The Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant is what happens when you stop buying reloading equipment piece by piece and just get the whole bench at once. It bundles the Lock-N-Load AP progressive press with a case feeder, a pistol bullet feeder, and close to thirty other tools and accessories — the idea being that you unbox it, bolt it down, and start making ammunition. That’s the pitch. The reality is more interesting, and it comes down to one thing owners say over and over: this press rewards patience during setup and punishes people who skip it.
How we researched this
We pulled from Hornady’s own documentation and retailer listings, plus owner reports across reloading and firearms communities including AR15.com, 1911Forum, The Firearms Forum, Northeast Shooters, Canadian Gun Nutz, and retailer review sections at Brownells, Graf & Sons, and OpticsPlanet. You can read more about how we evaluate products.
Perfect For
- High-volume pistol shooters who already understand the reloading process
- People loading several different calibers — the per-caliber changeover cost is genuinely low
- Reloaders moving up from a single-stage press because volume is the bottleneck
- Anyone who’d rather buy the complete setup once than assemble it over two years
Not Ideal For
- Complete beginners — nearly every experienced reloader says learn on a single stage first
- Precision rifle handloaders working in small, carefully measured batches
- Long magnum rifle cartridges — the press has a practical overall-length ceiling
- Anyone unwilling to spend a weekend adjusting pawls, timing, and the priming system
Ownership Reality
You’ll spend more time learning this machine than making ammunition during your first weekend with it. That’s not a knock on the press — it’s what buying a progressive actually looks like, and the people who plan for it end up happy while the people who expected an appliance end up frustrated.
What the Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant Actually Includes
The centerpiece is the Lock-N-Load AP, a five-station progressive press with automatic indexing, priming, and case ejection — meaning one pull of the handle advances the shellplate, seats a primer, and spits out a finished round. Around that, the kit adds the two automation pieces most people buy separately later: the AP Case Feeder and the AP Pistol Bullet Feeder.
The accessory list is where the value case gets made. Alongside the press and feeders you get the Lock-N-Load Powder Measure, a case-activated powder drop, pistol and rifle metering inserts and rotors, a ten-pack of Lock-N-Load die bushings, a powder cop, a deluxe die wrench, three cartridge bins, three large and three small primer pickup tubes, spare primer slide springs, and — genuinely — a vintage tin sign for the shop wall.
Three of those deserve attention. The die bushings are the system Hornady is named for: dies thread into bushings that twist in and out of the press in a quarter turn, so caliber changes don’t mean re-adjusting every die from scratch. The case-activated powder drop only dispenses when a case is actually present, which eliminates one whole category of mess and mistake. And the powder cop flags an over- or under-charged case before a bullet gets seated on top of it — on a progressive press, where cases move fast and you can’t easily eyeball every one, that’s not an accessory. That’s essential equipment.
One clarification on power
The press itself is entirely manual — it’s driven by the handle, not a motor. The case feeder is the only electrically powered component, and it runs on standard household AC. If you’ve seen “110V” in a spec listing for this kit, that’s what it refers to. Nothing about the loading operation requires electricity.
The Setup Curve Is the Whole Story
If you read owner reviews of this press, you’ll find people who love it and people who couldn’t get it running, and it’s tempting to conclude the quality is a lottery. It isn’t. Read closely and the same variable explains both camps.
One critical reviewer had been reloading since 1971, owned three other presses, and still couldn’t get his operational after hours of work — citing pawl adjustment, timing, and auto-indexing. The top favorable review of the same press says it works well when properly adjusted, and credits watching detailed setup videos before starting. A forum owner who worked through his own problems summed it up: once you dial the pawls in, there’s no issue.
The pawls are small spring-loaded arms that rotate the shellplate one station per stroke. If they’re out of adjustment, the shellplate under- or over-rotates, cases don’t line up under dies, and everything downstream goes wrong. They’re adjustable by design, they arrive set approximately rather than perfectly, and getting them right is the single highest-value hour you’ll spend with this machine.
Instructions don’t help as much as they should. One buyer described the case feeder documentation as lacking while finding the bullet feeder straightforward. That gap between the two is a fair summary of the paperwork generally.
Do this before you load a single round
The reloading community has effectively crowdsourced a better manual than the one in the box. Detailed YouTube setup series walking through pawl adjustment, timing, and priming-system tuning on this exact press come up repeatedly in owner discussions — and the owners who watched them first report dramatically smoother experiences than those who didn’t. Budget an evening for video and adjustment before you budget an evening for loading. It’s the difference between the two review camps.
Mount It Like You Mean It
This gets underestimated more than almost anything else, and it causes problems people blame on the press.
