First Day Reloading Results

[puRe59]

Hey guys, this was my first day reloading. I made 19 cartridges before my press broke! More on that later...here's what I used:

Hornady LnL Progressive Press
Hornady XTP 185gr 45 cal
Magtech Brass 45 Auto
Alliant Powder Unique 6.3gr


I noticed that on a few cartridges the bullet was shaved off a little. Was that due to the crimp? I adjusted it and it seemed to fix it. The cartridge OAL ranges from 1.195" to 1.225". Someone said that the head of the case should be between .469" to .47", but all of mine are around .473". Is that safe? Any other specs I should be looking at to make sure it's good to shoot?






Did a little searching and I found out that other people have broken this press in the same way. Here's some shots:






I'm guessing something got jammed? I didn't even notice until it was broken...

[Bill Steele]

Sorry to hear you had a problem with the press. As you point out, others have had this exact problem with the Hornaday LnL, maybe they had a bad source for that part. They will make it right very quickly if you give them a call.

On the shaving, it could be that you were not belling the case enough before setting the bullet, or as you guessed, it could be your crimp setup. As others have posted on your other thread, a separate crimp die will eliminate some of these issue.

On the case mouth crimp of .468-.470" for .45ACP, I only use that for lead and really only on the Semi-Wadcutter bullet profile, it really helps with that bullet in feeding.

On any jacketed bullets, all you need is to get the belling out with your crimp (make the case straight).

Have fun, good luck.

[r3dn3ck]

bell your case mouths just a tit and you should have less trouble with shaving. One note that I may be off base on but it looks in the pic of the cartridges that your trim length isn't consistent. .45acp headspaces off the case mouth so you need to have that done right. Apart from that, if you have tall cases and you put them through the bell-ing operation you'll work harden the case mouths more than needed on the longer cases since they'll open up farther. Leads to cracked mouths.

So my rec: get your trim length solid, bell the mouths just the little tiniest bit. Crimp in a separate operation (like ^^ dude says) and only take the bell out with the crimp. No need to get all heavy handed on it.

[delisle]

6.3 gr of Unique? I never used more than 5.1gr on my 45 auto loads. I would double check the load data on that one, seems a little hot to me

[Bill Steele]

6.3 gr of Unique? I never used more than 5.1gr on my 45 auto loads. I would double check the load data on that one, seems a little hot to me

6.3gr is fine. Actually, this will be a light recoil (any dirty) load with 185gr jacketed.

[john16443]

I received my LNL AP from Cabelas in early December, and mine broke in exactly the same place before I ever loaded a round. Nothing jammed, I was just inserting and checking dies for 9mm. Since it happened within hours of receiving the press, I was able to return it to Cabelas and receive a new one. I probably could have gotten a replacement part from hornady, but didn't want to futz with removing the baseplate, etc. Besides, it was brand spanking new. See this thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=630025

What is the serial number of your press? The reason I ask is that there are others that have had their new LNL's break this same way in a small range of serial numbers. I called Hornady yesterday to get a shim set for the bushings so my powder measure won't loosen up, and mentioned that this part broke and they've been hearing about if from others. Here's another thread tracking serial numbers: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=630486

Your range of COl is pretty wide, and I found out how to make it consistent. Make sure you have a case in each station as you seat your last bullet. I use all five stations (size, expand, powder, seat, taper crimp) and fill the primer tube with 100 primers. After I seat the 97th bullet, I insert a dummy primed case into the press, and do this for the remaining pulls of the handle. Since the primers feed is empty, these cases just cycle through the press and the last rounds that are being seated come out the same length as the first ones.

Your final crimp at .473 should be fine, do a barrel plunk test to make sure they seat fully and fall back out when turned upside down.

[CriticallyStressed]

The first time I reloaded .45 ACP on my old rock chucker I didn't crimp enough to remove the bell and I didn't do the "plunk" check. End result: I got to the range with my 2-boxes of shiney new reloads and none of them would even chamber . I went home, adjusted the crimp-die a little more and pulled the barrel off my 1911 to check for fit and then went back to the range to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Several years later, now using my Dillon 550 and several other calibers, I have invested in some cartridge gauges to "proof" every 10th round and to make sure that everything is in spec.

And a warning to the OP; you will find this hobby fun and find new ways to justify it to your spouse "I'm saving money". Several years you'll look at the stacks of components, dies, and several presses and wonder how you'll ever find the time to load all of it.

[puRe59]

Thanks for the replies! I did get my press around early December from Cabelas, so this could be a bad batch.

I was sort of adjusting things as I was going which ended up giving me a large range of COAL. I have checked to make sure the rounds fit in the barrel and slip out. Hmm, I'll double check the case lengths and try to put less belling and crimping. Oh, and I'll give Hornady a call.

[delisle]

6.3gr is fine. Actually, this will be a light recoil (any dirty) load with 185gr jacketed.

Huh, I used 5.1 grains of Unique on lead and jacketed 230 grain ball type and made a very accurate round with light recoil. If it works then it works. I just err on the side of caution with reloading any thing the first time.

[Bill Steele]

Huh, I used 5.1 grains of Unique on lead and jacketed 230 grain ball type and made a very accurate round with light recoil. If it works then it works. I just err on the side of caution with reloading any thing the first time.

There is an enormous difference between 230gr lead and 185gr jacketed. The start load in my Lee book for 185gr jacketed is 8.0gr of Unique. The start load in my Lee book for 230gr Lead is 5.0grs. 5.1grs might cycle his gun with a 185gr jacketed bullet, but it might not.

[bruceflinch]

The first time I reloaded .45 ACP on my old rock chucker I didn't crimp enough to remove the bell and I didn't do the "plunk" check. End result: I got to the range with my 2-boxes of shiney new reloads and none of them would even chamber . I went home, adjusted the crimp-die a little more and pulled the barrel off my 1911 to check for fit and then went back to the range to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Several years later, now using my Dillon 550 and several other calibers, I have invested in some cartridge gauges to "proof" every 10th round and to make sure that everything is in spec.

The Cartridge Case Guages are a Great Investment! Should have one for every cartridge one loads.

[Dark Mod]

Yeah the case length's do not look uniform. If you trimmed them to an equal length then that should help, although i dont know why OAL is any different. If your crimping its important to have the cases all trimmed the same

If you belled your case mouths a little more before seating the jacket wont get shaved off

good luck!

[delisle]

There is an enormous difference between 230gr lead and 185gr jacketed. The start load in my Lee book for 185gr jacketed is 8.0gr of Unique. The start load in my Lee book for 230gr Lead is 5.0grs. 5.1grs might cycle his gun with a 185gr jacketed bullet, but it might not.

Didn't think about the cycle aspect

[anyracoon]

I never trim pistol brass, plus a case gauge is a must! I run all my reloads, both rifle & pistol through a case gauge.

[puRe59]

Wow, Hornady's customer service is top notch. Spent 2 minutes with them and they shipped out a replacement part. I got it today.

The cases are not consistent. Each one was a different length. I'm going to try and see if I can do this without trimming.

I ran a few test cases, and I noticed something. Is it normal to be able to see a bulge on the case (where the bottom of the bullet is at)? I've compared this with factory ammo and the factory ammo doesn't have a bulge, but a line around the case. Is this where I'm suppose to crimp the case?