Hornady 'powder cop' vs RCBS lockout die?

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So which is better?

I'm planning my LNL AP purchase...

The Hornady 'powder cop' requires one to keep an eye on the die to check for proper powder load.

The RCBS seems smarter to me, they say it will lock up the press when a wrong charge is detected (obviously only if you set it up correctly). Is this true? Does it work well on the LNL AP? Anyone have one?
 
I have an RCBS cop die. I like it an it works well for me on my LNL press. It's pretty easy to keep an eye on.
 
Do you mean the RCBS lockout die? I think they have two different verions of them, one is a lockout, the other is not?

No, it's not the lockout die I have. It's like the Hornady one that you watch. It has a plunger that moves up when there is powder in the case.
 
Not to be snarky, but isn't it just as easy to look in the case as it is to look at the powder cop die?

You have to look at the case anyway to put the bullet on it. I put a little light on my machine that shines down into the case between the powder drop and seating stations (at the bottom when you place the bullet).

My theory is that I want to minimize the places where I have to look. On each stroke I visually check only two things: The powder level as I'm placing the bullet, and the first station to make sure the case fed properly. Everything else goes by feel. I look at the powder hopper when I refill the primer tube.
 
EC,

Thanks for your input, and I appreciate it. I'm just looking for a bit of extra safety. That's why I asked about the lockout die vs checking the powder visually, also that's why I'm looking into the lock out die, the powder cop seems easy to miss visually. It seems a bit safer to me to catch those human errors that can crop up.
 
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Not to be snarky, but isn't it just as easy to look in the case as it is to look at the powder cop die?

You have to look at the case anyway to put the bullet on it. I put a little light on my machine that shines down into the case between the powder drop and seating stations (at the bottom when you place the bullet).

My theory is that I want to minimize the places where I have to look. On each stroke I visually check only two things: The powder level as I'm placing the bullet, and the first station to make sure the case fed properly. Everything else goes by feel. I look at the powder hopper when I refill the primer tube.


I have a friend that uses a lockout die AND uses a light to look into the case. However- my press is mounted too low to stand while reloading and when I'm sitting down I can't see into the cases... even with short 9mm.. never mind 38sp. I can put the bullet in the case easily without standing up. I trust the cop I use.
 
I have a friend that uses a lockout die AND uses a light to look into the case. However- my press is mounted too low to stand while reloading and when I'm sitting down I can't see into the cases... even with short 9mm.. never mind 38sp. I can put the bullet in the case easily without standing up. I trust the cop I use.

Have you thought about mounting a mirror to look in to the case with? A bunch of people on benos do that on the 550.
 
My press is mounted too low to stand while reloading and when I'm sitting down I can't see into the cases... even with short 9mm.. never mind 38sp. I can put the bullet in the case easily without standing up. I trust the cop I use.

Gotcha.

I have a Powder Cop that I've never taken out of the box because I never saw a need for it. I load standing up and I'm a lefty. I stand right over the filled case.

I also never saw the need for a low powder alarm or low primer sensor. [thinking]
 
I also never saw the need for a low powder alarm or low primer sensor. [thinking]

The new LnLs come with a fiberglass rod follower that sits on top of the primers in the primer tube. You may want to pick up a dowell that fits in the primer tube, that way you know when it's going empty before you feel the lack of primer.
 
I also never saw the need for a low powder alarm or low primer sensor. [thinking]

Yeah.. maybe the primer but the low powder just seems ridiculous. Did you get/install the new EZ-Ject subplate? I did (although I didn't really have problems with the wire) and it does work real nice. It's a great set up.
 
Yeah.. maybe the primer but the low powder just seems ridiculous. Did you get/install the new EZ-Ject subplate? I did (although I didn't really have problems with the wire) and it does work real nice. It's a great set up.

I don't think I'm going to do it. I have about 25 shellplates that would have to be cut, and I'm fine with the wire (thanks to your tip). I can get it to work on all calibers.
 
I decided to get the RCBS lockout die for use on the Hornady LnL AP press. I haven't put a lot of rounds through it yet (I just received it the other day), but upon initial inspection and installation, I have to say that I'm impressed with how this works.

