In your Modern Reloading Second Edition on page 49 you say “ NEVER USE A PRIMER FEEDER THAT HAS A TUBE”
I must disagree with you . I have been reloading sine August 1970. I have been using the RCBS AUTO. PRIMING TOOL [Bench Mounted] Part # 09460 or it’s fore runner since they came out. I have never dropped a tube or exploded a primer. I have pulled the bullet from military ammo. and then de-primed it by slowly tapping the handle until the hot primer drops free.
Yourself, Hornady and, RCBS have a plate type system like you profess using and sell. Everybody else sells the “tube” system. The do not use...has got to be for liability purposes as well as for the safety of the dummies out there.

I don't know how much of a problem this phenomenon is (as you note, probably not very widespread or nobody would make primer tubes), but I was present when a friend dropped a tube of primers for an RCBS Rockchucker.

I was not pleasant! Louder than I imagined unconfined primers would be, and there were primers (and pieces of primers!) flying around the basement like a load of number 5 shot from a shotgun.

Nobody was hurt, and both of us were fine (after a change of underwear!

Apart from the possible fireworks, I prefer the feel of hand priming units like the Lee or RCBS hand primer.

jpb

[ 09-05-2003, 19:56: Message edited by: jpb ]

Savvy handloaders make it a practice to regularly clean out the primer compound dust from inside the tubes. This is easily done by pushing a patch moisted with any fast evaporating house solvent. What most scares me is that I've met people who store live primers by dumping them in a glass jar ! If dropped, this would have little to envy from a hand grenade...