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time to buy more stuff!!

2K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  jrs1911 
#1 · (Edited)
am looking at hand primers...lee and rcbs universal..

am interested in opinions.. am informed that the "feel" is very important when seating the primer.

the lee requires purchase of "special" shellholders as the standard ones wont work..

the rcbs is good for most without extra shellholders..thats why its "universal"!

so if you were to need to get one today,,which one and why??

also read about the lee ram prime?? to be set up on a single stage? is this something i should consiter? usually wont be doing more than 2-300 shells at a time, if that many..
 
#2 ·
I have the Lee and it works well, what I like better about the RCBS is that it isn't so hard on the hands. After 200 primers with the Lee, my hand is a little sore; the RCBS is more ergonomic. I don't handprime many cases anymore; most of my priming is on the press with either the 550B or the RockChucker.
 
#3 ·
i assume you have the old style of lee primer? saw one of those last week, couldnt get the gentleman to part with it though..
 
#4 ·
i assume you have the old style of lee primer? saw one of those last week, couldnt get the gentleman to part with it though..
Yes, I bought it a few years ago. They're not expensive and can be found at most reloading supply shops. flEaBay always has some on their site.
 
#5 ·
I agree with woolley about the hand getting tired. I have had a lee for over 30 years. About three years ago I bought a second "body" so I could leave one set up for small and one for large primers. I have never used any other kind of hand primer so I can't compare any other brand. I some times use the Lee Ram Prime, it is a lot slower but at least my hand doesn't get tired. I've noticed that the newer Lee hand primes have a square primer feed tray instead of round, that makes more sense to me!!
 
#6 ·
I also agree with Wooley. The RCBS is more comfortable for me to use than the Lee Hand Prime tool. I went this route since I didn't want to buy the set of special shellholders for the Lee at the time.
I've also got two of the old style RCBS tools that use regular shellholders...I leave one set up for large (.45ACP/.30-06 case head) and one for small (9mm/.223 case heads) since those are my most used sizes.
I've never tried the universal shellholder version, I'll probably try one when one of these two ever wear out...I don't see that happening for a long time though.

I know one guy that has the Hornady hand prime tool. He likes it over both the Lee and RCBS but I've never tried it myself yet. That would be another option to add to your list.

I got a Lee Ram Prime with my Hand Press kit but I haven't used it in years. I usually process a couple hundred rounds at a time and that's a lot of primers to handle individually. I got spoiled to the tray feed pretty quicklike. :)
 
#7 ·
I use the Lee auto prime 2. its a press mounted die that feeds primers and uses standard shellholders. you just set the ram rod in the die station on the ram and set the shellholder in the top of the die and prime away.
 
#9 ·
I agree with woolley about the hand getting tired. I have had a lee for over 30 years. About three years ago I bought a second "body" so I could leave one set up for small and one for large primers. I have never used any other kind of hand primer so I can't compare any other brand. I some times use the Lee Ram Prime, it is a lot slower but at least my hand doesn't get tired. I've noticed that the newer Lee hand primes have a square primer feed tray instead of round, that makes more sense to me!!
I also use the Lee, but the way I do it, my hands don't get tired. I clean my brass, the run it thru the press to resize it, de-prime it, and bell the mouth. I then throw them in a box, when I get several hundred rounds in the box, it's time to prime them. I then take them to the living room to clean the primer pocket, and prime them while I watch TV, just take my time! I guess that this is just something I got into back in the 70's when I first started hand loading with the Lee Hand Loader. My brother bought the RCBS hand primer, and it is squar too. You can dump a whole box of primers on to the tray. Can't do that with the old round Lee.
 
#10 ·
I use both the Lee hand primer and the Lee safety prime mounted to my Lee challenger press. I only use these when loading rifle because when loading handgun rounds I'm using my Loadmaster for mass production. I like the safety prime system alot, but it's hard to beat the hand primer for small odd jobs. Good luck hunter and enjoy!
 
#11 ·
I have both Lee (actually two of them) and the RCBS hand primers. Yes, the Lee is tiring, but I don't have the double (two primers stacked in the throat) problem with Lee that occurs with RCBS. I also have press mounted primers for RCBS and Lee, but don't use them much. I'm an antique, slow and methodical, use a Rock Chucker to resize and de-prime, and hand prime my cleaned and polished brass while reading TFF. Lee's 4 stage press helps me knock out all the rounds my son and I need.

Reloading is therapy for me, I even cast my own .45 and .38/.357 boolits these days just to keep the hands busy. I have managed to introduce a couple of neighbors to reloading.
 
#12 ·
I have used the RCBS hand primer and just had a hard time getting the "feel" for it. I much prefer the RCBS bench mounted APS system. Once you set the seating depth for the primer you just slide a case in the holder, pull the lever down and back up, and pull out your primed case. It uses the APS primer strips, so as long as you have strips to clip on you have your primer supply.
 
#14 ·
interesting reading fellas! i do have the primer bars for the lee turrent press, so maybe will see how that goes. wife says if it "boom" the house too often, i will have to get hand primer and do them outside when i take the dog out!!
 
#15 ·
I also use the Lee, but the way I do it, my hands don't get tired. I clean my brass, the run it thru the press to resize it, de-prime it, and bell the mouth. I then throw them in a box, when I get several hundred rounds in the box, it's time to prime them. I then take them to the living room to clean the primer pocket, and prime them while I watch TV, just take my time! I guess that this is just something I got into back in the 70's when I first started hand loading with the Lee Hand Loader. My brother bought the RCBS hand primer, and it is squar too. You can dump a whole box of primers on to the tray. Can't do that with the old round Lee.
The new Lee safety prime is squar too myles...
 
#16 ·
I use an RCBS rock crusher single stage and the RCBS 90200 (not universal) priming tool. The priming tool fits my hand and to me, it is easy to change calibers. I've primed a couple of hundred rounds in an evening without fatique and no hand soreness the next day.
 
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