Shell holder slop when seating primers

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laker415

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I am new to reloading and have been easing into it with the help of manuals, YouTube, and the Internet. Tonight I was working on some 223 and when I was trying to prime the cases in my lyman hand primer I had a lot of resistance. I used it already for some 45-70 cases and had no issue. I am using a lee universal shell holder set for the tool. I primed about 5 cases with no real trouble then they got really hard. Hard enough for me to notice and stop what I was doing. I noticed the shell holder doesn't hold the case very tight and I am wondering if that is my issue. Misaligned with the priming arm?

The cases were hornady and federal, all primer pockets were uniformed, and I was using cci small rifle. Any input is appreciated
 
The looseness is fine... I'll assume you're using the correct shellholder.

Be certain the brass is fit all the way into the holder. Sometimes they shift during manipulation of the ram; sometimes a rest a finger against the case to guarantee this as the primer ram comes into position, then I move my finger.

Checking that your case pockets aren't crimped has been mentioned... excessive crud in the p/pocket makes for a tough shove... primer pocket scrubbing is tedious but at times necessary.

So far, is all I got
 
laker415 said:
I am new to reloading and have been easing into it with the help of manuals, YouTube, and the Internet. Tonight I was working on some 223 and when I was trying to prime the cases in my lyman hand primer I had a lot of resistance. I used it already for some 45-70 cases and had no issue. I am using a lee universal shell holder set for the tool. I primed about 5 cases with no real trouble then they got really hard. Hard enough for me to notice and stop what I was doing. I noticed the shell holder doesn't hold the case very tight and I am wondering if that is my issue. Misaligned with the priming arm?

The cases were hornady and federal, all primer pockets were uniformed, and I was using cci small rifle. Any input is appreciated
Click to expand...
does the primer have a steel pin that pushes the primer into the pocket , I've noticed that the pin in my rbcs hand primer is canted to one side and it's kids pushing the primers that way, so about 1 in 7 I'll have resistance . Hers a pic. You can see how the pin is canted to one side.image.jpgimage.jpg
 

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I am using the correct shell holder. Primer pockets are clean of any crud and are all uniformed. I did some reading and the lee shell holders seem to have more slop than others. Anyone have a preferred brand of shell holder with a tighter fit? Thanks
 
Tried again today and managed to get a primer set in crooked and cannot get the shell out of the shell holder. I am going to try a redding and hornady shell holder and see if it holds the case tighter.
 
I have this problem using a lee priming tool and shell holder for my 222. All my other lee shell holders work except 222. There is to much slop and the primer does not seat flat. I still have to use primer on my press for 222.
 
I got the ones from lee that come with the dies no issues so far, but I had trouble with some 223 brass the primers would not seat it was older brass and I think military you need to swedge it so I tossed them and that solved the problem .. I also have the lee universal ones and have worked well for me too . hound2013
 
I went with a Lee Ergo.. and it was good but then finally bought the Forster heavy duty primer tool.. It works well to fix primers that have not been fully seated as well from other press operations
 
Just tried the new shell holder and it is a big improvement. 1 thing I discovered is that my federal brass was what was giving me issues. I used a crimp remover and a pocket uniformed and I still couldn't get a primer to seat. I tossed them as it was only a few of my once fired. Going to use my nosler and order lapua
 
laker415 said:
Just tried the new shell holder and it is a big improvement. 1 thing I discovered is that my federal brass was what was giving me issues. I used a crimp remover and a pocket uniformed and I still couldn't get a primer to seat. I tossed them as it was only a few of my once fired. Going to use my nosler and order lapua
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Does big improvement mean it's 100% fixed?
I'm having the same problem, 100 hornady cases,15 were hard to prime. Had to force them in ,and some were flattened out. Here's a pic of mine.
 

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Yeah, 100% fixed. The hornady shell holder has virtually no slop. I am using a lyman tool, not sure what you are using. Also, my brass that I have had no issues with is hornady once fired
 
laker415 said:
Yeah, 100% fixed. The hornady shell holder has virtually no slop. I am using a lyman tool, not sure what you are using. Also, my brass that I have had no issues with is hornady once fired
Click to expand...
I'm using the rbcs, my die has no slop , but the pin is a small bit canted. Anyway, glad you got it fixed.
 
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