Redding dies in Hornady LnL AP?

COREY

COREY

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Hello All and Happy New Years Eve.

I have a Hornady LnL AP. I have tried using Lee dies in it for loading 9mm and it failed miserably; they were the first dies I used on it (already owned them) and was about to sell the whole thing before I decided to buy a set of Hornady dies. I have loaded 7000 9mm and 2000 38 Special with the Hornady dies (with a Redding profile crimp die for the 38) with excellent results. I have probably loaded 25,000 rounds over the years, so I am not a total newbie; the seating and crimp die were s**ting the bed when using the Lee setup.

Has anyone used Redding dies for loading handgun ammo on a LnL AP? I just bought an El Patron in 45 Colt and I need dies, but there are no Hornady dies to be found. I can get the Redding die set that has a coated sizing die, a seating die, and a separate crimp die; this is great as I use a PTX in the powder die as I like a separate crimp die. They are not cheap, so I am not sure whether to wait (who knows how long) or buy the Redding dies and take my chances.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
that's just lee dies lol, they may work but I found them to be finicky to set up in a single stage press, got 1 set used with a rifle and that was the only set of lee dies that I ever had experience with
 
Don't let the Lee dies discourage you. They are junk.

I had some Lee dies when I first started out reloading and they almost turned me away from the hobby. My friend loaned me a set of a Redding dies and boy was I impressed! All my dies are now Redding and I use them in either a RCBS or Hornady press without fail. My Lee dies went in the garbage bucket as I didn't want to sell them and pass the agony on to someone else.
 
Bitumen said:
Don't let the Lee dies discourage you. They are junk.

I had some Lee dies when I first started out reloading and they almost turned me away from the hobby. My friend loaned me a set of a Redding dies and boy was I impressed! All my dies are now Redding and I use them in either a RCBS or Hornady press without fail. My Lee dies went in the garbage bucket as I didn't want to sell them and pass the agony on to someone else.
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Pfft, Lee dies work plenty good. Obviously not the cats ass but they can the out quality ammo..

As Armedsask said , it's not the dies causing issues.

I have Lee dies for my 500mag and seat in one stage then crimp on a second stage. Has nothing to do with Lee, I would do it with any brand. Paying 125 for dies is asinine unless your ging for bench rest quality. Whoraw for beer! Happy new years! Don't like my alcohol induced state effect you!
 
Spawn-Inc said:
Pfft, Lee dies work plenty good. Obviously not the cats ass but they can the out quality ammo..

As Armedsask said , it's not the dies causing issues.

I have Lee dies for my 500mag and seat in one stage then crimp on a second stage. Has nothing to do with Lee, I would do it with any brand. Paying 125 for dies is asinine unless your ging for bench rest quality. Whoraw for beer! Happy new years! Don't like my alcohol induced state effect you!
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It's all good.
 
I was not really looking for a debate on the quality of Lee dies, just an answer on whether anyone had used Redding in a Hornady LnL AP press. I load quite accurate loads for a target rifle with Lee dies, but the 9mm dies I had would not work with my Hornady press.

Bitumen, have you used the Redding dies, or know of someone who has, on a Hornady LnL AP?

The Lee dies worked fine with the Pro 1000 I had before, and I have set up quite a few die sets over the last 18 years I have been loading. Maybe another set would work, but I am not going to gamble on it. If the Hornady dies were available. I would buy them, but they are not.
 
Which ejection system do you have on the LnL? The older ejection system needs Hornady crimp and/or seating dies to properly work IIRC.
The newer 'EZ-ject' design should eliminate this issue.
 
In my L&L AP I use a Redding die set for 38 Supercomp. That said I also have Lyman dies for 45 ACP plus a Lee factory crimp die. I have Dillon dies for reloading .223. I use a RCBS Lockout die for all applications. Dillon, I believe, has some dies that only fit their presses but all other presses, and certainly the Hornady L&L AP will use anything.
 
Hello beltfed, I have the newer Ez-ject system.

Thanks HKMark23, that was what I was looking for. I use a Powder Cop instead of the Lock Out die and it seems to work well.
 