For those of you that wonder how it differs from other powder indicating designs such as the Hornady Powder Cop, or the RCBS Powder Checker dies, the RCBS Lockout die is designed to lock up the press to stop all loading operations if a powder charge is either too low (no-charge) or too high (double charge) within its tolerance of error. As in its name, if an improper level of powder is detected, it will 'jam' (lockout) the press arm as the ram raises and the cartridge shell comes into contact with the bottom of the lockout die. If a proper amount of powder is detected, the cartridge is allowed to enter the lockout die, so no lockout occurs.

It is adjustable for different amounts of powder, and comes with two difference nylon plastic feet (one for smaller cartidges such an 9mm and similar, and one for larger such as 45 ACP, magnum, etc). I'm not sure how important it is to change the foot as there is not a large difference in the sizes between the feet. It's probably that the larger foot will not fit into smaller cartridges such as 9mm and the larger foot will register small amounts of powder in a larger cartridge with more accuracy.

This lockout die is a lot different than the 'powder cop' type of die. As others have clearly stated with an indicator die such as the Hornady powder cop (or RCBS powder checker), you have to remember look at the die to determine if the powder charge is correct. It's almost as easy to just look into the cartridge just before you place a bullet on it before the seating operation. The powder cop is easier to see when using deep cartridges, but you still have to remember to look at it otherwise it is useless.

With the indicating style of die, you need to get into a rythm and not break it: at the top of the ram stroke, check the indicating die, at the bottom of the ram stroke, add a bullet to the cartridge (this is where you could have simply looked into the cartridge case, which keeps your eyes in one place).

When adjusted properly, the RCBS lockout die will always be affective without you having to remember look at it. So there is no need to remember to check the indicating die.

If you have a case feeder, this means all you are doing is placing the bullets on the cartridge at the proper moment.

If you work on 100 round batches (bags/boxes) of bullets, and load 100 primers at a time into the primer tube, there is not much to do but place the bullets on the cartridges. Then load more shells into the case feeder hopper, load your primers, open another box/bag of 100 bullets, and continue the process.

Keep in mind that it is one more thing that needs to be adjusted (as is the powder cop) when you change cartridges or amount of powder charge you use. You may or may not need to also change the foot size if changing cartridge type.

The lock out die is designed to work on straight wall pistol cartridges (I'm not sure if that means it won't work on a 357 sig), so you may also want a powder cop for use with rifle cartridges.

If you are going to be loading only pistol cartridges and are considering using an indicator die, I'd recommend the RCBS lockout die over the powder cop. If you are going to be loading both rifle and pistol cartridges, you may want both.

I have the lockout die mounted in a LnL bushing makes it easy to install and remove when needed.

I'll report back again if there are any issues encountered when using the lockout die after extensive use.
 
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I have about four or five hundred (or so) more pistol rounds through the RCBS lockout die now.

I just want to confirm that it has been working perfectly. It did catch an issue when my powder throw was off and helped to alert me before that case even made it to point where I would have looked into it to see a low powder level. So to me, this is great peace of mind because you know what that could have meant if I missed checking that round with with my eyeball!

I tested it with a double charge and it also prefectly detected this condition.

I highly recommend the RCBS Lockout Die with a progressive press, especially if you have an automatic case loader.

In case there is any question, this is the one I'm mentioning:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=536792

Don't even bother to purchase the Hornady Powder Cop (except maybe for rifle cartridges, as I don't know if the RCBS lockout die will work with rifle cases).
 
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Thanks great review , curently using a powder cop so far so good but will look into this , I did change my sub plate to the new EZ-Ject subplate , really hated loading 9mm luger with the wire ejector . I am fairly new to loading so only had to send in one plate for cutting love the way it works now turn around for the plate cut was rather quick .
 
I have both the powder cop and the lockout die. I load my ammo sitting down for the most part and I don't mind looking at things when in motion. The mirror is a good idea as well. I will stand when loading 45/70, it just seems easier that way and I am not loading a thousands in a session like with 45 ACP.

Whenever I get down to the last primer it seems to hang up the slide due to falling at an angle. I have used a piece of steel brake line as an indicator. The last half inch or so is marked with red sharpie and has a stop so it won't go down further than necessary. That is for large primers. For small I use a cut down plastic rod that was from a Dillon low powder sensor.
 
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