First Progressive frustrations

[mortre]

So I got my first Progressive press the other day. I spent the weekend setting it up, and I about to ready to give up on it. It's a Hornady Lock'n'Load Auto Progressive. I bought it with the parts/pieces to start with 9mm which seems like it should be a shoe in for any progressive. We swapped it the handgun drum/assembly and the universal handgun bushing. I spent about three hours just getting the mechanism set so it would throw powder at all. It seems the 9mm case is on the bottom end of minimum length because the drum doesn't cycle either all they way up or down. This has lead to it being dangerously inconsistent. It's throwing between 2.9 and 4.6 grains of AA #2.... For reference it was MUCH more accurate throwing with a 38 Super case as it was able to get a full rotation out of the drum.


Is there some magic they left out of the manual on getting this thing to work right??? Because at this point it's faster AND more accurate to use my single stage press and hand weighing charges... I've managed about 50 rounds this weekend and I might just toss them because I'm just not sure I can trust them...

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[P7M13]

1. There are two different bushings to go inside the feeder die that the powder rotor assembly mounts onto. You need the longer one.
2. If you didn't completely degrease the rotor assembly internals, you will have powder bunching up and an extremely inconsistent feed. I encountered the same varying feed levels and until I figured it out and completely cleaned it, it was a variable powder charge.
3. Toss 'em. I guarantee you can't trust them.
4. See my post in the thread What did you reload today? for some other pointers.

 

[No_Regerts]

If you need more 9mm brass, I'm not far from you. Free it would be.

 

[VanceInWA]

If you need more 9mm brass, I'm not far from you. Free it would be.

First of all, just want to opine that this is the kind of person we need more of in NWFA, a fellow gun person who is willing to give, not just take. Kudos to No_Regerts.

As for the OP, the good response by P7M13 may hold your solution, but sometimes the Hornady Progressive Press also needs some fine-tuning of the pawls, those little tabs that help cycle it at the base of the plunger column. May not be related to the issue you're having, but just throwing a couple cents worth of consideration out there.

 

[Camelfilter]

1. There are two different bushings to go inside the feeder die that the powder rotor assembly mounts onto. You need the longer one.
2. If you didn't completely degrease the rotor assembly internals, you will have powder bunching up and an extremely inconsistent feed. I encountered the same varying feed levels and until I figured it out and completely cleaned it, it was a variable powder charge.
3. Toss 'em. I guarantee you can't trust them.
4. See my post in the thread What did you reload today? for some other pointers.

Plus there is the case mouth expander inserts/bushings...(unlikely those would have come with a kit, but a possible).

I completely gave up on the case mouth expander inserts/bushings & just use the regular pistol insert/bushing.

Do the next station for case mouth expansion.

 

[Ben B.]

I've got 15 yrs and 100K+ rds loaded on my LNL AP. Probably 30K of those are 9mm, so it definitely works with 9mm. You must have some adjustment off. They say about 7 threads should be showing between the powder measure body and the clamp around the the threads. Mine is set for 9mm right now, I see 8 threads.

The metal drop tube needs to be screwed in, check that.

Are you using a PTX expander bushing?

Loosen the lock ring that holds the die into the LNL bushing and loosen the die up. Put a sized case under an EMPTY powder measure. Raise the ram so the case activates the powder drop. Screw the die up or down so that the drum is rotated up and adjustment stem:arm is almost at the the top of the track. Lock down the die ring. Try several times. It should operate the powder drop normally.

I absolutely recommend using the PTX or other powder thru expanders, as you want to keep a powder cop in the press to help watch for empty or overfilled cases in a progressive press.

If the case activated powder measure is functioning correctly, and you still are getting such erratic throws I'd think about checking for obstruction everywhere that powder can touch, degreasing everything that powder can touch, possibly running some powdered graphite thru the powder measure, and testing throws run by hand.

Most powders run great in the excellent Hornady powder measure. But I am running IMR Red right now, and it is the one powder I've used to date that causes the drum to bind. I think they call it "bridging", where a kernel or stick of powder gets caught between openings between drum and drop.

 

[P7M13]

Do the next station for case mouth expansion.

Exactly what I did.

 

[Local Loader]

1. There are two different bushings to go inside the feeder die that the powder rotor assembly mounts onto. You need the longer one.
2. If you didn't completely degrease the rotor assembly internals, you will have powder bunching up and an extremely inconsistent feed. I encountered the same varying feed levels and until I figured it out and completely cleaned it, it was a variable powder charge.
3. Toss 'em. I guarantee you can't trust them.
4. See my post in the thread What did you reload today? for some other pointers.

