Thoughts on Hornady lock n load system

[countryboy27012]

Hey guys, need some thoughts on the hornady lock n load system.

I have been wanting to get into reloading for a while and ran across this system in my research. It sounds like the lock n load bushings would make things easier to duplicate once set up and locked in. It also comes with everything needed to get started up, as I have nothing.

This would be for range ammo mostly (223/556, 9, 40 45) and possibly some precision hunting loads in .270 and eventually 300acc.

Is this a good investment? I have enough rewards points to get the system and some dies without having to out of pocket any funds. Any advice is appreciated.

[themonk]

I have a Lock and Load. Awesome system and your are correct that the bushing do make things a lot easier.

I was in your shoes a while back and everyone told me to go Dillon. In my experience Hornady customer service is every bit as good at Dillon. All Hornady ammo is developed on their own reloading equipment. Do your research but you need to run a Dillon filter as most of those that say go blue have never used any other reloading equipment and have a huge bias.

I dont reload as much as I used to as the price of ammo has come down but I very much love my LnL.

[OldState]

I went with the LNL several years ago and am very happy. CS is outstanding. On paper and in use it is a far superior design to the Dillon. The benefit of the bushing system will become evident very quickly.

I too asked around online and at stores. Most people recommended Dillon but when asked why the most common reason was ....that’s what everyone else uses..or great CS. The best resource is the Ultimate Reloader website. He has videos on every brand. Though he tries to remain unbiased, it was pretty obvious he liked the LNL best. The LNL is simply the best design out there. The powder measure is also great.

I use it for high volume pistol but it should be even more user friendly for multi cal rifle

[markm]

The LNL single stage press is a light duty unit. I wore one of those out. I run the LNL convertion on my Big Boss II, and I love it.

[Kansaswoodguy]

I personally if I had to start from scratch I would buy a Forster CO-AX press and piece together everything else I needed I think you would be money ahead in the long run. Now if your not really sure reloading is your thing and are just sort of dangling a toe in the reloading pond maybe a kit like that is a good way to go. I bought a similar RCBS kit years ago I think I'm still using the chamfer/deburing tool from that kit but little else.

[markm]

To follow up... I see that you're indeed talking about the kit.

I run the hell out of my single stage for decapping and sizing everything, and every other misc. operation that requires a press. My LNL single stage has a cast alloy body that I wore out to the point where the press shaft has a considerable amount of play in it.

If you're not going to load high volume, that press could be ok. But I run my single stage hard and needed a cast iron press with a larger diameter ram/shaft to handle the load and volume.

[themonk]

To follow up... I see that you're indeed talking about the kit.

I run the hell out of my single stage for decapping and sizing everything, and every other misc. operation that requires a press. My LNL single stage has a cast alloy body that I wore out to the point where the press shaft has a considerable amount of play in it.

If you're not going to load high volume, that press could be ok. But I run my single stage hard and needed a cast iron press with a larger diameter ram/shaft to handle the load and volume.

Have you chatted with Hornady about replacement parts?

[Bret]

Almost all of my reloading products were made by Hornady. I actually don't use the LNL bushings because I don't find them necessary. Hornady's die rings tighten in a manner that's far superior to most of the other rings that are on the market. They can be tightened to the die so that they won't move. The die can then be returned to the same point again and again. It's not a big deal, but I also prefer Hornady's die boxes. There's much more room in them than other companies offer. They also stack very well.

Most of all, I'd recommend the Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Comparator. It will greatly help you determine the exact amount of sizing that needs to be done to your brass. Like a press and dies, this is a must have in my opinion.
https://www.hornady.com/reloading/precision-measuring/precision-tools-and-gauges/headspace-comparator-anvil-base-kit#!/
https://press.hornady.com/assets/image-cache/pcthumbs/tmp/5523headspace_gauge.e1945272.jpg

[markm]

Have you chatted with Hornady about replacement parts?

I messaged them on their site. They gave me the phone number to call, but I never did. I still have the press, but just use it as a dedicated bullet puller.

I'm sure Hornady would have replaced the press, but I really needed to bump up to a heavier duty press. Not a knock on Hornady... that press is just not made for my volume of wear.

