Most of my loading is handgun caliber on my Dillon 550B. I do my rifle reloading on an RCBS rock chucker and I'm not happy with the way it seats primers. I cannot seem to get the uniformity of depth I think I should get. I alway clean my primer pockets but that is all. Will a hand held tool do a better job? If so which on is best? Any other suggestions you have that will help me get more uniformity is appreciated.

Vaya con Dios, Danbro

Double Post

[ 12-06-2002, 00:03: Message edited by: J.W. Blute ]

Two things:

1. Get a primer pocket uniformer from Sinclare. (Uniforms the pocket depth and cleans for around $20)

2. The Lee hand priming tool will give you better "feel" than you get from the press, yet only costs around $15.
(You also asked which one is best. The answer is the hand primer made by Sinclare, but unless you want to spend $100 you should try the Lee.)

[ 12-06-2002, 00:13: Message edited by: J.W. Blute ]

I have primed many thousand cases with my lee hand primer. No Problems and works well.

DON'T buy the RCBS copy of the Lee. While it is very sturdy it suffers a bad design flaws.

Nothing holds the primer plunger in place and if you tip the tool over it falls out. I've lost mine.

Pete

MInor trick for all the priming gadgets I've tried. Seat primer, rotate case halfway around and reseat.

The cut in the shellhoder that you slide the case in allows the case to tip slightly. Double seating fixes this.

The Lee hand primer works well.

I concur with Pete in that the RCBS one is a POS. I've been using the Lee hand primer since the mid eighties...

I thought the RCBS one worked alright, but it is all I have ever used I might get a lee hand rpimer to see if it is better.

I agree it is a pain in the ass when the plunger falls out, that for sure is a design fault.

I got the Lee hand primer after reading the advice on this forum, and I have been happy with it. I do double seat the primer; meaning seat the primer, rotate the case 90 or 180 degrees, and push again. The only problem I had was when I managed to get two primers under one case, but that was pretty easy to fix. I have also heard some good things about the RCBS with APS hand primer, but don�t have any experience with it.

Ben

Will my RCBS shellholders work in the Lee handpress?

Just to add I have primed aproximately 2000 rounds with my RCBS primer without any drama's, funnily enough though the only time I get the off problem is when I use Federal 215M primers in it.

Nope, regular shellholders won't work with the Lee. It uses a shellholder which is only the top "half" of a regular shellholder. I did, one time, convert a regular shellholder to work in a Lee Hand Primer by simply grinding the base off of it. It was for an odd case head for which I was having trouble finding the proper Lee, but happened to have two RCBS-type shellholders.

The Lee is the best (within price considerations), but will wear out after quite a few thousand primings. At that price, just go buy another when your's wears out and you'll still be money ahead.

Been using the Lee priming tool for over 20 years....but not the same one. They do wear out. Look at the directions, lube the piece they call the hammer, then order extras. I use 2 of them(1 small and 1 large primer) and they last at least 10,000 cycles before they wear out if you lube them properly. Then the main body of the thing wears out. Not bad for $14.00.

I have used the RCBS hand primer for around nine years. I love it but it is not perfect. I have not touched a primer years because of this. The seater pin can fall out. But it's advantage is that I can just dump out the pin when changing primer size. My problem is when you change the shellholder you have to depress the lever and hold it in, unscrew the knob holding the linkage. If you let go when doing the change over the whole unit spring open and you have to put it take it a part and put it back together again. After doing that a couple of time now I make sure not to do it ag Never used the Lee to compare. The nice thing is that the RCBS uses standard shell holders.

Hcliff

Thanks for all the advise. I appreciate it very much.

Vaya con Dios, Danbro

I agree about the Sinclair unit. Best I've ever used, but very expensive, especially if you buy extra heads for different calibers.

Bob257

I prefer the feel of the RCBS priming device to that of the Lee, and the RCBS lever is more comfortable for me to use for long periods as well. Still, I have used both for thousands of rounds and could be happy with either.

However, I agree that the loose priming plunger is not one of RCBS's greatest designs! I am not in the US, so I sent them an email via their webpage. They mailed me a new one...

jpb

Has anyone tried the Hornady with the "pliers" type of grip?

Ben H

I bought the new RCBS APS Strip Feed Hand Unit. This thing works 10 times better than any tray model. I purchased the Strip Loader with it, and plenty of empty strips. That way you can load any brand of primer you want to. The strip loader works beautiful, and loads a strip full in seconds. The strips link together so there is no interuption in feeding them. It's the only way to go! Bill T.

I LOVE MY LEE PRIMER TOOL. I'VE HAD NO PROBLEMS AT ALL WITH IT.I'VE HAD GOOD LUCK WITH ALL THE LEE PRODUCTS I HAVE.

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL.....

Howdy,

Ben H...(does that stand for Ben Hur)???

I have the Hornady hand primer, I like it better than the Lee....but I've never tried the RCBS. I use it when in a hurry or when NOT in need of greatest accuracy. I have never been able to seat consistently with a hand primer over all these year, no matter what brand I tried. I guess the Hornady has stuck with me because it is less "fatiguing" than the Lee. My very best priming has been using the attatchment atop my Forster/Bonanza Co-Ax press. It is the only consistent priming system I've ever seen!! It is slow as the seven year itch though! Imagine, each primer EXACTLY seated .005" below the case head. With consistent primer pocket depth, it sure has helped my loading. Just my experience.

Coach

I have the Lee Hand Tool and like it, but I felt the RCBS APS Tool was a big upgrade. I like the APS system, because it means I have to handle the primers a lot less. Also, there are no shell holders to worry about. The automatic one works fine. I've tried it on .308 and .45-70.

--QD

I also bought the Hornady. Seems to work quite well. It's a little bothersome to change from large to small primers and to change shell holders, so I just leave it for my 223 loads. FWIW, Dutch.

I have the Hornady and like it. Changing shellholders isn't too big a deal as long as you keep the inserts handy for the various shellholder manufacturers (different size primer holes). I've used the Lee and its OK. The Hornady just feels better to me. Never liked the RCBS design.

After suffering for years using my presses as a priming tool, I checked out the Lee. Now I have two; one each set up for large and small primers. Can't imagine using anything else at this point. A great buy for the money.