9mm bullets.

Originally the press was purchased to load 45acp with 4 dies because I was having serve chambering problems trying to use just the 3 die set and for this it has been working wonderfully. So I returned the #13 shell plate to Midwest and picked up a #19 for 9mm. Now I'm having no trouble loading anything with the 9mm while using the Lee 3 die set. Which of course will leave a space open on the BLP using only three dies. Enter the Bullet feeder in that open hole.

I was thinking this would work very well on this press as the position that the case is in after the powder drop is towards the rear of the press so this would help eliminate reaching around to the rear to place each bullet. Also because I am not experiencing any problems with seating and crimping in the same die right now with the 9mm.

So the idea is to set up the press like this; 1. deprime and size, 2. powder drop, 3. bullet feed die, 4. seat and crimp.

What do you all think? Does the Hornady bullet die work?

Where are you flaring the case before seating the bullet?

 

[Tilos]

Yesterday I received the replacement shell plate for the one that I ordered wrong for my Lee Breech Lock Pro. Misread the description. So I was looking online for the best price for adding bushings and came across the Hornady Pistol bullet feeder die which piqued my interest for use with 9mm bullets.

Originally the press was purchased to load 45acp with 4 dies because I was having serve chambering problems trying to use just the 3 die set and for this it has been working wonderfully. So I returned the #13 shell plate to Midwest and picked up a #19 for 9mm. Now I'm having no trouble loading anything with the 9mm while using the Lee 3 die set. Which of course will leave a space open on the BLP using only three dies. Enter the Bullet feeder in that open hole.

I was thinking this would work very well on this press as the position that the case is in after the powder drop is towards the rear of the press so this would help eliminate reaching around to the rear to place each bullet. Also because I am not experiencing any problems with seating and crimping in the same die right now with the 9mm.

So the idea is to set up the press like this; 1. deprime and size, 2. powder drop, 3. bullet feed die, 4. seat and crimp.

What do you all think? Does the Hornady bullet die work?

I have/use 2 different Hornady bullet feeding dies with (long) plastic tubes that hold 50 bullets each.
A case feeder is not an option on some of the presses I have, and my goal is to limit what my left does to one thing and leaving my right hand on the lever during a progressive cycle.

Expect the feeder dies to need some fluff and buff to improve their operation.
The chamfer that the case enters to spread the lower fingers is very rough and will need to be polished to avoid the brass dust others have mentioned.

The upper fingers have a rough cone surface where it enters the lower fingers that requires polishing, as well as the inside of both fingers to remove burrs.

I bullet feed nothing but Hi-Tek coated bullets with no lube grooves and have had no trouble with the Hornady Bullet Feeding dies.

 

[Dudedog]

and my goal is limit what my left does to one thing and leaving my right hand on the lever during a progressive cycle.

That's the big plus IMO.
Also I never polished/ my Hornady bullet feed die, adjusted it per instructions and it works fine.
I don't have one but some say the Mr Bullet feeder die is a better product, but since my Hornady works I don't see any need to replace it.

 

[kmw1954]

Where are you flaring the case before seating the bullet?

The second die in the Lee set is the powder thru and expander which is what I use. So far I've no problems with this. So to repeat the sequence for 9mm; 1. Decap and resize, 2 flair and drop powder, 3. choice of powder check, bullet feed or seating die, 4.depending on what is in #3 seat and crimp or a lone crimp die. With the 45acp I will be using the Lee Pistol 4 die set.

The bullet feed die will not doubt make this process faster but that isn't the primary goal, which would be to make the press easier to operate, less movement by me the operator. Now at the same time if I did all my prep work and priming off the press I could also do this on the Pro1000 with just the powder measure, bullet feed and then seat and crimp in the last position. Or on the Breech Lock Pro the same way while adding the seat and crimp separately. Lots of versatility here.

Anyway I really want to thank everyone for all these tips, still willing to listen to any others! Thank You! Tilos are those Lee plastic case tubes you're using?

 

[jmorris]

If you know anyone that has a 3D printer there are free files you can download and print your own collator.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/so-you-want-a-bullet-collator.834835/#post-10801153

 

[RealGun]

The second die in the Lee set is the powder thru and expander which is what I use. So far I've no problems with this. So to repeat the sequence for 9mm; 1. Decap and resize, 2 flair and drop powder, 3. choice of powder check, bullet feed or seating die, 4.depending on what is in #3 seat and crimp or a lone crimp die. With the 45acp I will be using the Lee Pistol 4 die set.

The bullet feed die will not doubt make this process faster but that isn't the primary goal, which would be to make the press easier to operate, less movement by me the operator. Now at the same time if I did all my prep work and priming off the press I could also do this on the Pro1000 with just the powder measure, bullet feed and then seat and crimp in the last position. Or on the Breech Lock Pro the same way while adding the seat and crimp separately. Lots of versatility here.

Anyway I really want to thank everyone for all these tips, still willing to listen to any others! Thank You! Tilos are those Lee plastic case tubes you're using?

The Bully Adapter is available to fit various brands of feeder dies. I have one each for Hornady and Mr. Bullet Feeder dies. The MBF I find needed for wax lubed bullets. So far I have only used them on my LnL AP, but I do have a Auto Breech Lock Pro 4000 with a case feeder and was intrigued by your question and the responses.

For 9mm, I think I would first try the Lee bullet feeder, which I already own. But in 9mm you have to get the right length feeder fingers to match the bullets, or it will keep dropping bullets. As I recall, there are three lengths for 9mm. I just am not sure I want to load that little press down too much. I am already fussing with the primer feed while having developed a pretty good rhythm at placing bullets at the seating die by hand. I split seat and crimp, using all Lee dies for 38 Special and all Lee except a Hornady seater on 357 Magnum, all lead bullets, all coated. It has been a long time, but I loaded 9mm on a Pro1000 with both case and bullet feeder by Lee, and priming on the press. Lot of fiddling, but it produced a bunch of ammo quickly. If I start up 9mm again, I will likely use the new Pro4000 to include the FCD station and a simplified priming system.

 

[Skgreen]

Easier (for me) to achieve a 'balanced cadence' between my right and left hands when I use a bullet feeder and manually feed just the brass.
I do not have a collater.

I lay the tubes flat on a towel along with a handful or 2 of bullets.

(Spread towel out flat on a table. You want to keep the towel 'tight'. I usually set the bullet box on one end. A 'light to medium' pile bath towel seems to work better for me than one with a heavy/plush pile)

Once you get your technique down, it's easy / quick to use both hands* to shuffle/slide them in the tubes. (* I'm right handed. I place my left palm on the end of the tube. Right palm on table @ stack 'o' bullets. Using just my fingers, I'll spin/bring bullets with right hand to left hand. slip 'em in the tube with the left fingers.)

Getting up and loading tubes also helps to break monotony/complacency.