This ^^^^^
I just got done setting up my new LnL AP just last night and it sounds like you might have the wrong bushing in or the raiser arm may not be set right. I've got mine set for 9mm as well and I'm getting 5gr powder charge each time with a +/- 0.1gr about every 10 cases. Don't forget that when you change cartridge sizes you need to adjust the raiser arms and drum rotation. This is a reason people tend to have multiple feeders so they don't have to adjust it each time.

 

[mortre]

1. There are two different bushings to go inside the feeder die that the powder rotor assembly mounts onto. You need the longer one.
2. If you didn't completely degrease the rotor assembly internals, you will have powder bunching up and an extremely inconsistent feed. I encountered the same varying feed levels and until I figured it out and completely cleaned it, it was a variable powder charge.
3. Toss 'em. I guarantee you can't trust them.
4. See my post in the thread What did you reload today? for some other pointers.

1) We are using the longest (universal pistol bushing I think the instructions called it, yes we read it lol).

2) We did break it down and clean both setups, with the recommended Hornady One Shot cleaner. Assuming you are right anyway, we broke it all back down and all the parts got a warm soapy water bath. Then we used the one shot cleaner again figuring it probably need some sort of metal protectorate and lube.

3) Will do, at least I know the other stations are set right...

4) I'll check that thread out.


As to the rest, I have plenty of 9mm brass, but appreciate the offer. I'm more worried about the primers honestly. I'm under 1k left and they are either sold out or priced rediculously where they are in stock...

 

[mortre]

Plus there is the case mouth expander inserts/bushings...(unlikely those would have come with a kit, but a possible).

I completely gave up on the case mouth expander inserts/bushings & just use the regular pistol insert/bushing.

Do the next station for case mouth expansion.

Actually I have the expander die in station 1. From there it is powder drop > rcbs lockout die > seating die > crimping die. I'm doing the case sizing / depriming on my single stage before moving to the progressive.

 

[P7M13]

Actually I have the expander die in station 1. From there it is powder drop > rcbs lockout die > seating die > crimping die. I'm doing the case sizing / depriming on my single stage before moving to the progressive.

Makes no sense to deprime & size separately. Cuts your efficiency in half.

 

[mortre]

Makes no sense to deprime & size separately. Cuts your efficiency in half.

I generally clean / deprime / size at the same time I clean the guns. Then store the brass back in the mtm cases on the shelf until I'm out of loaded ammo for the caliber. That's why I started with 9mm, I'm down to my last 100 round box.

 

[Stomper]

76Highboy on YouTube has an excellent series of videos concerning setting up and using the Hornady LnL AP….

 

[red442joe]

Get one of these: Thread 'Has anybody tried the Grip N Pull for yanking bullets?' https://www.northwestfirearms.com/t...d-the-grip-n-pull-for-yanking-bullets.405291/
Don't lose yer primed brass!

Joe

 

[oremike]

I have to ask if the powder drop tube bushing is upside down. When installed correctly there should be approximately 1/2" of the tube sticking out. Also is the powder drum installed correctly? The lock pin should be in the grove at the top of the adjuster not under the plunger end.
In this video they show the proper 9mm powder drop bushing at the 7:13 mark

Hornady® - How to setup the Lock-N-Load® AP™ Reloading Press (without Powder Through™ Expander)

This is "Hornady® - How to setup the Lock-N-Load® AP™ Reloading Press (without Powder Through™ Expander)" by Hornady Manufacturing…

vimeo.com

 

[Camelfilter]

Actually I have the expander die in station 1. From there it is powder drop > rcbs lockout die > seating die > crimping die. I'm doing the case sizing / depriming on my single stage before moving to the progressive.

That may be a portion of the problem rite there, having the expander before the powder drop.

 

[Tilos]

Lots of LNL powder measure vids:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Setup+LNL+powder+measure+for+9mm

Vids are, well, visual, way better than words.
jmo,
.

 

[TTSX]

If you went blue....

 

[mortre]

That may be a portion of the problem rite there, having the expander before the powder drop.

How would having the expander before or after the powder dropper affect the amount of powder dropped? The official instructions called for expander before the powder dropper actually.

 

[Tilos]

How would having the expander before or after the powder dropper affect the amount of powder dropped? The official instructions called for expander before the powder dropper actually.

OK, a lot of good info and links posted here and you didn't even acknowledge any of them.
Instead, you choose to challenge/reply to the only poster with nothing but criticism, no useful info at all.
Did you even read the other posts?
out of here,
.