So my RCBS Universal Primer finally gave up last night. I am looking for a bench primer to replace it. I don't want to spend primal rights money but want something that is going to be consistent and quality. I was looking at the Forster bench primer last night but don't know if there is something better.
Bench Primer
- Thread starter Maelstrom
- Start date
I have used the RCBS Automatic Bench Priming Tool for several decades and it works great. Haven't tried the Forster unit but it looks like a good design. Whatever you do don't waste your money on those adjustable priming tools. Primers are designed to seated so the cup bottoms out in the primer pocket. Every primer manufacturer will tell you that.
This is the RCBS unit:
amazon.com/RCBS-9460-Auto-Priming-Tool/dp/B000NOORXE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1N4DNXW8X3TIQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9q38mSKYoPXQVm62buNcK9bAecaP43NoqFH6PX0YhOofsWlYM27Kf-3A4ryt26P7X3ZYzRODyFym2THF__gfLjcM8xbEOrftgaP3iexjNYNroxOBJij7rik4SY4Xm-rc2Hf3ktgzu3sVN3GK5ifAzacTetoWdtu-7Ofh87LRyWPSkOjOxUDOF_pzmQW3Dy-ARW3LUCUN4_7sPuF6a2CPWcJFBVCsrINLC9YhYeV3yIJM_4pFiW1dmt14PYmQECtN4dxAhpYoyws6QjK1mMigFKI-r4CPn-G4lMZ0eQL2Ti8._UAxDSz3oAbKEdvV997NwrPpzkgb1QDu1sor9lTF85k&dib_tag=se&keywords=rcbs%2Bautomatic%2Bbench%2Bpriming%2Btool&qid=1742233056&sprefix=RCBS%2Bautomatic%2Caps%2C413&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
This is the RCBS unit:
amazon.com/RCBS-9460-Auto-Priming-Tool/dp/B000NOORXE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1N4DNXW8X3TIQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9q38mSKYoPXQVm62buNcK9bAecaP43NoqFH6PX0YhOofsWlYM27Kf-3A4ryt26P7X3ZYzRODyFym2THF__gfLjcM8xbEOrftgaP3iexjNYNroxOBJij7rik4SY4Xm-rc2Hf3ktgzu3sVN3GK5ifAzacTetoWdtu-7Ofh87LRyWPSkOjOxUDOF_pzmQW3Dy-ARW3LUCUN4_7sPuF6a2CPWcJFBVCsrINLC9YhYeV3yIJM_4pFiW1dmt14PYmQECtN4dxAhpYoyws6QjK1mMigFKI-r4CPn-G4lMZ0eQL2Ti8._UAxDSz3oAbKEdvV997NwrPpzkgb1QDu1sor9lTF85k&dib_tag=se&keywords=rcbs%2Bautomatic%2Bbench%2Bpriming%2Btool&qid=1742233056&sprefix=RCBS%2Bautomatic%2Caps%2C413&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
Just bought the PCPS system a few weeks ago. Haven't had much of a chance to use it yet, but seems quite simple. It's a bit more expensive than the typical bench primers, but nowhere near the Primal Rights. I think I paid about $100 more for this compared to the Forster and see many reviews online saying it's comparable to the Primal Rights.
Also just food for thought....
There are still some designs that have been around for a long time to add to the list above...
There is still the old RCBS unit, which can also be upgraded with the Holland's modifications or just run as-is.
And there is also a Lee tool, but since they changed to primer tray I have not tried their new ones.
I think there is also an option on most presses to add priming tools, but only a few have a primer feed to help speed those up. YMMV
There are still some designs that have been around for a long time to add to the list above...
There is still the old RCBS unit, which can also be upgraded with the Holland's modifications or just run as-is.
And there is also a Lee tool, but since they changed to primer tray I have not tried their new ones.
I think there is also an option on most presses to add priming tools, but only a few have a primer feed to help speed those up. YMMV
I have tried priming with my Coax press but I have trouble getting the primer in the cup on the press. It slows me down.
I would only use that option as a last resort myself as well.
I have done my share of single feeding primers and still do it with certain topics, but only for ammo where it is being done the hard way during load development. After that work is done, I would be just as likely to run brass on the Dillon as anything else.
I still love my Sinclair and PMA tools, but those are for bench loading during development. These require dexterity and single loading, so I don't think folks with joint pain would want to run them.
I even have some of those Lee APP set-ups that I feed from a Dillon case feeder to bulk deprime and I am still experimenting with one that primes. I think it will work, but I haven't had the occasion to try a big batch with it yet. It is completely hands free and if it works out I will use it to avoid priming on the Dillon with certain jobs.
It isn't expensive unless you also don't already have extra case feeders around, then the cost of one of those Dillon case feeders is a bigger factor than the Lee tool. If you do have a case feeder, then add that Lee APP to the list. They are a little fiddly and fussy to perfect, but when that is solved they do work very fast and easy on the hands. I would recommend these more often, but they do require the user to have a knack for perfecting them with fiddly little adjustments on plastic parts....
My poor girls will have a mess on their hands when I kick off. I have accumulated so many different priming tools over a lifetime of this that I can hardly name one I don't have....
I'm not affiliated but there's also this one for ~$80 if one is on a tighter budget or just doesn't need any bells or whistles:
I've had nothing but good times with my PCPS. I'm not one of those guys who sweats primer depth too much... but I do love repeatability when it comes to reloading shit, and even though I still have good grip strength, better is better.
