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I've been running this press for a while now and thought I would post something on it. Hornady still has their "get loaded" rebate for 1000 bullets through this year which makes the price even better:
http://www.hornady.com/media/get_loaded_again.pdf
I paid 319.00 (I believe) for it when I got mine, sold the 1000 bullets for 100.00 (probably worth more now) so it wound up costing me around 219.
I will start off by saying I previously owned a Lee classic turret and a Dillon 550b. I don't want to bash any brand or start a brand war but I will give my experiences with those before getting to the lnl ap.
I was never happy with the classic turret. Now I know some are, but for one thing you pull the handle 75% more than a progressive press and for another there's much more plastic stuff with it than the other two. The classsic turret was around 150.00 for the kit so I consider the extra 75.00 or so the lnl ap well worth the difference. I also consider the dillon 550b well worth the difference.
The Dillon I liked, I had no problems with it. I don't think I have to say how good their warrentys even though I never had to use it. I did want auto indexing and another station. I was going to get a 650 but decided on the hornady.
Now the Hornady. I really like it a lot and like it more as time goes by. Some of the things I like about it are first off it's built like a tank.
Extremely well made, cast.
It has zerk fittings for easy greasing.
The powder dump. I like the powder dump much better than either of the other two, it's like the rcbs powder dump which has long been considered a nice design. Very accurate.
The bushing system. I thought this was probably just a gimmick, but i actually like it a lot. There's no slop in the dies whatsoever. With the Dillon if you are loading one round only you can get some slop as there is not equal pressure on the plate and the plate moves a little. With the bushing system it does not matter, no slop whatsoever. If you need one die out it just pops out and you do not have to reset it , it stays set exactly. Very nice.
This will depend on personal preference, but I like the way it's set up in that you don't have to take your hand off the lever to use it if you are set up to manually do the brass. With the 550b you do a movement with each hand, with this one both movements are done with the same hand. But, you ask, doesn't that take longer? Not really, as I have grab the brass during the moving of the lever and it's there when the shell plate stops and it's not much of a movement at all to just pop it in. So it winds up with about the same time, but I don't have to let go of the lever and am pushing forward to seat the primer while I am going for the bullet.
I have been only running 10mm on it, but now I am doing .45. I picked up some stuff that is going out of reloading so I have a micrometer for both the bullet seater and powder dump. That makes it even more pleasant.
So, as anyone that reads this can guess, I like the Hornady LNL AP a whole lot. I HIGHLY recommend it and with the rebate this year also it's well worth it. I don't know if this will help anyone or not and it's just my humble opionon. Oh, Hornady has a lifetime warranty on it and they are very good. I won't try to compare it to Dillon's, but I have of only good things about them and their taking care of pretty much anything.
https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_se...&category_id=d12e69ab3325862ec67131f0d9a3aa1b
If anyone wants pics I will take and post them later.
http://www.hornady.com/media/get_loaded_again.pdf
I paid 319.00 (I believe) for it when I got mine, sold the 1000 bullets for 100.00 (probably worth more now) so it wound up costing me around 219.
I will start off by saying I previously owned a Lee classic turret and a Dillon 550b. I don't want to bash any brand or start a brand war but I will give my experiences with those before getting to the lnl ap.
I was never happy with the classic turret. Now I know some are, but for one thing you pull the handle 75% more than a progressive press and for another there's much more plastic stuff with it than the other two. The classsic turret was around 150.00 for the kit so I consider the extra 75.00 or so the lnl ap well worth the difference. I also consider the dillon 550b well worth the difference.
The Dillon I liked, I had no problems with it. I don't think I have to say how good their warrentys even though I never had to use it. I did want auto indexing and another station. I was going to get a 650 but decided on the hornady.
Now the Hornady. I really like it a lot and like it more as time goes by. Some of the things I like about it are first off it's built like a tank.
Extremely well made, cast.
It has zerk fittings for easy greasing.
The powder dump. I like the powder dump much better than either of the other two, it's like the rcbs powder dump which has long been considered a nice design. Very accurate.
The bushing system. I thought this was probably just a gimmick, but i actually like it a lot. There's no slop in the dies whatsoever. With the Dillon if you are loading one round only you can get some slop as there is not equal pressure on the plate and the plate moves a little. With the bushing system it does not matter, no slop whatsoever. If you need one die out it just pops out and you do not have to reset it , it stays set exactly. Very nice.
This will depend on personal preference, but I like the way it's set up in that you don't have to take your hand off the lever to use it if you are set up to manually do the brass. With the 550b you do a movement with each hand, with this one both movements are done with the same hand. But, you ask, doesn't that take longer? Not really, as I have grab the brass during the moving of the lever and it's there when the shell plate stops and it's not much of a movement at all to just pop it in. So it winds up with about the same time, but I don't have to let go of the lever and am pushing forward to seat the primer while I am going for the bullet.
I have been only running 10mm on it, but now I am doing .45. I picked up some stuff that is going out of reloading so I have a micrometer for both the bullet seater and powder dump. That makes it even more pleasant.
So, as anyone that reads this can guess, I like the Hornady LNL AP a whole lot. I HIGHLY recommend it and with the rebate this year also it's well worth it. I don't know if this will help anyone or not and it's just my humble opionon. Oh, Hornady has a lifetime warranty on it and they are very good. I won't try to compare it to Dillon's, but I have of only good things about them and their taking care of pretty much anything.
https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_se...&category_id=d12e69ab3325862ec67131f0d9a3aa1b
If anyone wants pics I will take and post them later.