HORNADY LOCK-N-LOAD AUTO PROGRESSIVE PRESS - HORNADY LOCK-N-LOAD AUTO PROGRESSIVE PRESS

I am the original purchaser of this press and have owned it for 3 years. I have loaded over 10,000 rounds of .40, .45, and .223. I initially had to do a slight timing adjustment because one of the shell plates was not consistently rotating completely into position. Hornady Customer Service was very helpful in getting that taken care of. Since then, the indexing has worked without a problem. I have never had any parts break or fail.
The priming system works very well with either large or small primers. One time I had debris get under the primer seat plunger and had to disassemble it for cleaning. Caliber changes take less than 5 minutes, although adjusting the Case Activated Powder Drop for different case lengths takes a few minutes more unless you have additional powder drop dies for each case size. The LnL bushing system is a great idea because they are inexpensive and you can store your dies in the original boxes with the bushings on them. Once they're set up, you don't have to fiddle with them any more.
I do not have a case feeder or a bullet feeder and find that once I get a rhythm going I can easily load 500 rounds in an hour. Shell and bullet placement are made from the left side of the press, so your right hand always stays on the handle. The press operation is very smooth. Once I am up and running with all stations holding shells, I typically place an empty shell in the empty slot, operate the handle until the shell that just cleared the powder check die is directly under the bullet seat die, place a bullet, and finish pulling the handle down and back up. The Ezject system drops a loaded round into the catcher tray. The entire operation takes less than two seconds. The only thing that slows me down is filling primer tubes or refilling the casing and bullet trays.
I keep a can of compressed air handy and use it every time I add primers to blow off any powder spills or debris around and below the shell plate. I bought a 3 pack of shell retainer springs when I got the press but have yet to need to replace one. I just added the Ergo Roller Handle from In-Line Fab (purchased here) and I really like it! There is a wealth of information and videos on operation of this press as well as comparisons to other competitive presses on the Internet. Remember that it is a mechanical device and like all such devices, things may break and go wrong. Overall, however, it is very well designed and manufactured and if something does go wrong, Hornady will stand behind it and make it right.

The title to my review is "Trash" because that is literally where this press ended up - on the curb of m street waiting for the garbage man to pick it up. At first it would not index properly. Adjusting the factory pawl setting fixed that, but then the press would jam every 5 or 6 rounds requiring partial disassembly to clear the malfunction. The 10th time it did this I applied enough pressure to break the entire auto indexing system. I cut off the UPC to get my 500 free bullets, took it off the bench, and threw it in the trash. The garbage man just came and I am glad to have this thing off my property. I will never purchase another Hornady product.

I am replacing a Lock-N-Load Progressive press that I bought way back in 1980. Best investment I ever made in reloading equipment. I am replacing it not because there was anything wrong with it, but because some thief stole it! I have never had a problem with that original press...not once that I can recall. I loaded more than 500,000 rounds of .45 ACP and about the same in .223 with it, plus unknown quantities of .243, 25-06, .270, .308, 30-06, .300 Win Mag, .300 WBY, .300 RUM, .416 Rem, .45LC, .454 Casull, 45-70, and a few others. The folks at Hornady tell me that it has been much improved since I bought that first one more than 33 years ago. I can't wait to get the new one!

First off I'm a newer reloader. So far I've only loaded pistol ammo on this press and I've loaded 1000 rounds on it. I have had to polish the primer feeder ramp and feeder. I have also broken now three of the plastic brackets atop the primer feeder acuation arm. You have to keep the priming system very very clean: any powder in there will cause it to malfunction. The primer system of this press is the reason I gave it four stars. Hornady customer service is really great and they ship out replacement parts very quick and with no hassel at all. I have gotten the impression that they will be upgrading the primer system and shipping a repair kit in the near future. That said this press is very nice once you have the bugs worked out. You can easiy load 50 rounds in 30 minutes and I go very slow. I have next to no powder spill because if the way the shell plate moves. The powder drop is consistant once you have it set correctly and make sure it's locked down in the press. The lock and load feature is good once you get the dies set right and have the locking nuts correct. You really want one set of bushings per dies because they are a pain to get off. I researched every progressive press out there and for the money you are getting the most with this Hornady lock and load press.

Excellent quality, good instructional vidios. Simple even for a begginer. I am very glad that I skipped the single stage press and bought the AP.
Simplifies the process and pumps out the rounds once setup. Can go as slow or as fast as you want.
Works with most other manufacturers dies and has plenty of stations.

VERY NICE PRES, WIHT AN EXCELENT POWDER MEASURE. Come with two powder rotors and allen wrenches and it comes assambled! very easy to change calibers. Buy a pack or two of extras case retainer springs.

VERY NICE PRESS, WIHT AN EXCELENT POWDER MEASURE. Come with two powder rotors and allen wrenches and it comes assambled! very easy to change calibers. Buy a pack or two of case retainer springs.

It arrived just the other day. I have been putting off some reloading chores for a few weeks so that I might try them on this machine. [...] Instructions very clear as to the assembly. Moved the laptop to the reloading room and just followed the instructions on the provided CD. First run was for a hundred rounds. Turned in the seating die a quarter turn and ran 200 more. They are perfect. Everything seems to be quality made and rock solid. No creeks or groans when functioning the press for pistol ammo. Haven't tried rifle ammo as yet. Was very happy that I picked up the powder cop die as well. Once you get the tempo down it just keeps on ticking! I have been using a single stage press up to now and I just finished in two hours what it took me two days to do with the single stage. I just hope that my bullet casting can keep up!

Look no further this is the no 1 reloading press on the marker. I have reloaded for five or six years on a green machine they make a good product and have a good service department but Hornady made a customer of me after the sale. After repeated troubles on the large primer feeder I got on the phone with Bob and he told me what was wrong and I received the parts three days later and was up and running .I have loaded about a thousand rounds now and truly believe that a novice could follow the videos and instructions and have no trouble with this press. The only drawback I have found is that you have too keep it really clean which you can conquer with a can of instant air like you use on computers. Sinclair was the lowest price [...]