Hornady Lock and Load AP review

[Ariac]

Well guys i decided to get into the reloading game and purchased a press. After looking around a bit i decided to go with the Hornady Lock and Load AP. This is my first press so I will run down the details.

Setup: Went easy and fast with just few steps. All together it took me about 2 hours to watch the instruction dvd and set it up.
Tweaking: Though the manual says that the studs for indexing come setup from the factory, mine were not. About 20 min of test and repeat and it was solved.

Next the powder measure come coated in a layer of grease. Clean it, then clean it again.

Pay special attention to this area. It still had grease and kept me puzzled for a few as to why my charges were not consistant.


Cons: The primer system is to delicate. If a single grain of powder get in there it will stop the whole system. If they put a small cut in the front of the shuttle track then the shuttle could just force debris out of its way.

Also the auto eject does not seem to funtion to well. It shoots finished rounds out wildly, when it does it at all. I am still working it out though.

Also a bit more explenation of the auto charger would be nice for new guys like me. It would have saved me losing a bunch of powder on the floor
All in all I would recomend it to somebody else, especially if they are more experieced them myself at the reloading artform. Easy setup,priming, and plate changes makes this a winner. Plus the lock and load system allows the changing of dies without reseting them.

[f3rr37]

Nice review. My dad bought one of these about a year ago and still hasn't taken it out of the box... :ponder:

[The Keymaster]

The primer system issue can be dealt with for the most part with a small paintbrush. You can just brush most of the powder out. When the powder begins to accumulate in the primer seater plug, the plug must be removed, and cleaned thoroughly. The symptom here is that the primer shuttle hangs up on the primer on top of the seater plug because the plug does not retract all the way.

As far at the wildly thrown rounds go, be sure you have the timing set properly. Adjust the pawls as needed. The shell plate should index nicely, but not snap forward hard enough to spill powder, or send the rounds flying. Also be sure the case retainer spring is properly seated in the groove under the ejector, as that friction helps to keep the cases from taking off.

A couple of suggestions:

Buy some extra case retainer springs. They are somewhat fragile. The press will bot work without them. Midway has them in 3 packs for less than $7.00.

Take a look at Hornady's website, or do a search on youtube...they have some great video's. Ultimate Reloader does extensive videos on specific calibers on Youtube, and Hornady has the complete setup video's there too. Ultimate Reloader also makes some nice add on parts.

I tape a plastic bag to the primer disposal tube. I tried putting a wastebasket underneath, but I think this works much better.

Watch the powder measurer die. Mine tends to unlock itself.

Get a Hornady powder cop, or RCBS powder check die and use it. It prevents issues from the above.

[Ariac]

Yeah for cleaning the primer system i ripped a few bristles out of my broom and used it like a paint brush, it cleans it out in short order.

I will see if I can adjust the timing to deal with the rounds flying everywhere.

Does a powder cop push the powder further down in the case?

Thanks for the info, and pointing me in the right direction.

[The Keymaster]

The powder cop is a very light gravity fed device. If it does compress the powder, I would say the effect would be very minimal. By the way, I hope you are not planning on using this for 5.7 x 28...there are issues that you will have to deal with.

[Ariac]

I was hoping to eventually, but not in the near future. Mainly .223 for my ar and stg-556, and my Remington 673 in 350 rem mag.

[jmz5]

What sort of extras would you recommend? I just ordered a press and found out afterwards of all the little things I need. Like the pistol rotor for the powder dispenser. I am making a list of everything, then making another order.

[srt-4_jon]

The Lock and Load AP comes with the pistol rotor. What I would recommend is extra metering inserts and a bunch of extra bushings. I keep the bushings on the dies so I dont have to worry about re-adjusting dies everytime I change calibers. The extra metering inserts are also for quick caliber changes. Pop out metering insert, pop in a new one, no need to readjust. Extra primer tubes also speed things along while you are actually working.

[jmz5]

Is there a pistol and rifle rotor.

[srt-4_jon]

Yes, it comes with both.

[jmz5]

Awesome.

[SeaHawkDriver-B]

Man, makes me want to get into reloading :/

[The Keymaster]

Take a look at the powder through expanders if you are doing pistol calibers. This allows charging and expanding in one station. If you decide to go that route get some extra powder dies so you can have one for each expander. This will mean each die as adjusted for a particular caliber...no setup time.

The micrometer seating stems, and mictometer metering inserts are awesome.

Eventually you will want a case feeder.

Get an extra set of pawls.

Get an extra spring or 2 for the powder die.

Ultimate Reloader makes a great ergonomic handle.

Get some extra shell plate retainer springs.

If I think of anything else, I will post it.

[jmz5]

Eventually I'm going to add a case and one of their new bullet feeders. Thanks for the tip. I have been reloading for years, but this is my first progressive.

[The Keymaster]

I have had great success with my LNL. I love the case feeder. I will have to see how the bullet feeder plays out. I run a powder cop, and a factory crimp die for most of my handgun loads. That means I would have to sacrifice the powder cop for the bullet feeder die That means the progression would be drop, bullet, seat, crimp. I see no way that one could be sure they did not have a charge issue with that configuration. I guess I will have to wait to see what the bullet feed die looks like. Maybe here will still be room for a visual inspection.

One thing I will say about the LNL, watch your powders...some of them do not meter well, especially the flaky stuff...Unique for example.

[buckett]

Nice review. I've been looking into hornaday's presses. Looks like it should work out pretty well.

[jmz5]

I am going to start with 9mm on this press. I will probably use true blue, since I already have it on hand, and it will fill the case nicely.

[jmz5]

From what I am reading, I should probably add one of 9mm Hornady's powder through expander to my list of things to get.

[jmz5]

I think I am going to order a Dillon dust cover and see if it will fit, The reviews for the Hornady dust cover say it is really thin and prone to tearing. I currently use plastic grocery bags to cover my gear.

[srt-4_jon]

One thing I will say about the LNL, watch your powders...some of them do not meter well, especially the flaky stuff...Unique for example.

I had problems metering flaky powders until I thoroughly cleaned the whole thing out. Now it runs fine with Longshot and Titegroup. The only problem I have is trying to use stick powder. Because of the nature of the shape, the rotor has to cut alot of the sticks to drop and takes more force to make the powder drop vs resizing the case.

[The Keymaster]

From what I am reading, I should probably add one of 9mm Hornady's powder through expander to my list of things to get.

Make sure you get the NEWEST version of the PTE. There is a .355, and a .355A. They have 2 DIFFERENT PART NUMBERS. Get the 290030. It is designed to work with both lead and jacketed bullets. It is slightly longer than the previous model 290040. I had an animated discussion with Hornady about the issues I was having with the first model not expanding the case mouth sufficiently. A couple of weeks ago they called me to say they were sending me a FREE replacement that was a new model. When I asked what the difference was, I was told it was slightly longer. They probably figured it out when they tried to use the bullet feeder in conjunction with the old PTE. There was no way that bullet was going to sit on top of that case without being held in place with your fingers. The new one is MUCH better.

Hornady has some really good videos on Youtube that may help you set up your press. They are also available on their website.

[jmz5]

I have watched the videos, and more. I will be adding a case and bullet feeder to my setup after I get it and run some ammo through it.

[jmz5]

Like OP said, my indexing studs didn't come perfect from the factory, with about 30 minutes of screwing around with them, I finally got them indexing correctly.
I also took the advice and cleaned everything, then cleaned it again and had no problems with my powder dispenser.