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Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:29 pm
by John A.
I was sitting in my basement this evening loading up some shells, and suddenly my Hornady Lock-N-Load auto charge just suddenly turned off mid-function.

I thought odd-maybe the little cord was loose. I jiggled the connector, and pressed the power button, it came back on and I dumped that charge and reprogrammed it.

I loaded 2 more shells and all was normal. The shell after that, was dispensing and the trickler locked up mid throw and started a high pitch squeal (like the belt was slipping).

I hurry and power it off, dumped all the powder and turned it back on because I thought maybe the powder compressed, and it still won't budge. The trickler is not moving at all.

I emailed hornady asking for a repair ticket.

I've only owned it about a year and a half. Hopefully hornady stands by their warranty. I'll keep you guys posted. Hopefully it's just a little gear or something quick and painless.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 5:39 pm
by John A.
Hornady replied to my email and gave me a number to call.

Spoke with one of the techs and tried to troubleshoot it on the phone. Unsuccessfully. He told me that he didn't think there was a simple fix for that issue other than returning it.

Within an hour, I had a fedex tracking label in my email.

Hopefully, they repair or replace it without a hassle.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:22 pm
by Scorpion8
My experience with Hornady has been they are always quick on the ball for issues like that. One of the last, few, great companies not run entirely by bean counters.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 1:29 pm
by John A.
I have it boxed up and ready to go out.

Yeah, I'm hoping that they fix whatever is wrong with it. It was a pretty big purchase for me in the first place. I could've almost purchased a progressive press for what this cost me. And for it to go down less than a year and a half later, is pretty disparaging. Especially if they don't fix it under warranty. Their website and other literature touts lifetime warranty a lot, but after I looked yesterday when I was trying to find who to contact, says electronics are only 1 year warranty.

So, right now, I'm just waiting to see what happens with it and keeping my fingers crossed. I'll be sure to keep the topic updated though.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2018 3:53 am
by MikeD
Bummer, hope they make good on that.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:10 am
by John A.
yeah, me too. A nearly $200 tool shouldn't go belly up in mid charge.

The tech on the phone didn't seem to care about warranty and didn't even ask about it. He just wrote my information down and emailed me a fedex label. Which is promising.

fedex is supposed to pick it up today actually.

I hope the rest of the repair goes as smoothly.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 2:17 pm
by nitesite
I wish I had the same service and concern from Lyman. My electronic dispenser took a dump on me and it was game over. They offered zero interest or assistance.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 3:09 pm
by John A.
I'll be honest, as much as those cost, and with as simple as they are, they should last much longer than they do. Especially with the limited use mine has seen.

I may have loaded 1500 rounds with it? And that may be a little generous. The vast majority with 9mm and 3.0-3.3 gr throws, 300 blackout subsonic (8.6 gr) and standard 223 charges.

I'm by far a high volume shooter, but I tend to load up a range trip in advance. Worked up a bunch of loads with it.

If they don't repair/replace it under warranty, I'm sure that I won't buy another. And from the sounds of your post, Lyman is scratched off the list too.

In the meantime, I'm using my old fallback, the Lee perfect powder measure on top of a digital scale, which I have rigged up much the same as the electronic version before I bought it.

It just isn't as precise down to .1 grain like the hornady is, which I truly did appreciate about it.

The Lee is much faster though. Sometimes I sit and wait what seems like forever for the hornady to finish trickling a charge out.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 12:57 pm
by John A.
I just wanted to update the topic because I promised that I would. And also to take a minute to thank Hornady for standing up and doing the right thing. It is things like this that keep me being a loyal customer.

They got the return back late Friday evening, and this evening, I got an email that said:

The following items have been shipped:
TWRNTY SER#5618 AUTO CHARGE QTY 1 $.00 EA
050068 LNLĀ®AUTO CHARGEPOWDER MANAGER QTY 1 $.00 EA
The shipped total is $.00.
The Federal Express tracking number is

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:09 pm
by MikeD
Awesome news. As you know I am big on CS and this makes me happy!

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:39 pm
by John A.
Yeah, me too.

I won't know until Wednesday whether they repaired or replaced it. Either one is fine by me as long as it works when I get it back though.

Shouldn't surprise you that the next time that I need a die or something, it'll be a Hornady ;) Anytime that a company does right by me, I tend to support them whenever possible.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 2:02 pm
by John A.
FedEx dropped off the package.

When I opened it, was a brand new unit.

Way to go Hornady for taking care of your customers.

Now I just have to figure out this weird 9v plug in. I think something is missing from it.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 10:58 am
by Scorpion8
John A. wrote:When I opened it, was a brand new unit.


Excellent! I'm a big Hornady fan myself.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 11:37 am
by John A.
Yeah, I'm really glad they didn't jerk me around and would've had me dead to rights on it if they did.

That kind of treatment ensures that I will keep coming back. Gives brand loyalty a whole new meaning doesn't it?

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:52 pm
by MikeD
John A. wrote:Yeah, I'm really glad they didn't jerk me around and would've had me dead to rights on it if they did.

That kind of treatment ensures that I will keep coming back. Gives brand loyalty a whole new meaning doesn't it?


That is a key element in many of my purchases these days. Any item can break, it's how the manufacturer takes care of it that speaks volumes to the company.

Glad they made it right.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 1:58 am
by Cmcdonald
Glad they got that sorted for you John, its good to hear. One of these days I'll start collecting the right equipment for reloading and I'll keep this in mind. When I do start...I'll be reloading 9mm, 270Win and 30.30 and I'll be bugging the heck out of you, Nitesite and Oli for help. LOL

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:08 am
by ripjack13
How did I miss this topic?

Good for you John. I like to hear this kind of stuff.

Re: Well this just sucks

PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 1:59 pm
by John A.
Yeah, they done good rip.

cmcdonald, ask any question that you have. I've only been loading for a couple of years now and enjoy it immensely. I'll openly admit that there are far more knowlegable guys out there that have forgotten more than I have learned, but I can usually answer the basic questions.

I recommend starting with the handgun first. There is less steps in processing the brass than rifle and is a little easier to learn the ropes. And a little less initial investment too. You can always add more things later (like case trimmers and such) as you work up to rifle calibers and gain knowledge and confidence.