I don't own one and have never held one so I don't know but do regular shell holders like an RCBS type work in a Lee Autoprime or do I have to buy a special type of shell holder for this?

Are they numbered the same as an RCBS?

Thanks

I used one for about 20 years. Only issue I had with it was several key parts were alumimum or pot metal and wore badly. Plus you do need special holders. So I replaced mine with an RCBS.

They are hard to beat on price and Midway sells a pack of 11 holders(should cover about everything) for around $12.

Here is Midways comment about the loader.

Lee Auto Prime Hand Priming Tool


The fastest and most accurate priming tool available. Features 100 primer capacity and a built-in primer flipper that turns them right side up. Requires Auto Prime shellholders (sold separately), will not work with standard shellholders. Includes both large and small primer trays. Note: Lee recommends this product for use with CCI and Winchester primers only.

The Lee Autoprime uses bespoke shellholders.

- mike

quote:

I used one for about 20 years. Only issue I had with it was several key parts were alumimum or pot metal and wore badly. Plus you do need special holders. So I replaced mine with an RCBS.

Be sure to lube the contact points of both the toggle and the cam with a dab of Vasolene (Vasoline? -sp- you know, the stuff that . . . well, never mind.) Anyway, lubed with THAT STUFF, the little Lee will last longer than you will. If you run it dry, the aluminum wear points will quickly wear down to the point that the priming stroke is no longer long enough to fully seat the primers and you'll have to spend another twelve bucks to replace it.

By the way, in a pinch, you can grind the lower portion off of a regular shell holder head, leaving only the flat disc with the lips that grasp the rim of the brass. This IS the special Lee priming tool shellholder and can be popped into the tool and used just like one from the factory.

quote:

Be sure to lube the contact points of both the toggle and the cam with a dab of Vasolene (Vasoline? -sp- you know, the stuff that . . . well, never mind.) Anyway, lubed with THAT STUFF, the little Lee will last longer than you will.

Now you tell me By the way you can turn the lever that contacts the primer seating rod over and get several more years of service. As I said mine worked fine. It needed replacing and I got tired of chasing seperate shell holders. (plus the wife needed a gift idea)

If you didn't understand the one answer to your question as "bespoke", the answer is NO. Only the shell holders Lee makes for it work. It's still worth the investment, it's the quickest way to prime a lot of cases easy. I have altered an RCBS shellholder when Lee didn't make the one I needed. To do this, you have to heat the RCBS shellholder cherry red and let it air cool until you can pick it up. Then you have to file the underside where it goes into the ram off (same thickness as the Lee) and then drill the hole out to the same size as the Lee.

quote:

"bespoke",

Now that I had to look up. Definition is:
"made to individual order" which is 100% correct. Only lee holders or ones altered to fit.

Don´t worry ´bout the shell holders. Buy the ( SH ) set, and any one else LEE makes.

BUY this priming tool! ( lube it )

It´s the best there is, at least at that price!

H

IF your Lee Auto-prime tool's interior parts wear out, just send the parts direct to Lee. they will replace them with new (harder) ones absolutely free. I did that with mine several years ago, and they are working just fine still.

By the time you pay for a Lee autoprime and the set of custom shell holders for it, you've almost paid for the new RCBS universal hand primer, with a built-in universal shell holder. I started out with the Lee, and bought the RCBS universal. The Lee is entirely actuated by the thumb, which gets pretty wore out after a couple hundred cases are primed. The RCBS uses the whole hand, and does not get as tiring to use. It also has a detachable square tray that lays flat, and is bigger to load more easily from the factory primer packaging. It also feeds primers more easily from the corner of the square tray, requiring less "shaking" to get primers into the chute.

The design, materials, and manufacturing of the RCBS are vastly superior to that of the Lee autoprime.

Andy

quote:

built-in primer flipper that turns them right side up.

That feature must be broken on mine

I've had many primers flip the wrong way while priming brass. I make it a habit to glance at each primer before I insert the next case to be sure it's not up side down.

Reloader

my autoprime works just fine, but you do need the proprietary shell holders as mentioned.

as us usually the case with lee stuff, if you follow the directions, you will have no trouble and the equipment will work very well. you'll also have money left over in your pocket for more reloading stuff or fishing trips with the kids.