Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Hand Priming Tools

I liked the old Lee and still use it, but I got tired of miss placing the shell holder and bought a RCBS universal model which has worked just fine. If I were to get another it would be the 21st century model with the Lee tray. I like the greater feel of a hand tool compared to a bench mounted one and the tubes are fiddllesome and don't let you know if you have a reversed primer until it is seated. Others love them and they may be more uniform than a hand tool.

Broke another old Lee , bought the Frankfort arsenal setup . Super pleased !

I've had both versions of the RCBS hand primer in the past and more recently the Hornady. The Honrnady sometimes allows primers to flip or turn on their side going from the tray into the tool which has been frustrating. I bought the Lyman hand primer the other day and it doesn't have enough stroke to fully seat primers. If I can find a way to modify the Lyman, I think I'd be satisfied.

I bought repair parts for my old Lee priming tools (2) several years ago. I hope to make them last as long as I do.

Yes, it does have the adjustable depth. I just set mine to bottom out in the primer pockets.

Mine came with a bunch of shell holders. They look identical to the LEE shell holders, but I haven't tried them for fit yet.

That is an interesting option for sure.

It looks like they stopped making them, I don’t know why.

http://www.xxicsi.com/auto-feed-ss-priming-tool-for-the-lee--new-auto-prime-tray.html

Great tool, all I need.

MM

I have always seated 'em up snug and been happy enough with my results. It may be beneficial to qualify my reloading experience and objectives. I am a casual reloader. I bought a Lee Anniversary kit many years ago and have been very happy with it. I have added a few little odds and ends along the way. Almost all of my dies are Lee. I read the Lee manual when I bought the kit. I have revisited it a time or two. I have also read tidbits here and there. I get the basics, but when I read some of the more technical aspects it goes over my head. I have always learned best in a master/apprentice environment. I suck at self-learning. I have never had access to a master to teach me the finer points of handloading. So for that reason I keep things as simple as possible. I started reloading because 257 Roberts ammo was hard to come by. Impossible with Partitions. I have added a few more oddball calibers along the way. I don't shoot competitively and am content with good accuracy. I don't need bench rest accuracy, though I certainly appreciate it.

I think Frankford is going to get the nod. Thanks for the info.

You bet. Hope it works well for you.

I just ordered the FA unit as well and will be returning the Lyman...

I have several RCBS hand held.

I have only ever used the RCBS hand held. There may be better ones, but it works fine for me.

I’ve used all kinds, the RCBS hand held are very good in my opinion. I shucked the rest of them.