Making the Hornady LNL Case Feeder .40 cal/Glock friendly

What came first? The Glock’s unsupported .40 barrel (KB) or the Hornady Case Feeder? Well, it does not really matter because the problem remains the same. Unexpanded .40 cases will slowly slide down the nice clear tube, although it is still a little tight IMHO. Expanded cases, like the ones fired out of a GLOCK, will most likely get stuck in the nice clear tube. Just seeing a case stuck in the Case Feeder Tube can cause one to go bonkers. So after you cleared your 3rd stuck case, you consult the internet and find that Hornady is aware of the issue and has offered some individuals a custom made adapter that will allow you to use the large tube on the .40 cal brass. According to the same forum the individual was waiting for more than 2 weeks for the miracle part. On ultimatereloader.com, I found that a guy (Rob, his comment below) that used two copper fittings and a pex water pipe to replace the clear tube.

Well, I had neither the patience to wait for a miracle part nor the copper tube that might work (although I did look), so I opted for option #3. Option 3 is my own concoction, where I use the miracle of plastic and expand it to fit an expanded case. So let’s get started! Here are the supplies needed:
1. A “Remington” Hair Dryer (other Hair Dryers might also work) & a small drill bit that you can attach to your drill or Dremel
2. A worst case scenario .40 expanded body case (most likely fired out of a Glock).
3. A “belled” .40 case, which you can make by simply using your expander die
4. A .40 case that is sooo “OVER-belled” you are embarrassed to show your buddies.
5. A FMJ .45 bullet
6. A nice round rod (metal or wood)

The goal of the exercise is to shove the smallest belled case, the larger belled case and the .45 bullet though the tube, while heating it with your “Remington” (Hair Dryer). Before you start going, I should mention that in the end the size of the tube will be smaller than the .45 cal bullet because the tube expands when you heat it and contracts after the bullet, but it will still be bigger than the original size. This is fine! We just need to expand it a little. Other tip is to not pull on the plastic tube (behind the expansion case or bullet), but actually hold the tube ahead of the belled case/bullet.  That way you are not stretching the tube, effectively making it smaller, after it is heated.

So here are some pictures so you can see the process:

From left to right: small belled, bigger belled, .45 FMJ, and the “test case” (expanded .40)

Now, if you shoved the .45 cal bullet though twice (I know it was hard), you should be able to drop your expanded .40 case right though the tube. Yeah!  However, before you celebrate with a “cold one”, there is one thing I have not told you about… The cases fall freely through the tube WHEN YOU ARE DROPPING THEM ONE BY ONE.  Once you install it in the Case Feeder again you will notice it works much slower.  This is because air pressure builds up in the tube causing the cases to fall verrrrry slooowly.  There is an easy fix by simply adding small holes with your drill every 3″ all the way down the tube.  Now install it, it should fit without modifying anything else, and throw some cases in the feeder!  Below is the final product:

Please comment if this worked for you!