I'm thinking about finally getting a hand primer. I'm trying to decide between the LEE, RCBS regular one (not APS), or the Hornady. They all have their points. Has anyone used the Hornady one? I can't figure out if it is more or less convenient to use.

Thanks,

Mark

I'm partial to the Lee Auto Prime, works great and costs $27 w/shell holder set, shipped from Cabelas.

I love the Lee.

-Spencer

The RCBS one works well, however do not tip it over otherwise you may lose the primer plunger, never to be recovered.

I'm with the rest. Lee gets my vote as well!

I go along with the Lee. They are cheap and they work, I have two one set up for large and one set up for small primers, saves time switching set up's.

John

I suggest the Lee also. I have two of them, one set up for large primers, and the other for small ones.
Don

quote:

Has anyone used the Hornady one? I can't figure out if it is more or less convenient to use.

I use the Hornady. It works fine. I got it when I started loading 7-8 years ago and have never had a problem. I also have never tried anything else, so I can't give a good comparison. You will need a set of shellholders for it, but changing from small to large primers is a 2 minute, uncomplicated task. Mine is plenty smooth and strong. I'm well satisfied!

The problem with the RCBS one to me is that you have to take it apart to put a new shell holder on. I was going to bet another one so I could set it up for small and large primers, but a second one wouldn't save me anything since you have to break it down for the shell holder anyway. Do you have to take the Lee apart to put a new shell holder in/on it?

Wes

quote:

Originally posted by WesN:
The problem with the RCBS one to me is that you have to take it apart to put a new shell holder on...

I agree. Every time I have to take mine apart to put in a new shellholder I get furious and fire off an email to RCBS - "I want that 10 seconds of my life back!!!"

(tic, folks, tic)

Have worn out two Lees, the primer plunger wears out the cam such that it won't lift the plunger enough to fully seat some primers in some cases. Also, they recommend not to use Federals and that's mostly all I use. (I bet 10 cents someone says they've been using Federal primers in their Lee for the last 89 years and never had one go off!)

Anyway, I like my RCBS hand primer and appreciate the little blast shield that slides between the primer being loaded and the rest of them.

Have had the two Lees, a Hornady, an RCBS bench unit with the long primer tube and now this RCBS hand primer and like the RCBS best.

Howver - they all work, they all seat primers with good feel (unless it wears out), and the choice really comes down to which one floats your boat the most.

P.S. You do not have to dissassemble the Lee, just push down the primer tray to slide the shellholder out a new one in. This brings up another point - on the RCBS you use standard RCBS shellholders, on the Lee you have to buy special shellholders which only fit the Lee tool. I have about a half dozen old Lee shellholders left over but no Lee primer anymore, too much trouble to sell them (so don't ask) but I'm too Scottish to throw them away.

I have the Lee and put a little lube on the joints to keep it from wearing down, I use CCI primmers so I dont know how the Fed's work ? My only complant is the cover over the primmer tray will not snap shut tight.

Ditto on the Lee, works great all the time

The Lee is great, but you have to use a diff. shell holder and unless they have changed it, diesn't fit the .404/wsm or Rigby cases. The RCBS is really a POS, too complicated to change SH. The Hornady is very good, simple & robust, uses std. SH.

Hornady for me. Simple, strong, and I like how it pivots like a set of pliers, unlike the Lee and RCBS.

RSY

The Lee is excellent. Lube the contact points with petroleum jelly. It will wear out anyway in a few 10's of thousands of primings, but it's cheap enough to just throw it away and buy new one and still be money ahead. Like the others, I have one set up for smalls and one for large. Changing the shellholders is a two-second operation.

RCBS, period. I have worn out a Lee, and you won't ever wear out the RCBS. Besides, you have to pay to get the Lee replacement parts, or pay half the retail price to get it repaired. And it takes different shell holders, too...

Break it, lose it, or otherwise mistreat it and call RCBS. They will send you another one, no questions asked. (Okay, maybe not if you lose it, but you get the idea.)
And 10 seconds lost changing primer size? COME ON... My time isn't THAT valuable!

My vote goes to the Lee. I have one set up for large the other for small. You can purchase two with a set of shell holders cheaper than an RCBS and they are simple to use. I use a dab of grease on the parts and have yet to wear it out. I've not had a problem with any primer brands I've used.

I have good luck with the rcbs.

I used an RCBS for years until I found out about the K&M tool. I loved it so well, I bought one for my benchrest kit and one to use at my reloading bench. But, I will have to say, I know quite a few people who use the Lee even in competition. My vote is for the K&M and then the Lee.

I have used the Lee for years, tried the RCBS, and went back to Lee.

Has anyone seen a primer detonation with the Lee?

Chuck

Gosh,isn't it amazing how these all work?! What are the odds...

I figured hand primers would be like most all other products in the world. There would be one and only one that would stand head and shoulders above the others and do the job it was meant to do superbly whereas the others would all fail dismally and generally fall apart the first time they were used.

I continue to be awed...

I have used the lee auto primer for a long time and like it very much

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Nelson:
I have used the Lee for years, tried the RCBS, and went back to Lee.

Has anyone seen a primer detonation with the Lee?

Chuck

I'm with Chuck. I also tried the RCBS, but found it too slow and annoying, so now I'm back with my Lees. I keep a spare Lee available, plus some spare toggle links - in case one should break.

People over on benchrest.com talk knowingly about Lees & primer detonations, so I guess I have been lucky until now... I always wear safety glasses.

Also on benchrest.com, quite a few people are enamoured by the high quality tools from the likes of Sinclair and K&M. I could probably be persuaded to shell out the extra $$$ for the quality feel, but the fact you have to single feed primers has held me back. People who do use these tools, seem very happy with the added quality and "feel" in primer seating, though.
- mike

Yes, there have been some examples of primer detonation with the Lee Auto-Prime. The likely culprit was a worn feed tray allowing a primer to flip on edge and feed through. Most of the benchrest competitors that I know, replace the feed tray once yearly or, whenever it wears enough to allow a primer to flip. If you aren't going to load 1000's of rounds yearly, I wouldn't worry too much about this. mho, the reason I like the K&M is because it isn't too high priced. It's only $39.00 (+,-). I think the Sinclair is way overpriced and, yes I 've used a Sinclair. But I would still go with the Lee in this case.

has everybody forgotten about the bonnanza one?? They had rotating discs or sliding ones to adapt everything from 32ACP to 470's. an aluminum tube fed primers & it came with both large & small punches. I don't know if forester makes it after buying out bonnanza, but you see them turn up every so often at gunshows. I believe they were the best of the bunch

I use the RCBS model..apart from the "ram"/pin able to fall out I like it...never used any of the others mentioned and I can't really see how they can be faster, unless that refers to changing between primer sizes or swapping shell holders...

Bought all three, use the Lee.

I've got no problems with my Hornady, takes only a minute to change from large to small primers. When I was shopping around for a handheld primer, this was the one I felt would be the best for me. Jay

Alot of good reviews on Midway's website, but this one says it all about the Lee.


Review:
"Easy to set up, use and correctly seat primers. Good thing it is inexpensive because it's life seems to be 2,000 - 2,500 primers. The handle broke down by the connecting rod. Investment cast aluminum is not the metal to use in this type tool."

Ive loaded at least a 1000 more than that on my Hornady(Had it for about 3 years) with no signs of wearing out. Jay

Read all the reviews, some people can't follow instructions...or never bother to read them....kinda like blaming a bullet for poor performance when the poor performance was caused by bad shot placement!

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductreview.exe/GetReviews?productid=807875