Buy Hornady Lock N Load Auto-Progressive Reloading PressHornady Lock N Load Auto-Progressive Reloading Press Product Description:
- Auto-progressive reloading press for quickly switching dies and loading other calibers
- 5-station bushing system lets you change from 223 to 45 in less than 5 minutes
- EZject system reliably ejects every cartridge, every time, without adjustments
- Quick-change metering inserts; universal case retainer spring; automatic indexing system
- Built-in priming system; case-activated powder drop; large-capacity hopper
Product Description
Hornady's Lock N Load AP is an automatic, five-station press with the most user-friendly and innovative patented quick tool change technology of all progressive presses. Our system switches dies, powder measure, check dies, bullet seater or crimp dies without having to change the whole die head. Change one die or all with one quick twist. The Lock N Load AP comes complete with a full-size Lock N Load Powder Measure that will load anything from pistols up through most magnum rifle cartridges. Uses Hornady shell plates (sold seperately)
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
320 of 320 people found the following review helpful.
Quality press, backed up by great customer service
By D. Matheny
I started reloading just over 2 years ago and decided to go with this Hornady press instead of the Dillon 550B that I was also considering (and that my neighbor ended up buying). Originally, I was just loading 9mm in order to save money, but the reloading has become almost as fun a hobby as the shooting has:).There is so much to say about this press, both good as well as things to be careful for, that I'm going to break this review into sections and try to keep brief. Before getting into the details, let me just say this press was a great investment. Overall, it works great, is easy to use, and is backed up by the best customer support I've ever worked with. I've loaded well over 10,000 rounds on it at this point and couldn't be happier.*** Customer Support ***When I was starting out, I ended up breaking parts on the press two different times. On both occasions, I called Hornady tech support and talked immediately with someone who knew exactly what I was talking about. They didn't care that the breakages had been my fault and just stuck the replacement part in an envelope which I had in hand a couple of days later. The first time, when I broke an auto-indexing pawl, the support person actually threw a couple of extras in the envelope for me just in case it happened again (which it hasn't).In both cases, I had felt some unusual tension when pulling the handle; but I thought it was just a hard-to-resize shell. This machine has a lot of torque, so when things bind up it is easy to break something - now that doesn't happen anymore since I always stop and examine the machine when I feel anything unusual.I know that Dillon also has a reputation for great customer service, but it is hard to imagine that it could be any better than Hornady's - this is an area where there just aren't enough stars available.*** EZ-Ject system ***When I got my Hornady press, the EZ-Ject system wasn't available yet and it used a wire on station 5 to eject shells. This worked OK, but created several problems that I had to learn to live with.1) The ejection wasn't very reliable and about a third of the time I would either have to help the shell eject or the shell would get thrown several inches over the loaded round tray. After doing it enough I got used to it and manually helping shells eject became part of the reloading process.2) The ejection wire actually blocked station 5 from being usable with most dies which basically made this into a 4 station press (like the Dillon 550B).Once the EZ-Ject became available I upgraded and I can't even describe how much better it is. The ejection is flawless and I have full access to station 5. As a result, I've thrown in an extra powder check die on rifle rounds and I went with a dedicated crimp die for pistol rounds which makes the bullet seater easier to setup. My productivity has increased from about 200 rounds/hour of 9mm to 350 rounds - and I'm not moving any faster than I was before.I'm not sure if there are still LnL presses out there that don't have the EZ-Ject system, but make sure to verify that the one you buy has it! With EZ-Ject, this is a five star press; but prior to that I would have had to dock at least one star just for the crummy ejection.*** Changing calibers ***Originally, I just reloaded for 9mm so I didn't pay much attention to how easy it is to change calibers on the LnL. But, now I'm reloading for .308 and .223 as well and I've come to appreciate it:).Basically, you just leave each die setup in a bushing that swaps in and out easily so you don't have to mess with any of the expensive tool head stuff like Dillon uses. The bushings are inexepensive and incredibly easy to use. I also bought another dedicated powder dispenser, so I use one for rifle loads and the other for pistol. The powder dispenser itself also sits in one of the bushings so it is also very easy to swap out.I can completely change from reloading 9mm to .308 in less than five minutes following these steps:1) Swap out the shell plate2) Remove all the 9mm dies and the pistol powder dispenser by just twisting the bushings out - this does not require any tools3) Insert my .308 dies and rifle powder dispenser which are still setup from the last time I used them (although I always verify that)4) Swap out the small primer seater for the large seater (both are included with the press)5) Remove the remaining small pistol primers from the drop tube - not making a mess of this is probably the hardest step:)6) Install the large primer drop tube - once again, no tools are required for this stepI'm not sure how this could be easier, and it definitely deserves five stars.*** Discarded primers ***The tube on the Lock-n-Load press for routing discarded primers into the trash is a great setup. Instead of trying to aim it into a trash can at my feet, I drilled a hole in a water bottle lid and just ran the tube through the lid and into the water bottle. This keeps the discarded primers out of the way and makes them really easy to get rid of when I'm done reloading.In case that is hard to envision, the primer tube runs through the drilled hole in the water bottle lid and there is some tape wrapped around the tube so the lid won't slide off. Now I just screw the water bottle container on and off and it is a perfect little storage bin for discarded primers.