Buying a Hornady (Edit: Midway hosed me, ordered a Dillon instead!)

[Urj]

I'm ordering a Hornady LNL AP from Midway today so I can take advantage of the 1000 free bullets offer and I'm freakin frustrated.

Maybe I'm just retarded but I can't figure out what other parts I have to buy to make the press work. I want to start loading .45ACP and eventually .223 after I get some practice.

I know I need the press. What other parts do I have to buy separately?

Thanks!

 

[tele_mark]

You need a shell plate for each caliber, and maybe an extra set of LnL bushings. You might want to get the pistol metering unit for .45ACP, because the stock metering unit is a little too big for accurate settings of smallish charges.

 

[bpm990d]

Make sure they send you the new model without the wire ejector.

B

 

[Lugnut]

Did you call Hornady? They have great customer service.

 

[Fixxah]

Without question I think you are making the right choice. For loading .45 ACP I would advise you to:

_Buy the pistol rotor for light loads, it comes with rifle rotor and this will NOT allow you to accurately load .45 etc.

_Buy the "Powder Thru Expander" since it does two steps in one station.

_I have a "Powder Cop" die and love it. Your choice.

_Another nice little toy is the powder funnel that goes right into powder rotor and allows you to drain it without removal.

_I have loaded thousands of .45 and am still on the original shell holding spring but some say to buy an extra.

_If your powder drop seems to work itself loose I will send you some extra O-rings that will prevent this.

_If you are getting a casefeeder you will need shell plate for this as well. Mine had an issue with dropping cases upside down but it was an easy fix and I will gladly share if need be.

_Buy a scale kit. This is a MUST!!

If you load jacketed ammo there is no need for a Lee FCD, but for cast it is the balls.

If you are in the Norwood area, you can come buy any time and try mine out to see what you may like/ dis-like and go from there.

If there are rifle bullets you may load that are a better value than the .45 JHP I suggest buying them, You will probably shoot far fewer of them than pistol. I cast my own for .45ACP right now but will be doing '06 and others at some point.

tele mark is spot on reistol rotor

 

[Gammon]

Dillon.

 

[Urj]

No

 

[EddieCoyle]

RJ,

If you want to take a road trip to Groton, I'll show you everything you need to know.

 

[Cross-X]

RJ,

If you want to take a road trip to Groton, I'll show you everything you need to know.

Don't pass up this offer. EC knows this stuff backward, forward, and sideways.

 

[Bugs100]

After you clean the powder measure run a little Powdered graphite though it. It made a big difference with mine.

 

[Fixxah]

I will be looking for a bullet feeder for mine after Christmas so all I will have to do is fill powder and primers then pull handle. Gotta love it!

 

[Urj]

Thanks EC and Fixxah for your help! I'll definitely take you both up on your offers once the holiday season winds down!

 

[Papakeith]

I just purchased this press too. I decided to go ahead and get the casefeeder; a Christmas gift for me . Anyway, it's on backorder right now so I'm just waiting on the shipping notification.

As others have said, to get going, I got the press, the case feeder, the proper shell plate for the cartridges I plan on loading, ptx insert for the powder measure, bushings, and the casefeeder shellplate. I already have dies on hand.

_Buy the pistol rotor for light loads, it comes with rifle rotor and this will NOT allow you to accurately load .45 etc.

According to the online manual:

This press comes packaged with the Standard Rotor & Standard Metering Insert and the Pistol Rotor & Pistol Metering Insert.

This seems to be for the new EZ-Ject press kit only.

I'll second giving Hornady a call or drop them an email. Every email I've sent them has been answered within an hour. Usually within 20 minutes or so.

 

[Urj]

As others have said, to get going, I got the press, the case feeder, the proper shell plate for the cartridges I plan on loading, ptx insert for the powder measure, bushings, and the casefeeder shellplate. I already have dies on hand.

This is what I was looking for! Thanks Papa, and everyone else.

 

[Urj]

Well, I ordered the Hornady LnL knowing it was on backorder but Midway was supposed to have them in stock in time for me to take advantage of the 1,000 free bullets promo. Now Midway won't have them in stock until the 12th and thus I won't be able to get in on the promo.

So I ordered a Dillon RL 550B for about 10$ more. I just checked the price on the dies for the Dillon and they're like $30 more than the Hornady's! All I can say is the Dillon better be as good as everyone touts it to be... especially since I'll have to buy my first case of bullets now.

 

[BIG GUN]

You can use anyones dies in the Dillon 550.

 

[Urj]

Which dies should I use though? I assume the Dillon dies would be best to use, is there a better option? Would the Hornady dies work well?