A progressive generates far higher operating forces than a single stage — you’re sizing, priming, dropping powder, seating, and crimping in one stroke. The Lock-N-Load AP is also lighter than old cast-iron presses, which sounds like a benefit until you realize a heavy press damps its own movement while a lighter one transmits everything into the bench. Any flex in that bench comes straight back through the handle as vague feel, inconsistent indexing, and vibration you’ll spend hours misdiagnosing as a timing problem.
Two inches of hardwood or the structural equivalent is the target. Use all three mounting holes, 3/8″-16 hardware with fender washers to spread the load, and tighten evenly. If your bench moves when you lean on it, fix the bench before you blame the press.
The Priming System: Know This Going In
Every progressive press has a weak link, and on the Lock-N-Load AP it’s the priming system. This is the most consistent criticism across every source we looked at, and it’s worth understanding rather than discovering.
The press uses a sliding primer mechanism rather than a rotating wheel. One owner who bought both this press and a Dillon specifically to compare them noted that with large-flake powders, spilled granules can work into the primer slider and cause it to stick — and that Dillon’s primer insertion anvil is noticeably more robust. Another owner reported ongoing priming difficulty that he attributed partly to specific brass and primer combinations.
None of this makes the press unusable. Plenty of owners run thousands of rounds without drama. But it means two habits matter more here than on some competitors: keep the priming area clean and free of stray powder, and pay attention to primer seating depth rather than assuming it’s happening correctly.
Switching primer sizes is a procedure, not a flip of a switch. Going between small and large primers — which anyone loading both 9mm and .45 ACP will do regularly — means changing the primer seater punch, swapping the primer shuttle, and replacing the primer feed tube. Hornady describes it as a straightforward three-step process, and it is, but it’s a few minutes of bench work rather than something you do mid-session without thinking. Worth batching your loading by primer size when you can.
Progressive presses demand attention
A progressive press performs several operations at once, which means a mistake can be assembled into a finished cartridge before you notice it. A double charge of fast pistol powder can destroy a firearm and injure the shooter. Use the included powder cop or a similar lockout die, keep a bright light on the shellplate, and develop the habit of visually confirming powder in the case before a bullet goes on top of it. If you’re interrupted mid-session, stop and inspect every case in the plate before resuming rather than picking up where you think you left off.
What You Still Have to Buy
The kit is comprehensive but not complete, and two items surprise people coming from a single-stage background.
Dies aren’t included, and you’ll need a set per cartridge. The good news is the bushings accept standard 7/8″-14 dies from any manufacturer, so you’re not locked into Hornady dies.
Shellplates are the part people miss. On a single-stage press like a Rock Chucker you use a small shellholder that drops into the ram — one cheap part per cartridge family. A progressive doesn’t work that way: the shellplate is the shellholder, and it’s a larger, more expensive rotating disc that holds five cases at once. You need the correct shellplate for each cartridge family you load, and unlike dies, these are Hornady-specific. Some cartridges share a plate — several common pistol rounds group together, as do many cases built on the same head size — but plenty don’t. Check which plate covers your cartridges before you assume one purchase gets you loading everything.
Beyond that: a good scale to verify charges, calipers, at least one current load manual, and components. Budget accordingly.
The First 500 Rounds
Here’s the expectation nobody sets for new progressive owners, and it causes more disappointment than any mechanical issue on this press.
You are not going to produce 500 rounds in your first hour. You’re probably not going to produce 500 rounds in your first session. The first couple hundred rounds through any progressive are a learning exercise, not a production run, and that’s true of a Dillon just as much as a Hornady.
What those first rounds actually consist of: stopping to adjust a die that’s seating a hair deep. Clearing a case that didn’t index cleanly. Pulling the handle slowly enough to feel what each station is doing. Checking primer seating on round after round until you trust it. Verifying powder charges on a scale rather than assuming the measure is throwing consistently. Discovering that your case feeder likes to be topped up before it runs low rather than after.
Somewhere in that process a rhythm shows up. The handle stroke becomes consistent, your eyes learn where to look on each pull, and you stop thinking about the machine and start thinking about the ammunition. That’s when the speed arrives — and it arrives fairly suddenly once it does.
So plan the first session as setup and calibration. Plan the second as slow, deliberate loading with frequent checks. By the third you’ll have a feel for it. Treating those first few hundred rounds as tuition rather than output is the single best mental adjustment a new progressive owner can make.
How Fast Is It Really?
Hornady and retailers consistently cite up to 500 rounds per hour. Treat that as a ceiling under ideal conditions rather than a working average — it assumes primers already tubed, cases already prepped, the feeders running without a hiccup, and no interruptions. Independent reviewers running common pistol calibers describe a realistic sustained pace in the 400 to 500 range once everything is dialed.
