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Old January 25, 2013, 11:28 PM   #1
Big-Blue
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Is this the right configuration for a Hornady LNL AP?

I'm new to reloading and am about to order my first press. I've looked at a number of options and think I will get the Hornady LNL AP. I will verify with Hornady CS before I order, but I'd appreciate your input in advance.

I plan to initially reload .45ACP for a semi-automatic pistol, but will later add components for a 9mm Luger and a .45LC. At some point I might even get into rifles.

Initially I'm planning to:
- Manually insert the casing (may add a case feeder later).
- Auto feed the bullet from a tube I mount above the bullet feeder die (may add the bullet feeder later).
- Taper crimp with the bullet seating die.

I'm planning to order for the .45ACP the following:
1. The basic LNL AP
2. A .45ACP Easy access shell plate #45
3. A .45 ACP 3 taper crimp die set
4. Two .45ACP bullet dies (one for FMJ and another to bore out the center for cast bullets).
5. A powder cop die
6. A primer flipper tray
7. A reloading block
8. A Hornady Manual
9. A can of case lube
10. A bullet puller
11. A digital caliper
12. A powder scale

My assumption is that the press's five positions will contain.
1. Decap and sizing die
2. Expansion (belling) and powder charging die
3. Powder check die
4. Auto Bullet seating die
5. Bullet set and taper crimp die

Have I misunderstood anything? Am I missing anything? Have I got something in here that I don't need?
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Old January 26, 2013, 08:26 AM   #2
cryogenic419
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Looking at your list of things you need...if you use carbide dies you shouldn't need case lube.

Looking at your station setup...#2, you are going to need a powder thru expander. Hornady sells them, although when I got this press theirs was not without issues and you needed one for each different caliber. There is a better alternative out there and is kind of a one size fits damn near all solution.

http://www.powderfunnels.com/

I would also recommend at least an extra case retaining spring.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/116...etainer-spring
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Old January 26, 2013, 09:04 AM   #3
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cryogenic419, great tip on the powder funnel. I bought one right after buying my AP and it works great.

Big-Blue, your on the right track. Be sure to have sturdy well lit bench to mount your new press.
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Old January 26, 2013, 10:01 AM   #4
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I never got my LNL to run. You might want to pick another different press.
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Old January 26, 2013, 05:15 PM   #5
Big-Blue
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What does the Powder Funnel die give you that the included Hornady PTX die does not? If I'm not mistaken the included PTX die does the case flaring and the powder drop in one station already.
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Old January 26, 2013, 05:16 PM   #6
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Rajbcpa, what was the problem you had with your LNL AP?
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Old January 26, 2013, 08:59 PM   #7
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I will skip the part where I caution you about beginning with a progressive. If you are determined to buy a progressive I recommend you start running one case through the press at a time until you get a feel for each step.

Be sure to mount the press securely to the most stable bench or platform that you can find.

You assume in your message that your #3 (bullet seating and crimp) is taper crimp die. Many die sets for .45 ACP impart a roll crimp so beware. If yours is truly a taper crimper, you can seat and crimp in one station (my #3 RCBS die has a roll crimp so I use that for seating only and use a separate taper crimp die in station #5. If your #3 die won't seat and taper crimp in one step, you will have to separate these steps (some handloaders like to do this anyway), in which case you will have to drop either the bullet feeder or the powder check. If I had that choice I would choose safety/quality over production speed and drop the bullet feeder.

The LNL-AP includes the powder charging die but all it does is charge the case. It does NOT include the PTX (powder through expander) which replaces the standard pistol drop tube inside the powder charging die. I have the Hornady PTX, which has worked OK for me; others prefer the Powderfunnels product. You MAY need to add the PTX Powder Measure Stop; this is an adjustable bracket that fits over the linkage on the powder measure and lets you dial in the amount of bell you want when using the PTX. I think it is supposed to ship with the press now. Mine did not but Hornady sent me one for free.

