Hornady LnL AP press reviews

I'm considering a Hornady LnL AP and wanted to know what owners of this press think of it. It seams like a pretty good value in a entry level progressive.

I think it is a bit above entry level.  And I have one that sits in the corner because I am so using the 550b Dillon.  My other active press is the single stage LNL for quickies.

The LnL progressive is on par with a Dillon 650 and the RCBS 5 Station 
Pro2000.  A tad higher than entry level, perhaps, but within the learning curve of the normal person unless you're all thumbs mechanically.  The Key is systematic set up and paying attention.  At this site you'll find all sorts of videos and reviews of the various Presses.  http://ultimatereloader.com/

Here's a review/comparison: dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

Thanks for that link. It was a good read.

Use what ever you can get.
I have only two presses.
An old Lee single stage and an old Lee Pro 1000 with the priming system removed.
Make your ammo and go out and practice/shoot.

The press you select to manufacture you'r own ammo has nothing to do with how well you shoot.

True enough. My Hornady 366 has served me quite well the past 20 years for my shotshell needs, and a nice used Lock N Load has come up for sale locally. It's the Indian not the Arrow. I know that all to well! Lol

I only wish I could get the 45 acp conversion dies for my Hornady 366!!!

I'm looking to buy a shot shell loader. You guys pretty happy with the 366?

Bill

I've had a Mec and Spolar w/hydro unit, and the Hornady still remains, it just keeps going. I have added oversized shot and powder tubes as well as the primer seater upgrade. Runs like a champ.

I read all 18 pages of the pdf above and now I am not so set on a new Lee.

I had a LNL AP. I sold it. It is finicky in terms of the casefeeder. 

The conversion from one caliber to another involves calibration. 

The Dillon 650 meets my needs so much better. I shoot lots of disciplines. I coach several as well. Time is my most valuable asset. The Dillon converts quickly. That really helps if you need to load 38, 9mm, 45, 223, and 30-06 for a single weekend of matches.

I have used all three and now have two Dillon 550's.  The main reason is I prefer manual indexing.  It gives me more control over the process without adding a lot of extra work, just a flip of my thumb. I could never get a Hornady LNL to work and sold mine.

I have a Hornady lnl. It's a good press and makes good ammo. 

If I were to do it all over again I would get a Dillion but the difference is not big enough to force me to sell the LNL. I only load two pistol calibers currently, 45 and 38. 

The powder drop is excellent, for 45 I use a separate case mouth expansion. 

Customer service is excellent and they will replace some parts for free even though I told them it was likely wear that caused the problem. 

I hand prime my 38s so I avoid a lot of the calibration issues and do not lose much time. 

The prime feed has its issues but (knock on wood) keeping the primer feeder clean and stoning the primer feeder has made mine 100%. 

The ROI has been excellent for me I have loaded at least 50,000 rounds.

If I were to buy a new one I would also consider the RCBS because it has 7 stations and would allow for me to use a FL die my dad gave me and a powder cop die

I've had my Hornady LnL for years, one of the first years they made them. I don't use a case feeder so no issues with that. I have changed a couple things. I found the powder measure was not consistent with flaky powder like my preferred Clays. I use a Lee powder thru expand die in the second station with a Lee Autodesk powder measure. It's far more consistent. Lee dies are too short to use a locking ring but I wrapped the die with Teflon tape and it holds fine. I use the RCBS lockout die in the third station. Since using that I can't the having a squib load. This set up has loaded many thousands of rounds of very accurate ammo.

I've had two projectors for a long time and they worked fine. Sent one of them to Hornady with 200.00 and they sent me a new LNL. Took me a while to get the primer seating reliable but other than that it works great. I only load .45 on it. My wife and I shoot a lot of 9MM and all of that is  run on a Dillon 1050, if I had the bucks I'd own two 1050's. I have had good results with the Hornady powder measure with BE and WST.

This is always a tough topic. But here goes. Ymmv. 

I have a Hornady lnl, a Dillon 650, and a Dillon 1050. The lnl is okay, but does require much more tinkering than the rest and can get frustrating at times. I've had it for 16 years now. It was my first press. My dad bought it for my 18th bday. It was great when it was all that I knew. Once I purchased a 650 I realized how much tinkering I had been doing. 

The 650 and the 1050 are much quicker, but significantly more expensive. They all make good ammo, it's just a matter of how you want to make it. I now use the 650 for short runs, the 1050 exclusively for match 45, and the lnl as a dedicated decapper. The 650 can make rounds in half the time of the lnl. 

