LnL AP why I de-cap & size in a separate step

[baddad06]

I love my LnL AP but after reloading 5k rounds or so I decided to size, bell and de-cap in a separate step. I first clean all my brass then on the AP I de-cap size and bell. I then store the cases in a appropriately labeled bin. When I am ready to load I set my dies in the following manner. Station 1 powder, Station 2 powder cop, Station 3 home made bullet feed, Station 4 seating and Station 5 crimp. I do batches of 600-800 at a time.

Here is my logic:

No more powder clogging up the primer feed
Press runs like butter no powder spills smooth
Saves time no stopping to clean powder or fix the primer feed
Less frustration

Am I alone?

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I'm with the guys that never have problems with priming on my press.

The only time I will load in two different steps on my LNL-AP is if I'm loading match grade ammo and want my OALs as consistent as I can get them.

 

[A Pause for the Coz]

I too prime off the press. not that it does not work on LNL AP, It works fine.
I use it occasionally if I have been lazy and have not gotten a batch of brass ready to load.

But generally my brass is ready to load when I put it on the press.
Just how I roll.

 

[Walkalong]

I tumble my cases, then run them through my LNL to size and decap only. Then I hand prime. Then I load them on my LNL. Smooth as silk with no sizing or priming. Some think I am crazy for doing it this way, but that's OK.

 

[cfullgraf]

I prefer to clean my cases after sizing. I guess a hold over from the days of lubricated cases and steel handgun sizing dies.

So, this permits me to hand prime. I never feed a case to the progressive for loading with a poorly seated primer because they have been 100% inspected. I have found that I can prime 100 cases in about the same time as it takes me to fill a primer tube.

I also have found when loading the cases, by resizing and priming at other times, I get fewer jams and miss steps which minimizes delays in the loading process.

Finally, I resize, clean and prep cases shortly after shooting. Small batches go quick and I am done with the batch before it becomes tedious work.

This works for me and I still load more ammunition than I can shoot. Also, I enjoy spending time in the reloading room.

It does not work for everyone and that is ok by me.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I bought a progressive to do it all at once and have no problems doing so on my LnL. If I had problems, I would try to figure out if it was operator error or equipment related and correct them.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

As I just said on another post, I cannot for the life of me understand why anybody would hand prime cases for a progressive machine. I tumble cases as clean as they are going to get, then I run everything through all five stations just as the machine was designed to be used, feeding spent brass in at one end and dumping finished rounds out the other end. Anything else is extra work.

 

[moonman16]

I do most priming on an Automatic Bench Primer by RCBS, I seldom prime on the LNL, though I have.

I work with BATCHES, stainless steel media, sizing/priming, storing to load.

It's all Fun and Relaxing to me, just make sure you always have enough brass.

 

[GJSchulze]

I've never had powder clog my primer feed. How does that happen? Some of my primers go in hard, but they still work. I do it all on the LnL in one pass. Your accuracy is far more determined by your own ability to pull the trigger than it is by the press.

 

[typhun]

can you see the inside of the case after station 1 (powder drop) from where you sit? I drop powder on station 3 and have an RCBS powder lockout die on station 4 and i love it but i don't rely completely on it as i like to peer into the case and see the powder before i seat/crimp the bullet on station 5. I sit slightly to the left of the press as that lines my right arm up with the ram lever and i don't have a bullet feeder so my cases and bullets are on that side as well. Makes looking down into the case before seating is pretty easy.

 

[RealGun]

No more powder clogging up the primer feed
Press runs like butter no powder spills smooth
Saves time no stopping to clean powder or fix the primer feed

All your issues are powder related. Are you aware of Hornady's upgrades for primer punch and slide? If you are leaking that much powder, something is amiss.

I would feel like I failed and gave up, if I didn't do every operation on the press, as it was designed to do. I have been pretty successful, after working through a few issues with parts and having enough experience to be very attuned to the machine's operation.

I use a case feeder but not any bullet feeder.

