Hornady Bullet Feeder – Have you used it?

Hey everyone, just wanted to recap the information and videos that I’ve posted on the Hornady Bullet Feeder for pistol cartridges.

Here are the previous posts related to this bullet feeder:

And here’s a diagram showing a representative die setup that’s worked well for me:

…just need to keep an eye on the powder cop station at the top of each stroke.

Long-term update: I’ve had good luck with the metal two-piece collet setup inside the die- it seems to be wearing well (not wearing out 🙂 ).

How are you all liking your Hornady bullet feeders? Have any tips/tricks that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear more about your experiences.

-Gavin

13 thoughts on “Hornady Bullet Feeder – Have you used it?”

  1. I’ve got one for 9mm, it works pretty well. I primarily use it to feed cast bullets, just need to wipe down the rotating plate every once in a while. The only thing I don’t like about it is you must use the Hornady powder through expander die. Any other expanding die such as the Hornady dedicated expander or the powderfunnels.com ptx die result in bullets wobbling out of the case mouth on the down stroke. The Hornady ptx seems to expand further down the case mouth more than the others which help keep the bullets in place while the shell plate indexes.

  2. The Hornady bullet feeder works fine for me. I use it to for .44, .40 and , .380 cal. , just wish that Hornady added an auto shut off switch. Hard to see if you are low on bullets since they use a metal tube to deliver the bullet to the press.
    I find that when they’re only a few bullets left in the hopper, it takes a long time to get those few bullet in the tube. Seem like the bullets like to rattle around a lot.
    Hornady bullet feeder is very affordable compared to RCBS but I believe has made some steps beyond Hornady in the fact of having a auto shut-off and a clear tube to see the bullets. Clear tube is nice but auto shut-off will tell you if you need add more bullets.
    RCBS one advantage to Hornady bullet feeder and that is the RCBS can feed rifle bullets. Were as the Hornady does not, at least for now.
    I am happy with the Hornady bullet feeder, just wish Hornady had a better way to automatic shut-off or may use a clear tube to see if you are low on bullets.

    1. Hi John,

      I agree that there should be clear tube to see the bullets in the tube and also that it will take awhile for the last bullets to get loaded in the tube. I did find someone that wrote up a great article with pictures. He did a great job in installing a micro switch and clear tubes on either end of the metal spring like tube. He also found a solution to the last bullets. Here’s the link to what I found: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/330605_Review___Hornadyandapos_s__Bullet_Feeder_Part_1_andamp__Part_2__more_pictures_andamp__2_videos.html

      Sometime in the near future I’m going to try it out.

      R/ Joe

  3. I use all RCBS reloading equipment, however, I have been acquainted with a seasoned reloader that just pruchased the Hornady bullet feeder. We experienced the same (minor) issues as did John; the tube needs to be the clear tube feed (metal tube, jacketed bullets cause too much friction!). We also experienced the the shell plate does not index as smooth as my RCBS Pro 2000, constantly cleaning it and trying to lightly lube it to attain smoother operations

    Gavin; I have enjoyed your recent project immensely! Learned a lot thus far

  4. I love the Hornady bullet feeder. So far I’ve used it for 40 S&W, but gonna try it for 9mm and 380mm soon. It has worked great with the exception of the bullets will sometimes get stuck in the mouth of the feeder tube. Once a bullet gets stuck, it will either stop other bullets from getting in or sometimes will flip a bullet upside down. I’ve found that having the tube as close to the plate as possible helps but sometimes it just isn’t enough to stop the bullets from getting stuck at the mouth. I’ve even tried it where the tube is lightly touching the plate hoping the light tapping will knock it down some. I’m thinking maybe the tube might be in a more vertical position or maybe even a larger mouthed tube will help? Anyway, I still really like it and now I can crank out bullets pretty effortlessly.
    I was also very pleasantly surprised that the bullet feeder dies come with the PTX powder expander. Once I got the PTX expander setup correctly it works like a charm. I found that it takes quite a bit of adjusting to the powder measure to get it to flair cases enough. I had to raise the upper bracket up on the threaded part right below the powder measure. Once I moved it up a few threads it started flaring the case mouth wide enough for the bullet to fit and stay in without falling out before the seating station.

    1. Has anyone had trouble looking 40 S&W with the Hornady Bullet Feeder??? I was having MAJOR problems with the bullets not feeding through the black plastic funnel to the spring tube.

      BUT I found a solution that works like a champ. I ended up getting a 45 ACP bullet feeder die and used the upper adapter off the 45 ACP and replaced it in the 40 S&W bullet feeder die. Then I just switched over to the 45 ACP spring tube and plastic funnel and the bullets load like a champ. I think Hornady could probably save money and time by just using the later spring tube for both 45 ACP and 40 S&W and just get rid of the mid-sized spring tube that is just too tight of tolerance for the 40.

  5. I’ve been setting up my L-N-L AP to make 9mm. So far everything is working well. I ordered the bullet feeder die and was surprised to find the PTX expander included with the feeder die. I don’t have the money to buy the whole bullet feeder kit, so I went to Lowe’s and picked up a 2 foot piece of 1/2″ OD soft copper pipe. With a little fitting by sanding down the mouth of the pipe, it fit into the end of the bullet feeder die. Now I can load up 56 bullets into the pipe and I didn’t pay over $250 for a bullet feeder kit. It was more like $8. I have to fill the pipe here and there, but as I’m a newcomer to the progressive reloading world, this made my world much easier than hand feeding both bullets and cases. The next step is a case feeder!

  6. I love the info. I cannot see the crazy prices for the Feeders, Just Keep buying presses and use clear tubes, Its like getting free presses. Im paying the freight and Handling fees. I have to say to these guys my money is good but hard to earn. The reason for plastic was it was Inexpensive. Notice I didn’t say cheap. Our problem is Dealers cannot afford and will not keep stock and repair kits on hand. This little town I live in had every Decaping pin, Shell holders, handles , molds etc. Now there just selling out of stock. If your a dealer you have an obligation to sell the parts. Now everbody gets to sell the press and forget everything else. RCBS is great, Hornady is great, Dillon is great But overpriceded. Put together a Reel complete kit. and compare. Dillons favirite thing is not included and is Crazy priced on things that a new reloader’s will always fall into. These Newby traps dont help sell or gain Market share. The company most likley to start you reloading is RCBS, Hornady next, and Dillon last because of the Blue paint. I Confess I own A Dillon XL650, My RCBS rock chucker is in my Collection. These Bullet Feeder are Ridiculously Priced and I affixed tubes 50 to 60 at a time. Just dont buy it unless you like doing everthing By Mail. PS tou can have tubes preloaded for your Caliber. I also have some Lyman and Hornady, specialty Items

  7. gavin i have a dillon 650 just got it about 7 or 8 weeks ago i also purchased a hornady 44cal bullet feeder die i plan to use the clear tube for feeding a few rounds at a time until i get the money for the actual motorized feeder do you think this will work ? i have quite a few lee dies and hope they will work but noticed they are a tight fit the threades come close running out of threads not much left to use on the lock down nut, do you think this could be a problem? i constantly check them to see if they are getting loose.
    i ran 500 rounds of 38’s with no problem. have not checked the 223 308 or 763 x 39 as of yet
    your thoughts
    thanks
    bill

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