Just thought I'd recommend using a small dowel or other item to hold the case feeder pivot back. This alleviates having to remove the stem from the case feed pivot plunger.
Great Video as always! I have a few questions please. Do you find it necessary to flare the brass case mouth more for the Bullet Feeder? Or do you use the same amount of flare as you use when placing bullets by hand on the cases? Also, I noticed the ram seemed to lock up and stop on the down stroke a few times. Was that caused by the ejector on the shell plate? If not, what was causing that? One last question, do you ever get an upside down case or an upside down bullet from either the case or bullet feeders? Thanks!
+lifelong learner For flaring, it depends on the bullet being used. for bullets with a severely flat base, sometimes I flare it a bit more to make sure it goes into the case mouth. I don't use the rifle bullet feeder at all when loading flat base rifle bullets since you don't flare rifle cases at all and unless the bullet has a boat tail, it tends to sit on top of the case mouth when it goes into the seating component of the die. This leads to crushed case mouths on my expensive cases. The stoppage was indeed caused by the "EZ-Ject" protrusion on the sub-plate. The sub-plate is not hardened steel, it's cast, so the top of the EZ-Ject stub tends to wear away over the course of several years. It is also subject to shearing if you force the handle up when it sticks (goes with your "listen to the machine" philosophy). I have since replaced my sub-plate and resolved that problem (Hornady sells replacements for about $30). With the bullet feeder, as long as I set it up properly, I very rarely get an upside down bullet, maybe one in a thousand. The case feeder does tend to drop an upside down case on occasion, maybe one in two or three hundred. Fortunately, with the pistol bullet feeder and the case feeder, you can catch it before going forward and anything gets done wrong. With the rifle bullet feeder, since it is an enclosed system and both drops the bullet and seats it all in one operation, I have had the occasional bullet seated upside down. Fortunately, that is very rare.
Expect to spend around 800.00 on everything you need to reload 1 caliber on a hornady progressive press, this is without bullet feeder or case feeder option, and if your loading rifles, expect to spend more, cause youll need a trimmer, swage tool, debur tool, chamfer tool etc....its not cheap, but if you want to shoot alot, then its cheaper than buying ammo in the long run (provided that you shop around for good prices on components)
The Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant sells for around $1,600 in most places... without dies and other components you will need for the specific caliber(s) you choose to load. You'll also need a bench of some sort to mount the press and it's accessories. You could easily spend a few thousand dollars before you load your first cartridge. Or, alternatively you may spend no more than $2,000. It all depends on what you already have, what you can save money on and how much you are willing to invest. Also, it will be cheaper to set all of this up using all new components... but the flip side of that is that you will be paying more for components rather than the equipment. The equipment, when you don't scrimp too much, is a lifetime investment that will probably outlast you--with a few exceptions.
Excellent channel, always very good, clear and simply explained topics
thank you very well explained video
Just thought I'd recommend using a small dowel or other item to hold the case feeder pivot back. This alleviates having to remove the stem from the case feed pivot plunger.
+Ryan Knoll Interesting idea Ryan. I'll give that a try, thanks!
Great Video as always! I have a few questions please. Do you find it necessary to flare the brass case mouth more for the Bullet Feeder? Or do you use the same amount of flare as you use when placing bullets by hand on the cases? Also, I noticed the ram seemed to lock up and stop on the down stroke a few times. Was that caused by the ejector on the shell plate? If not, what was causing that? One last question, do you ever get an upside down case or an upside down bullet from either the case or bullet feeders? Thanks!
+lifelong learner For flaring, it depends on the bullet being used. for bullets with a severely flat base, sometimes I flare it a bit more to make sure it goes into the case mouth. I don't use the rifle bullet feeder at all when loading flat base rifle bullets since you don't flare rifle cases at all and unless the bullet has a boat tail, it tends to sit on top of the case mouth when it goes into the seating component of the die. This leads to crushed case mouths on my expensive cases. The stoppage was indeed caused by the "EZ-Ject" protrusion on the sub-plate. The sub-plate is not hardened steel, it's cast, so the top of the EZ-Ject stub tends to wear away over the course of several years. It is also subject to shearing if you force the handle up when it sticks (goes with your "listen to the machine" philosophy). I have since replaced my sub-plate and resolved that problem (Hornady sells replacements for about $30). With the bullet feeder, as long as I set it up properly, I very rarely get an upside down bullet, maybe one in a thousand. The case feeder does tend to drop an upside down case on occasion, maybe one in two or three hundred. Fortunately, with the pistol bullet feeder and the case feeder, you can catch it before going forward and anything gets done wrong. With the rifle bullet feeder, since it is an enclosed system and both drops the bullet and seats it all in one operation, I have had the occasional bullet seated upside down. Fortunately, that is very rare.
What is needed to change over from rifle to pistol. Im looking at buying the Ammo Plant and I load 223 and 9mm.
can you use the pistol bullet feeder plates in the rifle bullet feeder
Where can I find the cutoff switch and the bullet feeder dies you show in this video?
How many thousands of dollars do you have invested in this? I would like to start reloading and single stage seems to slow.
Expect to spend around 800.00 on everything you need to reload 1 caliber on a hornady progressive press, this is without bullet feeder or case feeder option, and if your loading rifles, expect to spend more, cause youll need a trimmer, swage tool, debur tool, chamfer tool etc....its not cheap, but if you want to shoot alot, then its cheaper than buying ammo in the long run (provided that you shop around for good prices on components)
The Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant sells for around $1,600 in most places... without dies and other components you will need for the specific caliber(s) you choose to load. You'll also need a bench of some sort to mount the press and it's accessories. You could easily spend a few thousand dollars before you load your first cartridge. Or, alternatively you may spend no more than $2,000. It all depends on what you already have, what you can save money on and how much you are willing to invest. Also, it will be cheaper to set all of this up using all new components... but the flip side of that is that you will be paying more for components rather than the equipment. The equipment, when you don't scrimp too much, is a lifetime investment that will probably outlast you--with a few exceptions.
It impressed at all with the bullet feeder. It takes forever to get the bullets to the tube!
that's just a waste of electricity
Martin Svejkovský my thoughts also.