So I bought a RCBS hand primer tool, and am doing my very first batch of .223 rounds. I have the small rifle primer rod in the right shell holder piece. And it seems that it pushes the primer in fine but then keeps pushing and dents the primer pretty badly. So I've been squeezing just enough to seat it properly, but its kind of annoying. Any advice from you veteran reloaders?
Hand Primer problems
- Thread starter Bush Man
- Start date
- Location
- Winnipeg,Man.
The only way the rod can dent the primer is when you squeeze the lever too hard. It takes a few times til you can feel the proper pressure. If you are trying to put primers into old military casings, it is difficult because the primer hole needs the crimp removed. If they are new casings, it takes relatively little pressure to seat the primer. I am new to the loading game too and it is not easy to dent the primer. I have the lee hand loader and it only has one size of push rod and loads both small and large primers. i have loaded many .223 rounds and all makes of casings even military and even with the difficulty of the crimp, have not damaged a primer. Maybe practice with a spent primer and see how much pressure it takes to set it properly. Good Luck
+1, it's a pretty easy mistake to make. Of course everytime I tip it over, the rod falls on the floor, and a primer feeds into the empty hole
Priming is my least favorite part of reloading.