[markm]

Most of all, I'd recommend the Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Comparator. It will greatly help you determine the exact amount of sizing that needs to be done to your brass. Like a press and dies, this is a must have in my opinion.

Depending on the caliber, a case gauge is much more user friendly (in my opinion), especially for gas guns.

For Bolt guns, I've always just adjusted the body die to where the brass will close into the chamber.

[Bret]

A case gauge is easier, but the cost of having a specific gauge for each cartridge is expensive. I reload for about 25 bottle necked rifle cartridges. Having one tool that will handle all of them is great. Plus, the Hornady headspace comparator is by no stretch of the imagination difficult to use.

[markm]

Yeah.. that makes sense for a bunch of calibers.

I'm just .223, .308, and 300 WM for the most part. So that's just 2 gauges and the chamber on the big boy for me.

[Kansaswoodguy]

I have the LNL head space gauge kit it works well I believe Sinclair makes a little nicer head space kit also. I started out using a Sinclair bullet comparator just using a larger caliber hole to drop the comparator to the shoulder of the case it worked OK you can also check headspace by putting in a primer in a sized brass but leave it proud then chamber the brass this seats the primer then measure how high the primer is left sticking out of the brass this compared to the brass length should be your head space. I understand the high volume reloading I whore out many parts of my RCBS turret press and RCBS was fantastic about sending me replacement parts no complaints about them at all. I have since bought a Forster CO-AX and Redding T7 both very very nice presses. A good thing to compare when press shopping is shipping weights in the catalogs a RCBS turret and a Redding T7 turret press “look the same” the T7 weighs almost a third again more than the RCBS those shipping weights tell the real story on build quality.

[Ttwwaack]

If you are going to run an alloy (aluminum) press as a do all (main) press, you will have to clean the ram tunnel frequently. My recommendation would be to buy a cheap used steel press for decapping operations as the primer residue is the abraisive that wears out presses. I took MarkM's approach years ago and decap and size on steel O frame press in seperate operations to reduce the cleaning frequency of my Dillon.

I took a quick gander on Midway's site and it appears the H L&L press is available with a cast iron frame also if I'm not mistaken. For the long run, it would be a worthwhile upgrade.

[ndmiller]

What did the OP end up getting?

[countryboy27012]

What did the OP end up getting?

Nothing at this time.

Still looking at some other models. Just contemplating the LNL because I know hornady factory ammo is gtg and it has everything needed in the box.

I want to thank everyone for their feedback and openings, as they did not fall on deaf ears.

[223to45]

Nothing at this time.

Still looking at some other models. Just contemplating the LNL because I know hornady factory ammo is gtg..

Sorry, but what does Hornady factory ammo have to do with the LNL?



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[countryboy27012]

Sorry, but what does Hornady factory ammo have to do with the LNL?



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Absolutely nothing, but being that they have good ammo, I would assume other items that share their name would have similar quality. That is all.

[Daniel44114]

I have a Hornady LnL AP press. I like it a lot. It has performed admirably for me.

When I was in the market for a progressive about 18 months ago, I only looked at two seriously: the Hornady, and the Dillon 550B. The other offerings were either too limited in their apparent user base (e.g., RCBS), or were, in my view, lesser quality (Lee).

I concluded that both would have made me happy. What swung the decision in the favor of the Hornady was two things: Auto-index, and price.

The 550B requires you to turn the shellplate by hand each time; not so the Hornady. And the 5 stations of the Hornady allow a bit more flexibility w/r/t a separate crimp die or a lockout die.

The other thing Hornady did was offer free bullets along w/ the press. Currently, if you buy the LnLAP you receive 500 free bullets which makes them worth about $100. The net cost to me was significantly less.

The Hornady dies are also eligible for the Get Loaded offer, with 100 bullets free instead of 500.

Changeover of the Hornady is quick with the bushing system. It takes me just a couple minutes to change from small to large primers or back again.

There are lots and lots of satisfied LnLAP users; that can't be an accident. But by the same token, so too are there lots and lots of satisfied Dillon users, and that is no accident either.

It comes down to what's important to you. You won't go wrong with either.