Just dropped almost $800 on cc for lnl ap accessories

[djpullen]

I just dropped almost $800 on accessories for my new hornady lnl ap press and 2000 bullets for 223 at Midway. I couldn't believe that the shipping for all of this came to less than $25. Almost $3 of it is for 2 expanders to fit in the powder measure are on backorder. Out of 29 items(some more than 1), only 2 of them are on backorder. When I ordered my press from Wideners, I had planned on ordering a lot more for it but they were out of almost everything. They were cheaper on some stuff but by the time I paid shipping to 2 different places and waiting on backordered stuff, I would spend more in the long run.

I'll be set up with a case feeder, 4 different calibers with the powder measure acc. for each caliber, etc. Now I just have to build a nice bench. Planning on doing the NRMA bench.

 

[Idano]

Outstanding, I think you are really going to enjoy it. I just bought my L-N-L a little over a month ago and I love it. One thing I highly recommend is getting the Dillon or RCBS Low Primer Alarm. I can't tell you how many bullets I had to pull because the press ran so smoothly I forgot to monitor the primers. I be loading away and then notice shells dropping into the bin without primers. The low primer alarm put a stop to that immediately. I also added a digital case counter which helps. The only thing that slows me down now is randomly weighing the powder to to be sure it is consistent and filling the primers and powder measure. I hope the Hornady Powder measure works better for you then it did me. I couldn't get it to drop consistently with either Accurate 2200 or Unique so I went back to my Uniflow powder measure with the RCBS Case Activated Linkage. Honestly, I think the problem was with the Hornady linkage and not the powder measure, there is a lot of slop in the linkage compared to the RCBS linkage. Here is a picture of my baby:

 

[djpullen]

I ordered powder measure metering inserts for each caliber. Eventually, I will get a metering insert for any different type of load for each caliber that I will be doing. As of now, I only need to do 1 load for each caliber. That way, all I'll have to do is put in the new metering insert and test the throw and make minor adjustments if needed instead of having to change the setting completely. I thought about getting the micrometer inserts but they didn't look like they had any sort of locking mechanism to keep them set in place. I ordered all 4 casefeeder plates also. I ordered at least one of each of the replacement parts and 3 of the case retainer springs.

I've been using a lee pro 1000 for 40 until now. I've loaded approximately 750 rounds on it and was not impressed at all. The biggest problem I had was the priming system. It took forever to get a feel for the primer seating and know whether or not a primer was missed. I had to keep at least 50 primers in the tray to keep enough weight on them to feed. I could tell as soon as I opened the box on this lnl that it was 10 times the press. Even has grease zirks to keep it lubed up. I was planning to get a dillon 650 but after doing a lot of reading on here and price comparisons, there was no comparison. I figured it would be about $400 more to get the dillon and set up for 4 calibers like I did the hornady. The gap will only get bigger with each caliber change I get. As of now, I'll be loading 40, 45, 223, and 30/06.

 

[Idano]

DJ my thoughts exactly. I seriously considered the 650 after reading all the reviews and recommendation but after trying it I out I couldn't tell a difference in operation between it and the Hornady to justify the extra money. The other thing that swayed me to the Hornady was the availability of parts locally with out having to order. My local mom and pop shop and Cabalas stock the shell and cartridge plates and the L-N-L bushings. I think both presses are equally in quality and operation.

Like I said earlier my Hornady runs so smooth that without the low primer alarm I had loaded a 100 rounds so quickly with without incident that I hadn't noticed I had run out of primers and would end having to pull bullets.

By the way if you have a single stage press too I recommend getting the L-N-L bushings adapter for it. I shimmed my adapter so there is no die adjustment needed when working up loads on my RCBS Rock Chucker.

 

[1911user]

The micrometer powder inserts have a rubber o-ring on the shaft inside to hold them at one setting. It works well and visual verification of the setting is easy if you know how to read a micrometer scale (not hard to learn).

Idana: what size shim did you use on the single stage press? I'm going to install the conversion on a rockchucker and would like to share dies between it and the LNL-AP.

I would say the 650 operates smoother than the LNL-AP, but caliber conversion costs are definitely an issue for loading several calibers.

 

[Idano]

1911 I used a 1/8" thick fender washer and it matched the stroke length of the RCBS Rock Chucker to my Hornady Progressive.

So you thought the Dillon 650 was smoother operating then the Hornady that interesting, I honestly didn't feel a difference I wonder if could have been variances in the presses we tested. I am definitely not go to bash on Dillon because I think it is a good press and I seriously considered buying it, but I also think the Hornady is every bit its' equal. The cost differences between the two presses set up identical is within $150. Basically I am into my Hornady for $750 for three calibers; that is for 3 shell plates, 2 case feeder plates, Low Primer Alarm, a digital case counter, and 10 bushings. The same configuration for a Dillon would have cost me about $872 plus the $15 for same digital case counter