 

[houdini]

Do they have a catalog so you can llok to see what else you need.

 

[Fixxah]

Which dies should I use though? I assume the Dillon dies would be best to use, is there a better option? Would the Hornady dies work well?

I have a Lee FCD for .45 Acp you can have. Hornady pistol dies are Titanium Nitride and will last forever I think. FCD is good for lead bullets.

 

[jamz]

I run dillon, Lee, and RCBS dies in my 550.

 

[bookem]

I just got an email back from Hornady. They will be extending the 1000 free bullet into 2009 due to the huge demand and many backorders.

 

[Gammon]

Which dies should I use though? I assume the Dillon dies would be best to use, is there a better option? Would the Hornady dies work well?

The Dillon dies work fine but there are others on the market that will perform some functions as well or better. I use the Lee "undersize" resizing die (from EGW) to resize my .40 brass. This is the only die that I have found that will resize "Glocked" .40 brass without leaving a bulge at the base. I also use the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Another die I have become fond of is the Redding Competition Seating Die. This seating die uses a micrometer seating stem marked off in thousandths that is finger adjustable (no lock nut) and repeatable so you can easily change bullet weight and shape by recording the setting for each type of bullet. This die can also be disassembled for cleaning without losing your settings. I like these dies so much I installed them on three of my Dillons.

For starters, however, I would go with the Dillon dies (I used them for over 20 years) and then replace individual dies if and when you feel the need for another die.

 

[Manomet]

I think your (Edit: Midway hosed me, ordered a Dillon instead!) is a bit harsh. Hornady is selling so many they are behind and you chose to malign Midway?

 

[Fixxah]

I think the LnL is worth the wait. Surely you have some ammo still and are wanting it now just "because". I am an "I need it now" guy myself, but will be getting LnL single stage because I like Hornady. Red or Blue? It all comes down to each of us as individuals anyway.

You would have done yourself a huge favor by seeing the presses in real live action. You know the doors are always open and if you change your mind you can send back the unopened Dillon and get Red.

 

[Manomet]

I made the pilgrimage up to EC's reloading cave. Nice guy, learned about LnLs and a lot more besides. Bought an LnL this summer from Midsouth on sale @ $349 and still don't have my 1000 44's ( didn't mail in until mid Nov) but I am very pleased with my choice. There was a thread here a while back w/ 2 video links that showed both in action. Everyone has some back orders right now, good luck.

 

[Urj]

I think your (Edit: Midway hosed me, ordered a Dillon instead!) is a bit harsh. Hornady is selling so many they are behind and you chose to malign Midway?

It may read as a bit harsh but there's a bit more to the story than just a backorder. I called midway and asked if they could charge my credit card now even though the press was backordered just so I could get some sort of invoice for the bullet promo. They said they couldn't do that, of course that's because of Missouri law so that's not their fault either.

I'm just overly dramatic once in awhile!


As far as the color goes, I'm not going to be one of those my blue is better than your green guys; that stuffs stupid. For all I care if the thing turns out ammo then I'm happy. We can all still be friends right?

 

[eisenhow]

I'm in the same boat. I was ready to pull the lever (pun intended) and saw that they are on back order. I guess I'll be patient. I also was ready to order Hornady Nitride dies. I could have sworn they sold 4-die pistol sets, now I only see 3-die sets (in 9mm, 45, .38/.357). Am I mis-remembering? I've been doing a lot of reading and I thought that seating and crimping in separate dies was a "good thing".

 

[Manomet]

According to 08 catalog only the big boys 454, 460,500 are 4 die sets.

 

[eisenhow]

According to 08 catalog only the big boys 454, 460,500 are 4 die sets.

Yeah, you're right. I must be losing it.

How about this setup for 9mm on a LnL?

Station 1:EGW U-die
Station 2: Hornady quick change powder die with a powder through expander
Station 3: Hornady powder cop
Station 4: Redding seater die
Station 5: Lee FCD

I've got a lot of range brass with Glock bulge (It's not as bad as the ..40 bulge). I understand that the "updated" LnL won't have problems with the Lee FCD in station 5. Am I over thinking this? Should I just get a Hornady 3-die set? I'm planning on using poly-coated bullets (the ones Scrivener used to recommend). I know starting reloading with 9mm isn't the best (small cases, less forgiving cartridge) but it's what I'm shooting.

 

[Fixxah]

eisenhow, Any time you can drop powder thru expander it is good in my book. It will free up another station since it will remove the expander die. If you are doing small cal. pistol you may want a powder cop die, some don't but I like it. Changing dies takes literally two seconds.