Hornady 9mm Case Feeder Adapter Lock and Load Ammo Plant

I have had my Hornady Lock and Load AP press for years, but one consistent and persistent problem is that 2-5 cases feed from the case feeder on to the shell plate with a single pull.

Just like target practicing, you can't have consistent results with an inconsistent process. So here are the steps I took to get more consistent results.

My particular press is an older design. The mounting of the pivot arm (Hornady part# 398290) to the vertical square tube (part# 398447) is accomplished by a single bolt. I noticed that the pivot arm would twist on it's mounting. I would snug it up, but it would continue to twist over time. I did end up cracking the metal pivot arm due to that issue. Looking at newer pictures of the case feeder, I see that there is a stamped piece of sheet metal called a "Cam Block Clamp" (part# 399691) that goes over the pivot arm and square metal tube for stability. So kudos to Hornady for addressing this issue. I should probably reach out to their truly amazing customer support to see if I can get one of those brackets.(Yes their customer support is second to none.) In the meantime, I have a block of wood in between the pivot arm (part# 398290) and feed tube mounting bracket (part# 398446) to prevent any twisting.

I have seen online references to the feeder tube (part# 398303) being out of square, and that causing a double case feed. I did notice that my feeder tube seems to be leaning a bit towards me, but I might chalk this up to the above mentioned wooden block to keep the pivot arm from twisting. So even though it might be out of square, it is rigid so I am not going to mess with it.

A lot of people seem to talk about adjusting the height of the case feeder tube (part# 398303). No matter how high, how low, or how small of increments I it is adjusted, I simply could not get consistent results. I would have a good rhythm and then I would start to experience a missed case feed, double, triple, or quadruple case feeds. I have sharpie marks on various parts and those have all remained tight and aligned. So I feel confident that no loosening of the alignment of the feeder tube is happening.

Then I happened to run across this wonderful video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9RD6KAfB6BU It seems like this gentleman solved the problem with a 2 cent piece of tape. Thinking about the mechanical actions involved, it makes perfect sense.

Well if a 2 cent piece of tape is good, and afternoon working up protypes and printing dozens of variations of this part must be better :-)

There are multiple adapters just in case your alignment is not the same as mine. The top opening of the adapter was adjusted in .5mm steps, hopefully one of these will be the sweet spot for your setup.

In summary:

1. Make sure that your pivot arm does not have any twisting motion on it's mounting point to the vertical square tube. If it does twist check out Hornady part# 399691
2. Use an adapter that is smaller that the supplied pivot bushing (Hornady part# 398300)

Reference:

New Hornady Case Feeder Manual https://static.hornady.media/presscenter/docs/1410995280-Case-Feeder-Instructions1654102829.pdf

Original Hornady Case Feeder Manual (The style that I have) https://www.helmuthofmann.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/LNL_Case_Feeder.pdf

Category: Sport & Outdoors