In this two part series you'll see how setup and load 45 ACP ammuition with the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP Progressive reloading press. This first video will be focused on setup of the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP progressive reloading press. In this series, you'll also see how to setup the case feeder for the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP progressive reloading press.
Video:
Click "HD" icon after playback starts to view in HDNote that in this video, I'm using the #1 shellplate, which works with 30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, 22-250 Remington, and 45ACP. There is however a shellplate that is supposed to work better for 45ACP (the #45 shellplate).
Having a terrible time with reloading .223 for my AR. All of the cartridges match the measurement of the factory, but my reloads stick in the chamber of the rifle (Daniel Defense DDM4v2). Can this be caused by not cleaning the case lube off. Someone had mentioned pre-loading the sizing die on another website. What is that all about? I am using a Hornady LnL AP and after running the cases through the polisher, full length sizing& decapp, trim , chamfer, deburr, case lube, load and crimp. I am growing very frustrated with this and am running out of answers. The tend to stick upon extraction from the chamber.
I have the Hornady Case Feeder and the only issue I have is sometimes when loading 223 Rem the brass does not always keep the micro switch closed and the feeder countines to drop brass until it jams. Is there a way I can fix this?
I got the sizing issue figured out.
Gavin,
I now want all of my loads to come out exact on the powder. I am using the micrometer adjuster on the pistol rotor for my .45 ACP loads. I am using BP-38 at 6.0 grains. The powder drops vary from time to time on the powder cop die. I check the die and it seems to sometimes stick and sometimes it tells the truth. How can I ensure that my powder is dropping consistently all of the time? Is there a better powder measure out there etc?
John- is that HP-38 you’re using (same as Winchester 231)? Are you using the rifle rotor, or the pistol rotor? Are you using a baffle in the powder measure? I’ve had great results with the Hornady powder measure.
I am using the pistol rotor with the micrometer adjuster. Do tell if there is a secret of which to use for .45. Should I be using the rifle rotor? That is something I have not seen anywhere. It makes sense though due to the caliber size. Yes it is the same as the Win 231. My local store does not carry Win 231. They have Win wst though. I have had some difficulty using Varget for my Ar loads also metering well too.
No specific secrets- in fact I get some of my best results with HP-38/W231. Varget meters well for me, but like any stick powder you’ll get some cutting of granules.
When you weigh the charges, how much variation are you seeing?
Sometimes .5 grains. Are you using the Pistol or Rifle rotor for .45 ACP? I have also experienced the rotor not making the full range on some cases. I am using the PTX for my .45 ACP loads so I am guessing that some cases may be a bit tighter than others. Another thing I have found is that the Powder Cop will not show correctly too. It will hang or stick in some cases. These are just observations.
My next thing to sort through is the last primer in the tube not feeding out nicely. This is all a learning thing, but can get frustrating at times when you just want to make ammo and not futz around.
Gavin,
I have a question related to the Hornady 3 die set for pistols. I’ve read on your site and several others that the prefered crimp for auto pistol ammo is taper. However, as you show on your review of the Hornady new dimension dies the set comes with a combination seating and roll crimp die. Several persons have recommended using a separate taper crimp die but what happens with the seating/roll crimp die ? Can it be adjusted to disable the roll crimp ? Some have inferred that it can be adjusted to make a taper crimp instead. Not sure how much faith to put into this. Also, if I intended to have a separate taper crimp die and powder cop I believe I would run out of station space. Would the solution be to eliminate the expander die and use a powder tjrough expander ? Thanks for any input.