To use a powder check die and a bullet feeder your setup will be:

Station One: #1 die (decap and resize);
Station Two: Powder measure with PTX or powder funnel (your #2 die stays in its box);
Station Three: Powder Cop/Powder Check/Lockout Die (see below);
Station Four: Bullet feeder die; and
Station Five: #3 die (bullet seating and crimp).

I like having the safety of a powder check/stop die after case charging. Don't tell me that since the Hornady powder measure is case activated that it cannot fail to throw a perfect charge. Murphy's Law prevails. I recommend spending another pizza and buying the RCBS Lockout Die. You don't have to watch it. You have plenty to do already. If the Lockout Die detects a problem it stops your press cold. If mine were stolen I would buy another.

I don't use a loading block with the progressive press. Ditch it and buy the extra large ammo catch bin.

Get the case lube. Yes, I know the dies are carbide or nitride and don't require lubed cases. Buy a can of One Shot Case Lube and give your cases a light spray. Your press will run better.

Buy two cans of Hornady One Shot Cleaner and Dry Lube. You will use a full can cleaning the packing grease off of the press (this is covered in the setup DVD).
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Old January 27, 2013, 08:08 AM   #8
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I highly recommend the RCBS Lock-out die over the various powder check dies. You have to actually look at the powder check die for it to be effective, while the Lock-out die will stop the machine with a low/no load or an over charged case.
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Old January 27, 2013, 08:43 AM   #9
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Plus another one for the powderfunnel. Someone on here gave me that tip and it has worked well. I will caution that it does bell just a bit differently but its ability to work with so many calibers is worth it.

I also second the RCBS lock-out die. If set up properly it stops you cold if under of over charged. I know it works, just don't ask me to explain it. Worth the bucks like crunchy said.

I don't lube the straight wall cases, doesn't mean you can't. Also you will use lots of the one shot cleaner and case lube. I use it all the time for things.

You likely won't need the reloading block. I have several and with my progressive I don't use them anymore.

I also picked up the rotor designed to measure light loads under 4.0 grains. I use a lot of TG and W231 powder with light loads and this rotor is very consistent.

I go with decap/size in #1, powder through in #2, powder lock out in #3, bullet seating in #4 and FCD in $ 5. I put just enough crimp to close the bell although you can do that with your bullet seating die. I just like the extra sizing of the FCD at the end.

Good luck and you also might pick up Lyman's book as well. Keep us posted on how it goes. I am still learning myself, be patient, it takes time no matter which way you go. Blessings
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Old January 27, 2013, 09:27 AM   #10
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I moved all my Lee dies and PAD to my LnL AP and added an RCBS Lock-out die in position three. At the beginning I wished I could have moved the Safety Prime too. However, the primer system soon smoothed out and haven't had ANY priming problems for several thousand rounds. Still feel kind of silly using the primer pickup sticks after using the Lee magazine, but it does give you a break. I ALMOST ordered one of the primer filler gizmos that are supposed to be coming back on the market, but finally realized that I didn't really have a $45 problem with the pickup sticks.
I really don't believe there could be a simpler, more economical, or more effective system for station two than the Lee PAD and the Lee expander/flare/powder through die.
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Old January 27, 2013, 11:11 AM   #11
cryogenic419
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Big-Blue

Hornady doesn't include a powder thru expander with the press, its something you have to buy seperately. The expander in the die set is not a powder through die, it is a solid expander.. The problem is that you will need one for each caliber that you are loading for. The one from powderfunnels works on .30-.50 calibers, no need to buy multiple expanders.
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Old January 27, 2013, 01:05 PM   #12
thump_rrr
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He is buying the bullet feeder die which includes the powder through expander.
The first thing I would do is find a place which has the shellplate in stock.
The shellplate for .45ACP is #45. If it is not available #1 can be used in its place since that was the original shellplate for that caliber.
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Old January 27, 2013, 01:18 PM   #13
cryogenic419
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The bullet feeder die does not handle powder, bullets only.