Either way, the comparison that actually matters is against a single stage, where the difference is dramatic. If you’re currently loading a few hundred rounds over a weekend and want a few hundred in an evening, this gets you there.
One consequence worth planning for: this press makes ammunition faster than most people plan storage for. Give some thought to where several thousand rounds are going to live — our guide to ammo storage covers the practical side of that.
The Cartridge Length Ceiling
Worth knowing before you buy if rifle is in your plans. The press has a practical overall-length limit of roughly 3.3 inches, which covers essentially all pistol cartridges and most common rifle rounds comfortably. Something like .30-06 sits right at the edge of that envelope, and longer magnum rifle cartridges fall outside what this press will handle as a progressive.
For the high-volume pistol and intermediate-rifle work this machine is built around, it’s a non-issue. If you’re loading long magnums, look elsewhere or plan to load those on a separate single stage.
The Dillon Question
Nobody shops this category without asking about Dillon, so let’s take it seriously.
Dillon’s XL750 is the direct competitor, and the honest summary from owners who’ve run both is that the Dillon feels more robust and more precise — tighter case retention, a sturdier primer system, and a toolhead design where two pins release the dies and powder measure as a unit for caliber changes. It’s a genuinely excellent machine and the reason it has the reputation it does.
The Hornady’s counterargument is cost, and it’s not a small one. One owner documented his actual outlay across eight pistol calibers and found the Hornady setup came in several hundred dollars below the equivalent Dillon build. The ongoing difference is caliber changeover: with the Hornady you’re buying a shellplate, bushings, and dies; with the Dillon you’re buying a conversion kit, a toolhead, and dies — roughly a $50-per-caliber gap that compounds with every cartridge you add.
| Consideration | Hornady LNL AP | Dillon XL750 |
|---|---|---|
| Per-caliber changeover cost | Lower — shellplate, bushings, dies | Higher — conversion kit, toolhead, dies |
| Build feel | Solid, but lighter | More robust, tighter tolerances |
| Priming system | Sliding mechanism — the known weak point | Rotating wheel — generally more reliable |
| Die changes | Quarter-turn bushings, per die | Toolhead swaps all dies at once |
| Die compatibility | Any standard 7/8″-14 dies | Any standard 7/8″-14 dies |
| Setup difficulty | Steeper — pawls and timing need dialing in | Generally more forgiving out of the box |
| Best for | Multi-caliber loaders watching total cost | Buyers prioritizing refinement over price |
Figures reflect owner-documented comparisons and will shift with pricing; verify current costs for the specific calibers you plan to load. The short version: if you load one or two calibers and value refinement, Dillon earns its premium. If you load six and the changeover math matters, the Hornady’s case gets strong quickly.
Should This Be Your First Press?
Almost certainly not, and this is the closest thing to consensus in the reloading community.
The advice repeated across forum after forum is to learn on a single stage first — one operation at a time, every case in your hand, every step visible. Progressive presses do several things simultaneously, which is exactly what makes them fast and exactly what makes them unforgiving of a beginner who doesn’t yet know what a correctly primed case or a properly charged one looks like.
That’s not gatekeeping. It’s that troubleshooting a progressive requires knowing what each station is supposed to be doing, and you learn that faster when the stations are separated. Someone who has loaded a few thousand rounds on a single stage will set this press up in an afternoon. Someone who has loaded zero will spend a frustrating week and may not know whether the problem is the press or their own process.
If you’re at the start of this, our overview of what actually goes into a cartridge is a reasonable place to begin, along with a couple of current load manuals.
Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant Specs
Press type: Five-station auto-progressive, manually operated | Automation: Auto indexing, priming, and EZject case ejection | Included feeders: AP Case Feeder and AP Pistol Bullet Feeder | Electrical: Case feeder only — standard household AC; the press itself is hand-operated | Die system: Lock-N-Load quick-change bushings, accepts standard 7/8″-14 dies (10-pack of bushings included) | Case holding: Rotating shellplate — Hornady-specific, one per cartridge family, sold separately | Powder: Lock-N-Load Powder Measure with case-activated drop, pistol and rifle metering inserts | Primer changeover: Three steps — seater punch, shuttle, feed tube | Practical OAL limit: Approximately 3.3 inches | Safety: Powder cop included | Rated output: Up to approximately 500 rounds/hour (manufacturer-side figure) | Mounting: Three-hole base; rigid bench strongly recommended
Check the current Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant price on Amazon →
Who Beats It?
Dillon XL750. The refinement pick. Better priming, faster caliber changes via toolhead, and a service reputation that’s the industry benchmark. Costs more up front and more per caliber. If you load one or two cartridges in high volume and want the machine to simply work, this is the one people point at.
