Federal primers in Lee auto primes

Onagoth

Onagoth

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Well? I am sure you guys have read the warning, any truth to it? Any body done this with no consequence?

Federal primers seem to be available moreso than Winchester, and since my stock is running lower and lower with each passing week, I might have to compromise.
 
I run them all through my autoprime. No issues.

And why should there be? It does nothing different that any other priming device. It does'nt whack them into place. It does'nt fold them in half.

It pushes them into the primer cup.
 
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Lee himself warns about the use of other than CCI or Winch primers with his priming tools in his reloading books. He describes accidents that have occurred. I will take his word on this subject.
 
green said:
Lee himself warns about the use of other than CCI or Winch primers with his priming tools in his reloading books. He describes accidents that have occurred. I will take his word on this subject.
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yeah, well glock also advises against shooting lead, though many do without incident.

In today's litigious society, companies are more than willing to publish disclaimers and limitations on liability regarding these kinds of issues, doesn't necessarily give their warnings any merit.
 
Ive used Federal Primers in my LEE for years. However the warning about using them is due to the fact that Federal Primers are soft and may tend to crush or perhaps even go off if they somehow got jammed or crushed in the press.
 
do you guys limit the amount of primers in the tray at any given time? To avoid, whats it called.... primer fratricide? (co-detonation)

Also, just how dangerous is a primer detonation? I have never seen one before except when firing ammunition. Is it a large explosion? Enough to destroy the auto prime and send pieces everywhere? :confused:

I couldn't find any vids on youtube and would rather not attempt it when others have probably experienced it first hand
 
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I have used Federal primers with the hand held Lee prime and the auto prime with no problem. It was a concern for me when I first used them (see some of my older posts with the same question) but after using quite a few I've had no problems.

There is a disclaimer about using them with Lee equipment, but it might have been a pissing match between Lee and another company that really started it.

Just one guys opinion...do so at your own peril.:runaway::p

I run 50 at a time...when I first tried it I used only 10.
 
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I think you missed what i said.

"ALL primer seating devices do exactly the same thing. They PUSH the primer into the priming cup"

How come none of the other primer seating devices come with a warning about Federal primers?
 
I've loaded 1000's of federal primers using my Lee auto-primer with no problems. Just use the usual precautions, if something doesn't feel right don't force it.
 
You won't have any problems using any brand of primers in Lee equipment. I think Mr. Lee might have had an agreement with Winchester and CCI at one time ;) You've got to take some of the things he says with a grain of salt. If you've read his reloading manual, you'll know that he has absolutely NO problem promoting his aluminum presses being as strong as any cast iron press. I'm not saying Lee stuff is junk. I'm just saying Richard Lee isn't afraid to exagerate a bit.
 
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I've loaded 10,000++ Federal primers in my Lee 1000 with no issues... HOWEVER one local shooter had a tray of Federal primers detonate. Thankfully he was wearing safety glasses but his ears were ringing for a few days. The explosion destroyed the primer tray and chute on his 1000, easy to replace but not a fun experience...
 
joe-nwt said:
I think you missed what i said.

"ALL primer seating devices do exactly the same thing. They PUSH the primer into the priming cup"

How come none of the other primer seating devices come with a warning about Federal primers?
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Yep, it ain't witchcraft is it. Lee + Federal = OK. Same as any other seater.
 
It's the pressure on the primer that you have to be careful of. The Federal is an excellent primer, but is a much softer alloy than CCI and Winchester.
Folks who choose to ignore the mfg. warnings are like the multitudes of folks who ignore the warning of never to point their firearm in an unsafe direction. You may get away with it for years, but sooner or later these things have a way of catching up to you. Interesting enough, the closest finger to a potential explosion is your trigger finger. Safety first. Follow what the mfg. says and yo don't have to worry about it.
 
phreddy said:
Folks who choose to ignore the mfg. warnings
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Make sure you only go to a dealer to get your oil changed
.
Don't change a fuse yourself. Call an electrician. They're the only ones capible of doing it safely.

Don't rip the tags off your matress :eek: :eek: :runaway: :runaway: because the matress cops will come and drag you away in irons !!!!!

.....and if you believe and take to heart EVERYTHING you read.................
 
It's not just Federal primers. Primers are made by two processes,"basic" and "normal". I forget who uses which,but the Federal and Remington are one way, CCI and Winchester the other.One is a bit touchier than the other.
 
phreddy said:
It's the pressure on the primer that you have to be careful of. The Federal is an excellent primer, but is a much softer alloy than CCI and Winchester.
Folks who choose to ignore the mfg. warnings are like the multitudes of folks who ignore the warning of never to point their firearm in an unsafe direction. You may get away with it for years, but sooner or later these things have a way of catching up to you. Interesting enough, the closest finger to a potential explosion is your trigger finger. Safety first. Follow what the mfg. says and yo don't have to worry about it.
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Thanks for that remarkable insight :rolleyes: Unfortunately I already know what the manfg told me and I don't need it reiterated. And comparing reloading to pointing guns at people is a little extreme, but thanks for coming out.
 
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