 

[howiepa]

You may want to consider decapping off-press as there's a surprising amount of gunk that falls out. When I had my LnL that gunk would sometimes get into the primer slide area, causing issues. I tried the Lee hand-held press but it would fill up and clog after 15-20 primers, plus I had to remember to dump them out. Eventually I found the Harvey Deprimer so now I use that. Primers sometimes shoot out of it so I aim at the Chihuahua.

 

[Blue68f100]

Why use a progressive if your not going to use it as a progressive. I prime on press, pistol and rifle. Have no desire to hand primer.

As far as stuff causing problems with the primer sled that a very easy fix. All you do is take a file and knock off the front bottom edge of the sled. This is where it accumulates at. Then keep a can of can air to clear out any debre every 100 primers. I load several 1000's on a run and never have a problem.

 

[GJSchulze]

have an RCBS powder lockout die on station 4 and i love it but i don't rely completely on it

I had one of those. You're smart not too totally trust it. I was using it with Tightgroup and it didn't detect empty cases. My fault for them being empty (I had 5 or 6 squibs inside of a month), but I relied on it. I removed it and now look into every case. Since correcting my process errors I have not had a single squib. That was almost two years ago.

If you look into every case, why not ditch the lockout die and use the station for something else, like a bullet feeder? I used the bullet feeder die with tubes that I fill, so quiet and cheap.

 

[cfullgraf]

Why use a progressive if your not going to use it as a progressive.

The progressive still reduces work load. Even with a modified, less efficient process a progressive reduces the work load that even a Lee Turret cannot do.

It expands the case mouth while resizing the case during the resizing step.

Later when loading, it charges the case, seats the bullet and crimps (I like to crimp separately from seating).

When just resizing the case by itself, i can really fly so I do not lose much total time in my reloading process.

When reloading without resizing or priming, I can concentrate on the loading process and jams or "oops" caused by the resizing die or priming system are eliminated. Even though I may be stroking the press slower, with no jams I do not lose time the tie fixing the jam.

I do not use a case feeder or bullet feeder. I do not need the production nor the noise. But, if I needed to use those due to higher production needs, it would alter my process. Among other things, I would probably have a dedicated press with all the bells and whistles for just that cartridge.

Finally, I load 10 or so different cartridges on my L-N-L., mostly small production runs anywhere from 100 to 500 cartridges. Rapid grade changes with minimal start up issues are more important than being a purist and running the progressive as designed.

It makes me happy. It is not everybody's cup of tea.

 

[Walkalong]

Not only do I not have a case feeder, I cut off the part coming off of the shell plate it would attach to. I wouldn't mind a bullet feeder.

I too see each and every charge I seat a bullet over.

 

[RealGun]

It expands the case mouth while resizing the case during the resizing step.

Which press and die does that? I'm having trouble picturing that.

 

[cfullgraf]

For handgun, the first die resizes and decaps. The second die expands the mouth of the case. One pull of the handle on the progressive performs both operations simultaneously, just on two separate cases.

Just about any progressive can do this.

Of course, on rifle cases, resize and mouth expansion are done in the same die. But, I generally do not resize rifle on the progressive.

The drop tubes on my powder measure do not expand the case mouth. They are machined to use the same powder drop die without adjustment when changing cartridges.

 

[MCMXI]

I have a Hornady LNL AP but I use it for priming since it works well for me. I use stainless steel media to clean all of my cases these days so I deprime all rifle and pistol cases on a single stage Redding Big Boss II, prime rifle cases using an RCBS automatic bench priming tool and prime pistol cases on the LNL or on an RCBS RockChucker with a PiggyBack II conversion. Works for me and I like running spotless pistol brass through the LNL AP case feeder.

 

[PhilMc]

I also have use a RCBS Bench Primer and find it saves me a lot of time using the LNL AP. Without having to worry about primer seating in the press I find the reloading process goes much smoother.