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/...nst-manual.pdf
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Old January 27, 2013, 01:52 PM   #14
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Quote:
Rajbcpa, what was the problem you had with your LNL AP?
Well, after reading his posts, it seems EVERYTHING was wrong with it. He certainly must have got a bum one. I'm really glad he likes his BLUE though. The MORE reloaders out there, the BETTER!!
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Last edited by Waldog; January 27, 2013 at 02:57 PM.
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Old January 27, 2013, 02:03 PM   #15
thump_rrr
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Quote:
cryogenic419 The bullet feeder die does not handle powder, bullets only.

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/...nst-manual.pdf
You obviously didn't comprehend what I wrote.

The Hornady bullet feeder dies include with them the powder through expander which goes in the powder measure.
This is because you are using one station to drop the bullet so they don't want you to run out of stations so they provide them.

I know this because when I ordered my setup I ordered all the powder through expanders.
I also ordered all the bullet feeder dies.
When I opened up all of my items I had doubles of all the powder through expanders.

If you look at the photo in the link I provided you will see the powder through expander along side the bullet feeder die.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/3-0819336
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Old January 27, 2013, 02:04 PM   #16
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Excellent feedback. Exactly what I needed.

I've added two cans of One Shot, a Powder Funnel's PTX, the Pistol Rotor and Metering Assembly, the Lyman manual, and have replaced the Powder Cop with the RCBS Powder Lockout die on my list.

I'll verify that the PTX Powder Measure Stop is included with the press, if not I'll order that as well.

Can I adapt the Lee multi-tube bullet feeder to an LNL AP? I'd like to stay with the Hornady bullet feeder die, but I'd like to know if I could use manually rotated Lee multi-tube feeder to feed that die.

Can I adapt the Lee Pro Case Feeder with Collator to an LNL AP? I suppose I'd still need to buy the lower assembly for the Hornady Case Feeder, but at least then I wouldn't have to listen to that feeder plate running all the time. Here's a YouTube video I found which describes what one guy put together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxuBWa16WeM
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Old January 27, 2013, 02:36 PM   #17
schmellba99
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Station #1 - size, deprime
Station #2 - flare
Station #3 - powder
Station #4 - powder cop (though with powder charges as small as most. 45 loads, it is hit and miss on it being necessary. I don't use it anymore on small pistol loading.)
Station #5 - seat,crimp

Pretty simple. Many posts over complicating a simple procedure.

I actually do the above, except seat in Station #4 and use a separate crimp die in station #5. Seems to have worked just fine for umpteen thousand rounds.
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Old January 27, 2013, 04:48 PM   #18
thump_rrr
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Quote:
Station #1 - size, deprime
Station #2 - flare
Station #3 - powder
Station #4 - powder cop (though with powder charges as small as most. 45 loads, it is hit and miss on it being necessary. I don't use it anymore on small pistol loading.)
Station #5 - seat,crimp

Pretty simple. Many posts over complicating a simple procedure.

I actually do the above, except seat in Station #4 and use a separate crimp die in station #5. Seems to have worked just fine for umpteen thousand rounds.
The only problem is that he wants to have a bullet feeder die.
He was 100% correct in his assessment .
Quote:
I'm initially planning to:
- Manually insert the casing (may add a case feeder later).
- Auto feed the bullet from a tube I mount above the bullet feeder die (may add the bullet feeder later).
- Taper crimp with the bullet seating die....

My assumption is that the press's five positions will contain.
1. Decap and sizing die
2. Expansion (belling) and powder charging die
3. Powder check die
4. Auto Bullet seating die
5. Bullet set and taper crimp die

Have I misunderstood anything? Am I missing anything? Have I got something in here that I don't need?

Last edited by thump_rrr; January 27, 2013 at 04:57 PM.
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Old January 27, 2013, 04:55 PM   #19
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The Hornady L-N-L AP didn't workout well for me. I tried, I really tried to get it to work properly. Had the typical primer feeding issues, along with shell plate timing issues. Did all the mods as found here in these forums. Polish this, polish that, loosen this, tighten that. Others had success, I did not. Tagged it, bagged it, and sent it back.
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Old January 29, 2013, 04:25 PM   #20
cryogenic419
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Well its good to see they aren't nickle and diming people on the expander. I swear I pulled up the manual for the bullet feeder online and read through that just to make sure. Now I know.
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