Hornady L-N-L Die selection

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Jungo2

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Greetings,
I'm new to reloading. After deliberating and researching for almost 2 years, I've decided to purchase a Hornady LNL w/ case feeder. I've been procrastinating for some time because the thought of spending hours down in my basement mindlessly cranking a lever - like a hamster waiting for another food pellet - doesn't seem to appeal to me. ;) That said, I shoot competitively and a reloader will ultimately afford me the opportunity to practice more and further develop my abilities. Feeding my gun with quality, performance-tuned ammo wouldn't hurt a bit, either. My initial reloading will involve 9mm.

I've got most of my 'peripherals' sourced out, but the die selection seems to be a very subjective thing. I've read that the Hornady dies are excellent, but I'm also considering the Redding Competiton Pro Series dies as well. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=610299

I've decided that the RCBS Lock-out Die will be mandatory.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=536792

I'm also pretty solid on the Powder Funnels Universal PTX:
http://powderfunnels.com/products.html

Given the inclusion of the RCBS Lock-out and Powder Funnels PTX dies, please relay your recommendations for the remaining 3 dies stations.

Thanks to everyone for your time and consideration.
 
All the dies work. Some work a little better than others. Some are machined a little prettier. We all have our favorites. Hard to go wrong with RCBS, but I have Lee, RCBS, Redding, C&H, Lyman, Hornady, & Forster.

Many of my pistol die sets, if not all, are mix and match. My rifle die sets are not and they are Redding, RCBS, and Forster, all of which work well.

My 9MM die set is a Redding sizer (Although my Lee 9MM sizer works just as well) a Redding expander, a Hornady seater (with micrometer top) and a C&H crimper.

Most of my pistol sizers are RCBS 0r Lee with some Redding.

Most of my dies are older, and I have had to get fancy to make a couple work on the LNL (barely enough threads), but it seems like the die makers have caught on to that problem and the newer dies all work.
 
Like many people, I have dies from almost every major manufacturer. I use them in my LnL AP mostly, and reload mostly 9mm luger. I like the Hornady dies, especially the seater dies with the sleeves. I use a Lyman "M" die for expanding, and a Lee FCD for crimping after seating. I do not use the powder funnels pdx funnel, although I have one, so I don't use my Hornady powder cop die either. As stated before, any of the dies will work and make quality ammo. The only caution is that some of the older dies, and many Lee dies, are not as long as many others and so you may have to screw them all the way in to get the desired depth, therefore you may have trouble with the locking rings for some. I avoid Lee dies for this reason, and have an old set of Pacific dies for 357/38 that don't have enough thread to adjust properly and use the lock rings. If you go with any of the major brand dies you will be fine, except maybe not Lee.
 
I've always been a RCBS fan, that said, my new LNL press is now out-fitted for 357 with
RCBS Resize and Deprime (Carbide, a must) RCBS Expander, RCBS Powder Cop and Hornady Seater/Crimp with Micrometer. Also have the Micro on the Powder Drop. It so far has been the best combo I've ever used. I bought the full set of RCBS Carbides and you can set up the spare seater/crimp with a favorite if bullet if you like and easily pop it in when you use that bullet. I went to the trouble of resizing and trimming all 1500 cases I reload and it was well worth it, all my Crimp/Seats are spot on now. Worked out well for me at least after a lot of posting questions and research. Hope this helps.
 
When I bought my Hornady L-N-L two years ago, many of my old dies (20-30 years old) were too short and did not have enough threads on them to lock up properly.

All the new dies that I purchased have worked fine.

I have a variety of manufacturers. RCBS, Redding, and Hornady. The conversion to the progressive took all my remaining Lee dies out of service.
 
My reloading mentor had Lee dies on his setup so that’s what I bought for mine. I have 223, 308, 9mm, 380, 38, 40, & 45 that all work great in my LNL. They have put out thousands of rounds any mistakes were my fault not the press or dies.
I chose not to use the lock-out or powder cop dies, I prefer to look in each case as I set the bullet in. Pistol only I weigh each rifle round.
Trust me you won’t be mindlessly cranking the lever you’ll be busy watching the primer slide, v-block and powder level.

Larry
 
Thanks for the replies. Everyone has been very gracious with their time and expertise; much appreciated.

I ordered the Press and Case feeder today along with a number of peripherals. I also ordered the Powder Funnels PTX Die and the RCBS Lock-Out Die. This leaves 3 stations remaining on the press. I'm seriously considering these: http://www.midwayusa...ctnumber=610299

..or these:
http://www.midwayusa...ctnumber=667162

Any comments or recommendations are supremely appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
I received my LNL AP this week and finally had a chance to set it up yesterday. I've read many recommendations on several threads, including this one, that separate seater and crimp dies are generally preferable. However, after seeing the press, it's evident that separate seating and crimp dies would require the physical insertion of the bullet on stage 3, rather than stage 4. This would seem to be rather cumbersome as it would require reaching over the seated cartridge in stage 4 to place the bullet in stage 3. Is this process as difficult as I imagine it to be?
 
On the Hornady L-N-L, the shell plate indexes half a turn on the up stroke and then half a turn on the down stroke.

So, when the shell plate is at the bottom of the stroke, it is between station three and four.

For the most part, i set the bullet in place after the the shell plate indexes on the up stroke rotating into station 4 and the seater die. I worry that the bullet will get upset during the indexing. But even so, the bullet could be set on the case without issue when the press is at the bottom of the stroke.

The crimp die goes in station 5. I put my powder cop die in station 3.

Since i do not have an automatic bullet feeder, I do not know how that is done.
 
For the most part, i set the bullet in place after the the shell plate indexes on the up stroke rotating into station 4 and the seater die.
Click to expand...
Same thing for me. I set the bullet in the flare either on the way to the halfway point, or at it. This is when I "see" each charge I seat a bullet over. (.32-20 is a pain) Works great.
 
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