I have used the primer system on the AP but find it kind of a pain. I have been reloading in stages also. First I tumble the brass, then decap and resize on the LNL AP. Prime up the cases ahead of time in the RCBS bench primer.

When I need to load a caliber it makes the press fairly quick to set up. I have spare spare powder measure dies set and ready to go. This system works well for me and overall don't feel it takes any more total time to load rounds. I rather enjoy reloading so there is no race for me.

 

[dickttx]

I don't have any problems with primer feeding or seating or loose powder. It has been at least 5K rounds since I have taken my primer slide apart since I now use small primer 45 ACP cases.
I really hated to give up the primer seating on my Lee Classic Turret when I got my LnL. However, the LnL primer seating works even better. I also have an RCBS auto seater, the Lee, and the old Lee with the screw in shell holder. The LnL beats them all. And as it primes on the upstroke I can feel the primer all the way to the bottom.
I toss my empty brass in the tumbler when I get back from the range and turn it on with a timer. The next day I normally reload those. I have started squirting a seconds worth of Hornady case lube on the brass in a one pound coffee can and shaking and rolling it around for a few seconds before I pour it out on the bench for loading. Slides through the press like butter. So little used that I don't bother to wipe it off.
I loved my LCT but 400 pulls of the lever for 100 rounds was really bothering my shoulder. That is why I went to the LnL. I can't imagine using procedures that increase the number of pulls to complete a cartridge.
I use the Lock-out die and test if for no charge, regular charge and double charge everytime I start to load. I use the same Lock-out die for 45 ACP and 38 Super. Just change the plastic foot and adjust it slightly for the different powder height. I would not load without it. I also look into every case for powder as I set the bullet for seating.

 

[119er]

I run an LNL AP but for rifle(mostly military cases) I prime on an RCBS bench primer which is awesome. My press may have a problem but primers would be high frequently in .223. I would jam on the handle and they still wouldn't seat all the way. I actually broke the handle off the press from excessive force trying to make them seat. If I pulled them off and tried it in a bench primer it would seat the rest of the way like butter.

I used to resize .223/5.56 on the progressive until I had an issue of crooked necks. Same die in the Co-ax press and they were fine? Never really figured that one out.

So I typically: tumble, resize on single stage, trim, deburr, tumble, bench prime, and then load the case feeder and go progressive from there. A typical .223 or .308 batch is 1000 or 2000 rounds. I don't get in a hurry and do one process a day. Sometimes several days or weeks prepping the brass to load during free time.

For pistol I go full progressive and it does okay. I have a new .223 shell plate I may try to prime again with that one.

 

[RealGun]

Case prep is separate from progressive reloading. I presume the machine is designed to process cases within a discrete range of specs. For the same reason as reconditioning fired rifle brass before reloading, I might run .40 S&W or 45 ACP through a web area bulge removing process. Personally, I would have no reason to deprime off press.

 

[Crashbox]

When I primed on my LnL, an aggravation of an ancient on-the-job injury forced me to prime separately so I picked up an RCBS bench-mounted priming tool. In retrospect, I wonder how I ever got along without it- it is that good IMO. Additionally, with my .40 S&W ammo I often do a final seat and taper crimp via single-stage for the most consistent OAL, though I don't do this as much as I used to.

 

[ImjinScout85]

I have been reloading now for a few years and also have the LnL and it is what I started on. I also do it in steps as I was getting aggravated when the press sometimes acts up in the middle of reloading, for instance primer not seated all the way or when de-capping pin hangs up on a spent primer. So this is how I do it now and it works for me and as for time it is quicker for me. I only load 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP

After tumbling my brass I run them thru the resize/de-cap and then store them. My next step is I prime all the cases and then store them in zip lock bags, so when priming I can do 9mm and .40 and I will usually do a 1000 of each and keep them ready. Then I set up the press for the actual reloading and then run them thru to the finished round. Not the way the press was intended to run but it works for me and I can knock some finished rounds out pretty fast if I need to.