Hand Priming Tool

Started with old round tray Lee, still have 4 of them and spare to make 3-4 more. Tried a Hornady, QC sucked on it. RCBS universal and shellholder style work OK. Noticed that cases cocked initially on universal, shellholder style needed the large hole shellholders, Hornady barely goes on, still had to force it somewhat, RCBS weren't going to go over the nub. Have an FA, haven't used it yet.
Have a Forster, works OK, and an RCBS bench style, works OK. The one that interests me now, is the Ugly/Derraco PCPS (poor man's CPS), it appears to be a pretty good unit, about half the price of a Primal Rights tool.
All depends on what you want to do with it, or it to do for you. RCBS and Forster are good, hand or bench style, FA is the only one that is adj out of all the hand units, PCPS is press mtd,adj. hearing good things on it so far, but, will still be a 300.00+ bill.
 
Demonical said:
So I read reviews and decided to get the Frankford Arsenal, based on like 4,000+ positive reviews.

I know any of these would work.

As to the Hornady, it always had an issue with 2 small pins that would fall out. Today when I went to use it, sure enough one of those damn pins is gone (in the wife's vacuuming I bet!) and could not be located. So that's why it's toast. But it had been giving me issues, not seating primers properly anyway. Worn out, which is the likely cause of the 'play' in those pins that was letting them fall out. Damn soft aluminum.
When it was new it was great.
Click to expand...
I had one and sold it. I hated constant going back to seat primers. You always had to fiddle with seating depth. Then mine had non stop semi circle marks on primers, as something was not aligned.

I went back to Lee.
 
+1 on the rcbs universal.

No shell holders needed, fast and easy switch from small to large and feels good in my hand.
I started off with the rcbs hand primer that required shell holders but have moved on to the universal.

Another positive thing imo of the universal model is that the handle stroke is a bit shorter and more ergonomic. I don't have small hands at all by the way.

The adjustable seating depth on the FA is I think a useless feature. For reliable ignition the primer should be seated all the way to the bottom of the primer pocket, regardless of the primer pocket depth or the primer height. A good hand priming tool will let you feel when you bottom out when installing a primer in a case.
 
Last edited:
Forster Co-Ax bench mounted is the one for me. I have worn out a couple of the original Lee tools, have one of their newer ones with the folding tray, and have a couple older RCBS hand primer tools that use shell holders. The Co-Ax is easier to use, universal in application ( even fits the big .450-400 3" Nitro Express, and also tiny .22 Hornet ) , and consistently seats primers properly. The primers in their feed tube face sideways, and are safer to handle than stacked primers facing up and down. I bought a little plastic tray that Forster sells that makes it very easy to load the primer tube. It's just a 3D printed gizmo but it works very well, flipping primers topside up and aligning them so they just slip into the tube.
 
OP, all of the hand primers mentioned will work. Some better than others and it also depends on your personal circumstances.

If money isn't an issue, go for the RCBS UNIVERSAL or get a Frankford Arsenal. They're the luxury models of hand helds.

The Lee "bench" system is OK but I haven't seen one yet that didn't need some fiddling to get it consistently reliable.

I don't believe they make them any longer, but RCBS used to make a fantastic bench primer press, which needed "pre loaded strips" to hold the primers. CCI used to make the strips, which are reusable.

I like this press because of arthritis in my wrist and thumb. Very fast, very positive and easy to get the "feel" of the primer seating.
 
I seem to be the lone voice for the 21st Century rig...
Beautifully made..adjustable in 0.001" increments
But, it requires their proprietary shell holders...

Very much a "Buy Once-Cry Once" scenario....
 
Hand priming sucks. Its hard on the hands and gets real old real fast.

I got a ram prime system and that works fantastic with very little effort. I'd never go back to hand priming.
 
I use the Lee bench mounted one. I have it mounted to a wooden board, with it on one end and my powder measure on the other. I fasten it to my bench with a bar clamp as I have two single stage presses.

It also uses the same primer trays as my two Pro1000 presses.

Reasonable price too, and it works.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
Hand priming sucks. Its hard on the hands and gets real old real fast.

I got a ram prime system and that works fantastic with very little effort. I'd never go back to hand priming.
Click to expand...
It depends on the hand primer that you use, they aren't all the same. My RCBS Universal is much easier on the hands than my old LEE tools. The shape, the effort to seat primers, and the smoothness are all better. And some people never even lube their hand press, which makes them much easier to use. And I find my hand Primers much faster as well.
 
I've used the Sinclair priming tool (from Brownells) for the last 30+ years, and it has served me well. It takes a variety of shellholders and comes with two priming punches--one for large primers and one for small. So I'm covered for all cartridges with it. It allows for some "feel" as you seat primers and is very sturdy.
 
stubblejumper said:
It depends on the hand primer that you use, they aren't all the same. My RCBS Universal is much easier on the hands than my old LEE tools. The shape, the effort to seat primers, and the smoothness are all better. And some people never even lube their hand press, which makes them much easier to use. And I find my hand Primers much faster as well.
Click to expand...
Nope, it depends on the condition of your hands.

Almost all of them work quite well when they're used as designed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom