Lock-N-Load concentricity tool - Hornady
Getting the most out of your ammunition means you cannot skip concentricity, also known as bullet runout. A cartridge with the bullet not quite in line with the case axis leaves the barrel with a slight yaw, and that yaw translates into the flyer you cannot otherwise explain. Hard to spot at 100 yards. Obvious at 300, and unmistakable at 600.
The Hornady concentricity tool measures that deviation and corrects it as well. Most measuring tools cannot do the second part. That makes this one useful as a quality control step and as the final correction step in your loading process.
How it works
The case head sits in a conical cartridge spindle that centres heads of any size. On the other side you pull the ball knob out, push the bullet tip into the bullet spindle and let it spring back. Adjust the cradle until the dial indicator tip rests on the bullet just ahead of the case mouth. Roll the cartridge once, and you read the runout straight off the dial. As a rough rule: less than 0.002" is good, anything above 0.003" is worth fixing, and over 0.006" should be set aside for sight-in or training rather than match use.
Correcting instead of culling
This is where the tool earns its keep. Opposite the dial indicator sits a nylon-tipped thumb screw. Rotate the cartridge so the high point of the runout sits right under that screw, then tighten the screw gently until the dial reads zero. The nylon tip means the bullet does not get marked. It works particularly well on factory ammunition and on handloads built with older dies that do not have a sliding sleeve, which is exactly where runout shows up most often.
Worth noting: if you are already running Redding Competition dies or similar premium kit and consistently producing runout under 0.001", this tool adds little to your process. The real value sits with reloaders running standard dies, with shooters using factory match ammunition, or with anyone wanting to give older brass one last shot before culling. NRA tests on 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester showed measurably fewer flyers at 600 yards on corrected cartridges versus uncorrected.
What is in the box
- Concentricity tool with frame
- Dial indicator with adjustment screw
- Cartridge spindle for the case head
- Bullet spindle plus additional spindles for different calibres
- Nylon-tipped correction thumb screw
- Hardware for bench mounting
Specifications
- Working range: bottleneck cartridges .22 to .45 cal
- Measurement resolution: in thousandths of an inch
- Frame: machined metal, bench mountable
- Correction: nylon-tipped thumb screw opposite the indicator
- Suitable for: handloads and factory ammunition
Who it is for
The concentricity tool makes sense for anyone building hand loaded match ammunition without premium dies, for hunters who want to check their factory ammunition before that critical first shot, and for shooters running a mix of factory and handloads across different disciplines. Long range shooters at 600 yards and beyond feel the difference most clearly.
Pair it with the Lock-N-Load O.A.L. gauge for finding the right seating depth for your specific chamber, and the matching modified cases for your calibre. More measuring tools live in our measuring tools category.
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