Hornady Lock N Load AP Press Question

K

kymailman98

New member
Several years ago, I inherited a Hornady LNL AP press, along with a number of dies. Since I already had a couple of single stage presses, and the dies were in calibers I either didn't shoot or already had anyway, I just put everything in a corner and forgot about it. Now that I'm retired, and looking for something to do on rainy days, I've thought about setting the press up and reloading some 223 rounds. The pistol dies that were being used with the press are carbide dies, that didn't need lubing, but the 223 dies I have are not. Having never used one of these setups before, my question concerns the how to of lubing the case, without being messy. I'm sure there is a very simple way to do it that I'm overlooking, for a Progressive type press.
 
Pretty sure you'll need to lube the brass regardless of the die, or it will get stuck in the sizing die. If you get one stuck in the sizing die they are a pain to remove and will destroy that piece of brass.

I have the same press and I use the Hornady one shot case lube, it's in an aerosol can. Generally I will line all my brass up in a shoe box and spray them down on both sides and inside the neck a little. This lube does not effect the primers or powder so don't worry about it getting inside. If lubed sufficiently you should be able to size all the brass repetitively with no issues.
 
I use Imperial sizing wax. It's the least messy for me but just about all of them work. It's more personal preference than anything.

A little tin of Imperial sizing wax will last you a veryyyyy long time.

There are carbide dies available for some rifle cartridges like the .223 & .308 but they still need to be lubed. The carbide dies for things like a .223 are more about longevity of the FL sizing die for high volume use than anything.
 
Last edited:
Spray lubes from Hornady, RCBS and Dillon all work good. Imperial is fine but not compatible with the quantities that a progressive can put out.

Make sure you let the Hornady One Shot dry or you will stick a case for sure. Also I lube all my pistol brass even though they all use carbide dies. It cuts down on the effort drastically and on a progressive ever bit does help.

I wipe the HOS off with a towel soaked with rubbing alcohol.

Greg
 
I use the Hornady One Shot in my reloading, so I have some on hand and will try it IF I decide to use the press. I did play around with it a little, and it was set up for 9mm, so I changed to some 223 dies and shell plate. The powder dispenser has the pistol sleeve, and is too big the 223 case. I don't have one for the 223 case, nor do I know which one to get. I have a parts manual for the powder measure, but it doesn't tell me a thing I need to know.
 
Hey ky,

Try here: www.hornady.com/Lock-n-Load

They will have everything you might need. If you are shocked by their direct prices they also provide a link to retailers. One nice thing I like about my LnL powder measure is that you can purchase the barrel assembly w/a rifle or pistol measure included
and have one set for a particular round that you reload a lot for. You said you inherited this setup. If you did not get the instruction dvd with it, give Hornady CS a call and they should be able to get one for you. They have been super helpful to me. One thing I have found is that when you initially set up the press and accessories, everything MUST be clean. I use Hornady One Shot cleaner/lube. Does a super job. Once things are up and running is not hard to put out a couple hundred rounds per hour or better. Last thing, get more primer feeder tubes for large and small primers. You will find that you are going to want them. Hope this helps and good luck.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Big Foot, I'm slowly but surely figuring this thing out. The bushing in the powder drop tube was for large caliber cartridges, and was too large for 223's. Apparently it originally came with 3 different size bushings, but the rest were missing, and the only primer tube is for small primers. Anyway, I called Hornady and ordered the correct bushing for 223. I am not planning on doing any extensive reloading with this press, but wanted to learn how to use it.....just in case. I don't shoot enough to reload hundreds of rounds at a time, but I want it ready if that were to ever change.
 
Another option is using a RCBS lube die....it puts a light coat of RCBS lube on using one of your stations. I use both the lube dies and One Shot, both methods work find.

I do tumble my loaded rounds after the ammo is loaded with both methods so all traces of lube are gone.
 
Make your own. The recipe is a sticky and is extremely easy to make. This will save you money on your case lube and honestly it works better than the store bought stuff. It is just liquid lanolin and a couple bottles of Heet in the red bottle.
 
Originally Posted By: bigtommyMake your own. The recipe is a sticky and is extremely easy to make. This will save you money on your case lube and honestly it works better than the store bought stuff. It is just liquid lanolin and a couple bottles of Heet in the red bottle.

What he said. I got tired of paying for One-Shot, and having the fumes floating around my shop. I tried the lanolin/Red Heet mix, and have never looked back. I load 223, and 308, on my Hornady LNL, along with 380 Auto, 9mmx19, 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, and 45 Auto. I don't use lube for the pistol cases, but I do use the lanolin spray for the rifle cases. I do my typical case prep(FL sizing/de-priming, annealing, re-sizing, and trimming), using the LNL, with just one station with the sizing die, and then load with the first station empty, and the other stations with the powder drop, powder check, seater, and crimping die. I have heard some hand loaders leave the lanolin on their cases, and load, but I run my prepped cases through dry walnut media for an hour or so to remove the sizing lube. For more consistent powder charge weights, stick with fine grained extruded powder, or ball powder. I do load some ammo with Varget, on the LNL, but I do a lot of weighing of charges, when the powder check die suggests the charge is a bit light or heavy.

Squeeze
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top