Reviews & Ratings for Hornady Lock-N-Load .50 BMG Single Stage Press Kit — 8 reviews — Page 1

The single stage press features Lock‑N‑Load® technology in the ram, which means you can change your shell holder over to ram‑prime, then move the shell holder to the top plate. Once the holder and ram‑prime are set, they stay that way. A quick change to a Lock‑N‑Load bushing makes switching over from ram‑prime to die use faster, too. The press can also be utilized for other calibers such as the .338 Lapua Mag.

It's a superbly constructed press and comes with the dies needed to begin reloading.
The feature that makes this stand out is the lock and load set up of the dies and the clearance height for placing and removing the finished round. Also, once you have set the proper height you can change out the dies and put them back in and still be all setup.
The press can also do other calibers, and in my case the .338 Lapua Mag.

Good value and robust. Once installed on a solid work bench, this press acts as an integrated part of the bench and easily handles properly lubed cases. Have found remarkable precision and repeatability and I'm convinced this is because the press can do it's job when anchored solidly.
Good lock-n-load feature with superior Hornady dies. Makes changing between functions fast and easy. Easy to dismantle for ram cleaning and lubing after large number of reloads.

This baby is a behemoth! Solid as a rock. Came with all the pieces for each stage I need to reload my 50 BMG. It has a converter to use other caliber dies (although you'd need to buy the separate shell holder adapter), but unless you need a large press for really long cases, this monster is over-kill.

Out of the box this press came with almost everything needed to load rounds. I added the Lyman BMG case trimmer and BMG case prep tool as well as a BMG powder funnel. Setup was a breeze, as is with a single stage press. I bolted a 12x12x1/2" steel plate to the press, then bolted the plate to the bench. This served 2 purposes- it reinforced the base of the press and gave me a larger surface area on the bench to distribute the stress. I have seen several pictures of these press bases (red and green) broken off at the edge of the bench. The ram handle is long enough to create a lot of fatigue on these castings. So with the overkill mounting in place I have reloaded 500 rounds through it. After messing up my first dozen primers (frustrating) I ordered the BMG priming/swaging set from CH4D ($75) and have had excellent results. Not saying the Hornady priming parts were junk, just unsatisfactory results. The CH4D pieces are of the same design, just of better material and hardened. I now trim AND swage the primer pockets out of the military cases. Well worth the extra time. And the CH4D set includes a standard shellholder adapter so you can load other calibers on the machine ($25 value if ordered separately). While you are at it- order their paste case lube. It's the best stuff out there and designed for heavy bullet swaging and case necking operations. I have other lubes and I tried them on these cases, don't waste your time. Used a piece of 2x6 untreated lumber and punched 7/8 hole...
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I would have given it 5 stars, but the press was shipped with the dies just wrapped in a thin paper/plastic wrap and allowed to move freely inside the box and bang on everything as it is being handled so carefully by the shipper. I was surprised there wasn't any more damage to the press/dies that currently exist. The damage was minimal (a couple paint chips), and I am very surprised that the decapping pin survived the journey. You would think when you spend this amount of money on a product they could at least provide a plastic die box! Other than the forementioned statements, I am very happy with the press.