What is the deal on this? I wouldn't own a progressive if I couldn't count on it to do all the steps it's supposed to. I keep seeing more and more Hornady owners that won't prime on their press, even have 2 friends that are the same way.
There are a lot of Dillon users too that do this but want admit to it.
Those that don't in most cases have been using a hand priming tool with a SS press out of habit. Habits are hard to break....
In most cases I would say they did not take the time to set it up correctly. There are a few key adj that must be made for it to work reliability. Just like sizing, if it's not done right you will have problems. I ran close to 6k rounds through my LNL-AP last Jan all press primed. Those who say it want seat deep enough either not pressing forward firmly in one smooth motion or they have a bench that is not solid and moving on them. I took some measurements awhile back which indicated that the seating punch is capable of seating the primer 0.050"+ to deep and this is with the dimple in the press where it hits. My current setup (45acp) shows the primer seating punch height to be in the extractor grove. The brass and primer combo can impact how easy a primer seats. Some brass needs the primer pocket cleaned up from a crimp. Trying to prime these can be hard but can be done if the primer pocket is not to small for the primer to start.
Primer pickup is just a adj that is off. There is a dwell time that needs to be there for the primers to drop into the sled. If it's off the time is greatly shortened and you will have feed problems. The key is the rod MUST be Vertical for this dwell time. If not it's a moving target and you must move slow to give it time to drop into the sled.
I think the biggest complaint is not having a good feel.
I have never had a primer go off seating them. I have crushed/deformed them, but they have not gone off. In my 35+ yrs of reloading I have never had a primer go off during seating.
The LNL is one of simple design with very few moving parts. Once everything is dialed in they run smooth, trouble free. But like any thing else, if not setup right, it will not work right. It only has 1 part made of plastic, can't say that about a dillon. And it hold the top of the primer feed rod vertical. The shell retainer spring work great. It took me a couple of years to figure out what I was doing to kink them. Once I figured that out, the current one is over 2 yrs old with no kinks. It's nice to be able to easily remove a case form the shell plate when needed, check powder charge and easily put it back.
Take a look at Dillon. They have been making the press for 30+ yrs and they still have problems. They are very slow when it comes to correcting design flaws. Hornady listens to its end users and will make a part mod. If it works they change the part during production runs. Yes you may become a beta tester but atleast you are getting parts to correct problems either design flaws or improvements to press. Personally I don't mind in doing this. It just makes the press better in the long run.