A few issues with a new Hornady LNL

A

ADClope

New member
Starting my 3rd year reloading and after starting out on a single stage, I decided I'd like to make the jump to a progressive for pistol stuff mainly. I purchased a hornady lnl and got everything set up after extensively watching video's and reading as much as I could. The press itself seems to be running smoothly.

My method thus far on my single stage has been to seat the bullet and apply the taper crimp with two separate operations, using the Lee Factory Crimp Die. It worked fine. But in an effort to save a station, I purchased Hornady's Taper Crimp/Seating Die. This is where my problems have started. Every time the case runs up into that die, it seems like it gets stuck and when lowering the ram, it has to **POP** free on the down stroke, which is frustrating, and causes the cases with powder to jostle some of it out on to the shell plate.

I took the die apart to see if I could figure it out, and it seems to be related to the taper portion of the die, it sticks in there and has to pop free.

Wondering if anyone else has dealt with this, or if they have any advice regarding this issue?

Thanks!
 
I sounds like just a die adjustment problem to me, however, I can't help you because I never could get my seat/crimp die to work right either.
A lot depends on the brass you're using. If you're using range pickup mixed brass, like me, the lengths will be all over the place. You'll end up with some with no crimp and some with too much crimp. So I use the seat/crimp die just to seat and the Lee fcd for crimp. It may not be perfect, but it works for me.
Also as I think about it, I don't remember getting a pop from that die. I do get a pop but it comes from the resize die when a casing is too "dry". My procedure is to lube several cases with the Hornady dry lube (spray inside a baggie,add cases and shake around). About every 4-6 cases I use one of the lubed ones. This keeps the die somewhat lubed also and things are easier to operate. You can really tell the difference when you put that lubed case in. I'm too cheap to lube them all, I try to conserve my spray.
If your pop really is coming from the seat/crimp die then IMO it has to be just a matter of adjustment. Good luck.

ETA-It is the One Shot cleaner and lube, NOT the Hornady case lube. Their labeling is confusing IMO.
 
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Thanks egd, yeah this is just random range brass, and that makes sense about the varying lengths, I did not consider that. I'll play with it a bit more and see if I can isolate why exactly it's happening.

Good point on lubing some of the cases as well.
 
+1 on the I never could get a seat/crimp die to work right either.

I had problems with inconsistent OAL or shaving the copper off the outside of the bullet. I gave that die to my brother-in-law just to screw with him. The LNL we have on the farm is dedicated to 45ACP large primer.

How do you have the 5 stations set up?
 
I haven't had that particular problem with the L-N-L AP, but I also seat and crimp at different stations. I typically use an RCBS die for crimping on most calibers, but I have used the L-N-L die for 44 Mag. crimping with no problems so far.

I find the floating insert like Hornady uses nice for bullet seating, but don't like the way it tends to snap loose when crimping. It has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Edit - I should also add that I do trim pistol cartridges when needed to achieve a more consistent crimp with roll crimp cartridges like the with 44 Mag. and 357 Mag. Not so much with the taper crimped auto cartridges. But case length absolutely does affect crimp with the standard RCBS and Hornady crimp dies (and could be a factor in your problem as suggested above).
 
1. How well did you clean your dies when you first got it?
2. How do the completed rounds look after finished?
3. Have you tried spraying 1 shot into the die to see if it would help?
4. I know they are pistol but try and lube the cases.
 
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Lube the cases....carbide dies, handgun ammo - it doesn't matter...lube the cases and the press will run a lot smoother.

If it still sticks....get that die out of the press...and install the separate dies for seating and final crimp...and see if the problem is eliminated.
 
I'm in the same boat with the "pop".i have re set every station on my lnl press about 5 times trying to find the reason. I'm reloading 9mm mixed brass and its been a nightmare some hold bullet tight some bullets slip into brass. I will be switching to seating and crimp in two stages.
 
Just be sure which die is giving you the pop. Load a few like it was a single stage, just one operation at a time, and see what happens. You can skip the primer and skip adding powder, then pull the bullets after you're done experimenting to re-use the components.
 
every station is smooth except crimp/seat for me.is it possible the crimp rolls the brass over slightly on the way up and then pulling brass out "unrolls"the brass. I have adjusted the die to crimp very little and it did help although pop did not completely go away.seems like there should be a solid answer
 
I don't know but sorta guessing, could you be flaring the case too much so that there is a lip as the brass goes up into the seat die?
How are your stations set up? Mine are 1.resize/deprime,prime on upstroke of handle 2. flare, 3. powder 4. seat, 5 Lee fcd.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses so far.

To answer some questions:

I cleaned everything thoroughly when I first got it. Soap and warm water, wiped everything down with rubbing alcohol, and then coated it with One Shot and then reassembled.

I have not tried lubing the cases yet.

LNL is set up as Station 1 decap/resize, 2 taper, 3 powder, 4 powder cop, 5 seater/taper.

I may change it to 1 decap/resize, 2 taper, 3 powder, 4 seating, 5 taper.

I have isolated it to the Hornady taper crimp/seating die as causing the pop.

I have noticed fairly extensive brass shavings accumulating in the taper/seating die.

I will try to seat/crimp in two separate steps and see if it gets any better.

As far as belling/flaring, I'm using just enough flare to allow the bullet to slip into the mouth, it's not even enough to keep it from tipping over sometimes, so I doubt it's too much. I'm trying to keep the flare as minimal as possible. Could putting too little a crimp on it cause issues such as these?

Thanks again everyone.
 
I have the LNL AP and use the Hornady dies for 9mm.
I seat and crimp with one die.
To me, it sounds as though you are applying too much crimp and that is causing the case and bullet to "stick" in the die, thus creating the pop when you raise the handle.
Back off the crimp a bit and you should be good to go. These dies do work as designed.
For flair, it should be just enough that the bullet will just barely fit into the top of the case.
You can go the separate taper crimp die route but it isn't mandatory if you take the time to setup your die correctly.
Hope this helps.
 
You might also check the internal finish of the floating crimp sleeve. If it's a little rough it could be binding/sticking to the brass.
 
I load on my Hornady LNL progressive and I seat and crimp with one die and have no problems loading 38, 357 and 45 acp. I am using RCBS dies.
Check your seat and crimp die and adjust it til it doesn't pop
 
ADClope said:
I have noticed fairly extensive brass shavings accumulating in the taper/seating die..
Click to expand...

This should not be happening. It sounds like your crimp die is squeezing the brass way too much. Either that or you are not flaring the cases enough and the case is shaving off pieces of he bullet. Or maybe both. Pictures of the brass and loaded rounds would probably help.
 
RE shaving bullets-Agree this shouldn't happen (maybe a rare one or so). I'd try opening up the flare just a tiny bit since it would seem you are definitely not flaring too much as I had previously thought.

RE the seat/crimp die-Try just backing off the crimp part entirely to where it only seats the bullet. If it stops poping then you know that's where your problem is.
Also the slight lubing of the cases really should help too.
 
Just want to comment that your issue is with a die, not the press. The LnL AP is good equipment, while Hornady dies not so much. However that combo seat/crimp die has been very useful to me in a couple cartridge setups, especially when I had to make room for a bullet feeder, compressing out separate stations for seat and crimp.
 
Tumble that brass with a squirt of NuFinish polish added to the media...this always stops the pop when I started to experience it on my Dillon dies.
 
I run an RCBS Lockout Die on my press. I seat and crimp in one operation with revolver cartridges but separately with 9mm and .45 ACP. To make room I expand the case mouth while charging in Station Two, using a Hornady PTX.
 
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