A single-stage press. Not a lesser option — a different one. If you’re loading precision rifle in batches of fifty, weighing every charge, and chasing consistency rather than volume, a quality single stage will serve you better than any progressive. Many serious reloaders run both: a progressive for pistol volume, a single stage for precision work and long magnum cartridges this press won’t take.
The Lock-N-Load AP on its own. Worth knowing the press is sold separately without the feeders and accessory bundle. If you already own a powder measure and don’t want automated feeding, buying the bare press and adding pieces later costs less initially. The Ammo Plant’s argument is that buying it all at once is cheaper than buying it piecemeal — true, but only if you actually want all of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant good for beginners?
Not as a first press. Experienced reloaders near-universally recommend learning on a single stage, where you handle every case and see every operation separately. A progressive does several things at once, which makes troubleshooting much harder if you don’t yet know what each station should be doing. Once you’ve loaded a few thousand rounds and volume is your bottleneck, this becomes a reasonable step up.
How long before I’m actually loading at full speed?
Plan on a few hundred rounds of learning before production speed shows up. The first session is setup and calibration, the second is slow deliberate loading with frequent checks, and somewhere in the third a rhythm develops. This is normal for any progressive press, not a quirk of this one — treat those early rounds as tuition rather than output.
Does the press need electricity?
No. The press is entirely hand-operated — the handle does the work. Only the case feeder uses a motor, running on standard household AC. If you’d rather not run power to the bench, the press functions perfectly well with cases placed by hand.
What’s the most common problem with this press?
The priming system. It uses a sliding mechanism that can bind if spilled powder works into it, and owners report it needs periodic cleaning and attention to seating depth. Beyond that, pawl and timing adjustment is where most out-of-box frustration comes from — it’s adjustable by design and arrives set approximately, not perfectly.
Do I need a shellplate for every caliber?
You need the correct shellplate for each cartridge family. Some cartridges share one — rounds built on the same case head often group together — but many don’t. Unlike dies, which can be any standard 7/8″-14 set, shellplates are Hornady-specific. This is different from a single-stage press, where a small inexpensive shellholder drops into the ram; on a progressive the shellplate is a larger rotating disc that holds five cases at once, and it costs accordingly.
How hard is it to switch between small and large primers?
It’s a three-step procedure: change the primer seater punch, swap the primer shuttle, and replace the primer feed tube. Not difficult, but not instant either — it’s a few minutes of bench work. If you load both 9mm and .45 ACP, batching sessions by primer size saves repeating it.
Can it load rifle cartridges?
Yes, within limits. The kit includes a rifle metering insert and rotor, and the press handles common rifle rounds well — but there’s a practical overall-length ceiling around 3.3 inches, which puts .30-06 near the edge and long magnums outside its range. Note the included bullet feeder is the pistol version, so rifle bullets get placed by hand. For precision rifle work where you’re weighing individual charges, most reloaders prefer a single stage regardless.
How does it compare to a Dillon XL750?
The Dillon is generally more refined — sturdier priming, tighter case retention, and toolhead caliber changes. The Hornady costs less up front and meaningfully less per additional caliber, since you buy a shellplate and bushings rather than a conversion kit and toolhead. Load one or two calibers and the Dillon’s premium is easier to justify; load six and the Hornady’s math gets compelling.
The Bottom Line
The Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Plant is a lot of machine and a lot of accessories for the money, and for the right buyer it’s a genuinely good way to get into high-volume reloading without assembling a bench one purchase at a time. The quick-change bushing system and low per-caliber changeover cost are real advantages, particularly if you load a handful of different cartridges.
It asks something in return, though, and it’s worth being clear about it: a weekend of setup, a rigid bench, a tolerance for adjusting pawls and timing, and ongoing attention to a priming system that’s the machine’s weakest link. Owners who accept that trade are overwhelmingly satisfied. Owners who expected a turnkey appliance are the ones writing the one-star reviews. Know which one you’re signing up for, give the first few hundred rounds to learning rather than production, and it’ll make ammunition for decades.
Check current pricing and availability on Amazon →
Related Reading
Our complete reloading guide is coming soon.
Authority reference: cartridge and chamber dimensions, pressure standards, and interchangeability data are published by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI). Always cross-reference published load data against a current manual from your component manufacturer.
Safety Note: Handloading involves explosive components and carries real risk of injury or death if done improperly. Always follow published load data from a current manual, never exceed listed maximum charges, verify every powder charge, and wear eye protection. This article is informational and is not load data or a substitute for proper training and current published manuals.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links; if you purchase, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Prices and availability are subject to change, so verify current details before purchasing.
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