*** Powder dispenser inserts ***First, if you will be reloading for pistol calibers, let me mention you are going to need to buy the handgun rotor and metering assembly to accurately dispense the smaller charges. If you will just be loading rifle rounds you can ignore that.Also, this next section may not make sense until you've actually spent some time playing with the powder dispenser. When I talk about the metering insert, I'm talking about the adjustable stem that inserts into the rotor to configure how much powder gets dropped into the load.When I bought the handgun rotor for mine; I saw the cool micrometer metering insert, so I went ahead and spent a few extra bucks to get it to replace the standard metering insert. This turned out to be somewhat of a waste of money for two reasons:1) It turns out that the standard metering inserts can be bought for 1/3 of the price of the micrometer version and they can be easily swapped out of the rotor - so now I just keep a metering insert marked for each load and I've found that is far more convenient and repeatable than remembering what number a load was on the micrometer.2) The micrometer insert got a layer of rust almost immediately, so I couldn't read the markings anyway. This rust appears on the dial head and it happened to two different units; although I take care to keep stuff oiled up - this is a part that just wants to rust.It takes a bit longer to setup a load with the standard inserts, but it is a time saver in the long run over the micrometer version.*** Auto indexing could be smoother ***When reloading small cases, the auto-indexing will sometimes shake a granule of powder out of the case and onto the shell plate. This is just something to be aware of (especially when the cases are fairly full), and I really haven't found a way to completely resolve it. One side-effect is that the loose granules can wind up getting stuck in the primer seater, which will prevent it from recessing completely and can bind the entire machine. This was actually the cause of my second broken part:).Anyway, I don't want to make it sound like powder will shake out of every case. Just be aware that it does happen so you will typically end up with half a dozen or so loose granules after loading a few hundred rounds. I keep my air compressor handy to keep the shell plate clean; which prevents anything from getting stuck in the primer seater. I also blow out the seater every month or so and put a drop of oil in there just to keep it moving smoothly.*** Hornady dies ***I know this isn't directly related to the press, but I figure I should throw in my findings on dies as well for people who are just getting started.Since I was buying the Hornady press and didn't really know what I was doing, I decided to play it safe and stuck with Hornady dies as well. Although they weren't bad, I always had little issues - especially with the depriming pin and the bullet seater; so I eventually swapped them out for some Redding dies. Let me just say, in my opinion, the Redding dies blow the Hornady dies out of the water. I've been incredibly impressed.[UPDATE 11/30/2010]Once again, I know this isn't directly related to the press, but feel free to read the comments posted under this review to see some of the issues I started having with the Redding 9mm sizing die that I recommended before. At this point, for 9mm, I'm using a Lee sizer die, Hornady expander die, Redding bullet seater die, and Redding crimp die. This seems to be a great combination - but I'm still irritated at the apparent drop in quality of the Redding dies. For other calibers (.223 & .308), I haven't had any problems with the Redding sizing dies.*** Conclusion ***My neighbor started a few weeks before me and went with the Dillon 550B for loading .45, so I have seen both presses in action - although I obviously understand the workings of the Hornady better.If you are considering one of these two presses, then I highly recommend the Hornady. I think the Hornady is a much better press than the Dillon, yet it costs less; both initially as well as each time you add a new caliber.
79 of 80 people found the following review helpful.Good press that is very consistent
By Troy S. Mitchell
I am a beginner re-loader. I went against the grain of common knowledge that you should start with a single stage press then move to a progressive press like this. I am glad I did because the amount I shoot it would take me forever to reload this on a single stage press.If you follow the instructions and watch the videos you should not have any problems whatsoever. Do yourself a favor and get a can of Hornady De-greaser and dry lube because you will need to clean the grease from the powder measure, primer mechanism and the area where the shell plate sits. After that you should be good to go.As far as performance, it is very consistent in the production of bullets. You can really crank out a lot of bullets in a hurry. I shot all mine today and had no problems whatsoever.Some other suggestions:--Get a good digital scale if you can afford it. It makes it much faster when you do your powder settings--Get a powder through expander die. This frees up a spot for a cop die (charge validator). It basically lets you know if you have put too much or too little powder in your shell.--Get a Cop die. (see above).--Have a good sturdy location to mount it. For me I use a saw horse with some C clamps to hold it down and that works good for me.So if you shoot a lot, get this press and get into it. You will save plenty of money and you will produce loads that are more accurate than factory loads.
53 of 58 people found the following review helpful.
Great press.
By Norman Glitz
If you can walk & chew gum, you can run this press. No need to start with a single stage, especially if your goal is to make a lot of handgun ammo. Primers, like any press, need special attention. I've got well over 40k rounds of 45ACP through mine, as well as several thou of 38/357 and 44 maggies. The only thing that needed to be replaced was one of the little "mousetrap" springs; it actually wore through. That was around 25k rounds. Hmm, I should take a look at the one in there now. Loading .223 or .30-'06 is a little more involved, what with the larger powder charge (you actually need to WAIT for the .223 powder to run through the little hole), case lubing and the attention to the case neck and seating the tiny bullets.I've helped set up & run a few other brand presses. This one is the one to get.Norm
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