It's really all about how much time you have. You really can make good ammo on any press.  But I am short on time right now and need to pump out 100 competition ready rounds in a matter of 10 minutes or so.  I can't spend 20 minutes, once or twice, adjusting the case feeder and pawl timing in the middle of my loading session. If you have the time to spend, they are all capable presses. But I have had better luck with my Dillons. Just my 2 cents.

Huh, while I think I would love a 650 I just can't see three times the cost of a lnl. I've had the lnl for at least fifteen years and have not need to adjust the pawls ever. I regularly load 400 rnds and refill 4 primer tubes in less than an hour without a case feeder. I'm not even sure what I would need to adjust. Once it's set away you go. Guess I got a good one.

I started with a Dillon Square Deal and made a lot of good ammo on it.  Then I wanted a case feeder and bought a Hornady LNL.  As stated by another fellow the LNL is finicky when it runs good it is great but it will not keep that up and you will have a problem with something the case feeder being a common one.  Shell plate fit and alignment can be another depending on your dies and the caliber.  I have that problem when loading 9mm on it.  Finally got frustrated enough that I bought a Dillon 1050, best press there is and worth it.  It is expensive but you will not regret it.  No high primers and it will always align the shell plate since it forces the alignment with a pin. and the case feeder works flawless.  The only issue I had was I needed to weight the rod on the primer feed slightly to prevent a cocked primer in the tube from hanging the primer drop up.  Big downside to 1050.  Really need extra tool heads to change caliber easily and changing primer size takes a fair bit of time.  Both those things can be done very easily on the LNL.

I started with a Dillon Square Deal and made a lot of good ammo on it.  Then I wanted a case feeder and bought a Hornady LNL.  As stated by another fellow the LNL is finicky when it runs good it is great but it will not keep that up and you will have a problem with something the case feeder being a common one.  Shell plate fit and alignment can be another depending on your dies and the caliber.  I have that problem when loading 9mm on it.  Finally got frustrated enough that I bought a Dillon 1050, best press there is and worth it.  It is expensive but you will not regret it.  No high primers and it will always align the shell plate since it forces the alignment with a pin. and the case feeder works flawless.  The only issue I had was I needed to weight the rod on the primer feed slightly to prevent a cocked primer in the tube from hanging the primer drop up.  Big downside to 1050.  Really need extra tool heads to change caliber easily and changing primer size takes a fair bit of time.  Both those things can be done very easily on the LNL.  I will buy another 1050 for the other primer size.

This link shows one of the best tweeks I did for the LnL. This helped get the the high primer problem fixed. I also made a hard shim for the primer post to run against and angled it a few degrees so the post slides with the ram twist instead of "cocking over". This keeps primer seating square with the pocket. See the link below for the shim fix.
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?144901-How-to-tune-the-Hornady-Lock-N-Load-AP-progressive-press

That's a very well thought out fix. Thanks for the link.

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to decide between the Hornady LnL and Dillon 650.  It seems like reviews of each are pretty even.

That being said, the Hornady looks quite a bit more affordable than the Dillon, considering what comes included with each press. Is that correct? Does one come with more required setup accessories than the other? I'm trying to figure out what I would need for a basic setup for .45 only.

I can add a case feeder eventually, and it looks from what others have said that hand-loading the case and bullet are easier on the Hornady than Dillon. I can live with that for the time being.

I'm also new to the whole reloading thing, so if one is easier to grok than the other, I'm up for that too. I can also count on mspingeld to help me get it set up, since he has one and loves it! 

Thanks!

Val

I have 2 of the LNL presses. They're very good. I think they're a homerun for volume shooters that DON"T want a case feeder as its easy to grab and insert a piece of brass and a bullet with your left hand while keeping your right hand on the lever. Plus if you get a 650 without buying the case feeder you'll have to manually fill the case feeder tube every 20 rounds or so. I also like how the LNL only feeds a primer if you use one, the 650 has a rotary primer feed so it dumps unused live primers into a secondary area. Both presses are good but the LNL is much easier on your budget, the 650 is pushing $1k once you add the case feeder.

I was helping a customer the other day with some reloading supplies, 

his coworkers and fellow shooters told him there are 2 flavors of Koolaid, 
red and blue,  and they were equally split, 

as far as what I use, I am blue, ( SDB and a 550) however my go to is a vintage Forster Co-Ax, 
a better press cannot be bought (YMMV) as far as a single state, 

I also have a vintage CH O press, and a Texan C press on a separate table just in case,,,