COREY said:
I was not really looking for a debate on the quality of Lee dies, just an answer on whether anyone had used Redding in a Hornady LnL AP press. I load quite accurate loads for a target rifle with Lee dies, but the 9mm dies I had would not work with my Hornady press.

Bitumen, have you used the Redding dies, or know of someone who has, on a Hornady LnL AP?

The Lee dies worked fine with the Pro 1000 I had before, and I have set up quite a few die sets over the last 18 years I have been loading. Maybe another set would work, but I am not going to gamble on it. If the Hornady dies were available. I would buy them, but they are not.
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It was the only direction this thread could have gone, fwiw I love Lee dies, I even use them in my Dillon 650. The only dies I own that aren't Lee are for reloading 50AE, for that caliber I went to CH4D.
 
Hi,

I used all Lyman, RCBS, Redding, Dillon and Lee dies successfully in my Hornady LnL AP press. For 9mm, I replaced my Lee sizing die for the Dillon one has it perform lot smoother. But other than that, my Lee dies all perform as requested, just not as smooth as my Redding Comp die :D but they are priced differently too.
 
I have used the Redding Titanium series for 40S&W on my LNL AP. They work the same as the lee, hornady, and RCBS dies I have, but separate me from reloading money for bullets and components. I am not overly impressed with them, they come with poor lock rings and only one bullet seating insert (props to Lyman). I just bought a set of LEE 45ACP dies with seperate crimp die and will let you know if I have bad performance with them, I doubt I will as the LEE rifle dies work just fine. No offence, but I would re-evaluate your setup as it sounds like you missed something. I know this comment is going to insult all the "LEE is garbage crowd"
 
nevanevan said:
I have used the Redding Titanium series for 40S&W on my LNL AP. They work the same as the lee, hornady, and RCBS dies I have, but separate me from reloading money for bullets and components. I am not overly impressed with them, they come with poor lock rings and only one bullet seating insert (props to Lyman). I just bought a set of LEE 45ACP dies with seperate crimp die and will let you know if I have bad performance with them, I doubt I will as the LEE rifle dies work just fine. No offence, but I would re-evaluate your setup as it sounds like you missed something. I know this comment is going to insult all the "LEE is garbage crowd"
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Reason I got the Reddings for loading 38 supercomp is that the sizing die re-sizes down closer to the webbing / head than standard. I'm not certain, but I believe this fuller length sizing may have merit with the 40 S&W round too. It was either purchase an extra specialty die from EGW or go with Redding, who do it right in the first place. Redding does some interesting things with dies and are worth the price if those things are important to you. Lee bashing generally doesn't extend to their dies, except by those who don't know what they're talking about and just brand bash for the love of it. "Engineering Chain Rule" = if it works its right ! ;)
 
HKMark23 said:
Reason I got the Reddings for loading 38 supercomp is that the sizing die re-sizes down closer to the webbing / head than standard. I'm not certain, but I believe this fuller length sizing may have merit with the 40 S&W round too. It was either purchase an extra specialty die from EGW or go with Redding, who do it right in the first place. Redding does some interesting things with dies and are worth the price if those things are important to you. Lee bashing generally doesn't extend to their dies, except by those who don't know what they're talking about and just brand bash for the love of it. "Engineering Chain Rule" = if it works its right ! ;)
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I imagine that the Redding die resizes to the same degree as any other brand, if it did go right to the base to eliminate the glock bulge often found on 40S&W they wouldn't sell there GRX push through size die.
 
loaded around 2000 9mm with lee dies in my lnl ap with rcbs lockout die with no issues.

I dont use a separate crimp die just the lee seating die for light crimp.
 
nevanevan said:
I imagine that the Redding die resizes to the same degree as any other brand, if it did go right to the base to eliminate the glock bulge often found on 40S&W they wouldn't sell there GRX push through size die.
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I'm not sure with the 40 S&W but the deal with the 38 Super's is that cases often become U/S due to expansion at the base after "X" firings causing FTF, as opposed to separations, split necks and the like. The Reddding Titaniums do the same job as the EGW specialty die, getting a little more life out of the brass. I wouldn't chase this kind of minutia over 9mm but 38 supercomp can be scarce as dragon turds at times, no-one leaves any on the ground, so longevity matters.
 
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