wwillson Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Crashbox,You said you bought a Lock-n-Load AP, have you used it yet? I have a Lee Loadmaster that I haven't been real happy with because of the primer feed system. Considering a L&L AP - looking for feedback on the primer system.Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Nope, unfortunately I haven't used it yet- just got it last night. From what I've heard the primer feed system is fairly decent but admittedly it makes me nervous to think of pulling that cotter pin and having 100 primers slide down the feeder tube to the bottom; it's the sudden stop they have to make that bothers me. Although I have not heard of any KB's associated with this particular system...There were several items that caused me to get the LNL AP, the quick-change die feature IMO was a biggie and the free thousand-bullet offer wasn't bad, either. Somewhere on the 'net there was posted a real good comparison of various progressives, the Lock-N-Load AP being one of them; I'm pretty sure the primer feed mechanisms were mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I found the article, it is located athttp://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdfand I did not see an author credited except initials at the very end of the .pdf but it may be there. I think it may be Aaron Burns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkie_Lefty Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 "it makes me nervous to think of pulling that cotter pin and having 100 primers slide down the feeder tube to the bottom; it's the sudden stop they have to make that bothers me. Although I have not heard of any KB's associated with this particular system..." CrashboxSounds much the same as my RCBS "Piggyback" primer tubes. I've allways GENTLY reached up inside tube from the bottom with a straightened paper clip untill it touches the bottom primer, then pulled the (factory) clip and eased them down with the paper clip without the sudden stop.Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted December 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 I have asked friends who have reloaded for many years and not one of them have had a primer go off while reloading. Personally, I have experimented to see how hard/easy they could be set off. I found that if you directly dent the primer, like a firing pin would, that you can get them to go off. However, you have to hit them darn hard and make a significant dent. I have thrown them on the floor as hard as I could and slowly crushed them in a vise, just can't get them to go off this way. My experimentation stopped when I finally got one to explode. I had no idea how much force they have or how loud they are. I did have leather gloves and safety glasses on, but the force through the leather glove left my finger bleeding and my ears rang for a while. Folks, DO NOT experiment with primers, take it from someone who had to learn the hard way.Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Well, I FINALLY got the nerve to try it. I found the primers slide rather smoothly down the tube and not as quickly as I figured they would (I suspect maybe some pneumatic cushioning due to the tube diameter and venting only at the top...?????).Talk about fun! I loaded up about 50 rounds of .357 Magnum using 7.1 to 7.3 grains of TiteGroup behind 125-grain JHP bullets, lit with Federal Small Pistol Magnum match-grade primers ('twas all they had). I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I headed to the range and fired 'em off.They actually worked- all of them! Reasonably accurate, too.No wonder people reload- it is enjoyable to say the least. And I'm also one of those crazy people who find cleaning my gun after a stint at the range to be therapeutic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted December 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Congrats on the first reloads. I have always said that reloading is as fun of a hobby shooting. I think you'll find that with time and experience that you can make much more accurate ammunition than what you can buy.Did you have any issues with the new press?Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Yeah, I had a couple of items that I needed to rectify. The pawls on the lower part of the ram needed to be adjusted as it was out-of-time and also the primer slider thing required minor tweaking. It's possible that I have an out-of-spec shell plate but I ain't sure. After I tweaked the press everything was pretty much smooth sailing.One puzzling item did occur- I noticed the powder charges being thrown crept up about 0.2 grain from when I started (I have the micrometer insert which is handy), although I did not adjust it to do so. It may have been inconsistent tempo with the ram- I probably sped up a bit as I went along... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted December 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Was the Titegroup sticking to the hopper? When I reloaded with Titegroup, I did notice slightly less than consistent charges because of static build up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Only about four or five flakes- no static buildup that I could tell. I did lightly wipe down the outside with fabric softener solution.It is puzzling, though. Glad I have a good digital scale handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted December 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Does the powder measure have any kind of powder baffle? If not, that might help explain the increased charges at the powder packs with movement of the press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Yes, mine came with a baffle and a nifty add-in instruction sheet. I probably would've put it in upside down!I loaded 100 more at 6.8 grains today (gotta love the micrometer insert!)- no creep this time. Maybe I was more consistent in my tempo- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted December 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 So the baffle is in correctly now and no creep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 The baffle was in before but it crept anyway. The more I think about it, the more it seems to have been my rhythm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted December 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Was this the first time you've run powder through the measure? I've always run at least a pound of powder through a measure to 'break it in' before dropping actual charges. They seem to drop more even charges after doing this when new.Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashbox Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Yes, this was the first time for using it. It was certainly consistent this time though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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