My former Frankford Arsenal priming tool was fast and good enough for me with all but the toughest brass (Alpha), and while doing 100-200 rounds at a time was fine, 200+ or larger batches... fucking sucked sometimes.
The PCPS is better and easier and no less fast (maybe faster).
I've had nothing but good times with my PCPS. I'm not one of those guys who sweats primer depth too much... but I do love repeatability when it comes to reloading shit, and even though I still have good grip strength, better is better.
My former Frankford Arsenal priming tool was fast and good enough for me with all but the toughest brass (Alpha), and while doing 100-200 rounds at a time was fine, 200+ or larger batches... fucking sucked sometimes.
The PCPS is better and easier and no less fast (maybe faster).
I use a Primal Rights CPS. It is expensive but it is excellent. The PCPS looks very similiar in function without being as easy as the CPS quickly changing a few different calibers consistently. Never used one but it looks like a solld alternative to the CPS for the money.
I started out using a Forster bench primer and it was so horrible that I threw it away rather than sell it to some unsuspecting victim. I don't know the right answer for you, but I can tell you that Forster is the wrong one.
If you are loading a lot of rounds, the CPS is hard to beat. Worth every penny. Also, I like to seat my primers flush with the top of the primer pocket, and the CPS is very easy to adjust for different brass with slightly different primer pocket depths.
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I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Lee makes some fantastic designs.
They build their components from shit plastic and low quality cast metals.
If their designs were made from quality materials, they would be some of the best products on the market.
I use the Frankford Arsenal priming tool.
* the small primer sleeve is prone to a primer slipping sideways and getting stuck (many a review on this)
* once stuck, it may take months for Frankford Arsenal to fix it (plan on following up with customer support every few weeks, ugh!)
Workaround, use the large primer sleeve (even for small primers).
* feed tray is problematic, or nearly useless
Workaround, prime one at a time.
I don't have much good to say about it, except that what I do like about it is, once it's set, it's pretty consistent.
I've been hesitant to comment on the PCPS, because I may have had an oddball, but the PCPS I tested was not delivering a consistent seating depth, so I sent it back. For that kind of money, I expected more.
Primers were hard to load into the tube and they did not want to feed smoothly. The jaws to hold the base of the case were finkiy to adjust and it was hard to keep the case/jaws combo centered so that primers would smoothly go into the primer pocket. Each time you switched cases you had to redo the case/jaws combo dance. A more minor issue was that you had to work the unit sideways due to how the cases were held so you had to press down from the shoulder and for doing a lot of priming it got tedious.
My next upgrade was to a RCBS bench prime which was great until I fell down the rabbit hole and tried to buy the Holland Reloading kit for the primer depth indicator (Holland was out for stock for 6+ months straight so I said "screw it" and bought a CPS with a F-Class products base plate and indicator).
If I had to do it again (and not spend money like an idiot) I think first choice would be the PCPS with a DAA primafill which fills round primer tubes like a dream.
I primed 50 6.5CM cases last night in just under 5 minutes without hurrying with my CPS. All perfectly seated flush with the top of the primer pocket with no crushing. If you can afford it, its worth every cent. That's probably why you almost never see a used one posted for sale.
Thing that turns me off about the CPS is that you have to manually run that shuttle to feed a primer,
it could not be easier. your hand is right there, and it slows you down absolutely zero.
Rcbs still chugging along here. I'd probably get another if mine died. Seems to work well for the price
I’ve never used one I’m sure it’s not a big deal but you’d think for the price they’d have figured out a way to build it into the lever action.
My POS Lee auto feeds the primer.
However saying it doesn’t slow you down is ignorant. It’s another motion that clearly takes some time. = >0
I mostly prime on my Dillon anyways
It’s ignorant? I own one and use it and you don’t. I’m not sure you know what that word means……
The quote above is actually what’s ignorant (not meant as an insult, just sticking to the true definition of the word).
“Saying it doesn’t slow you down is ignorant” - compared to what (among other bench primers)? The RCBS I used for years requires a complete extra stroke of the lever to load each primer prior to seating. So it takes TWO strokes of the lever for each case to be primed. The CPS requires that you merely flick the slide to load the primer. It’s literally about the blink of an eye. You do this with one hand as you are reaching for the next case with the other. It literally takes NO time because you are superimposing it over another operation you can’t avoid. So it makes no sense to say it is “ignorant” to say it doesn’t slow you down when it is actually faster than some of the more commonly used competitors, and the “extra time” you are describing is done simultaneously over another operation that can’t be avoided. Again, it adds NO time (as long as you have two hands).
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Yeah, What’s ignorant is to tell someone they don’t know what they’re talking about when they actually own one and that guy doesn’t. The irony…..
I also do that while I load the case so yeah. It doesn’t slow it down even a blink of an eye.
You posted while I was editing my original response. The clarifications I made agree, it doesn’t slow it down at all. The primer loading still takes a “blink of an eye”, but it doesn’t slow you down at all because it’s done and completed while you’re reaching for the next case to prime with your other hand.
Running the shuttle to feed the primer is a non-concern, if it slows you down, then it just comes down to "operator error".
Like a lot of things related to this stuff, you find what routine works best for you and it takes care of itself after enough reps.
For me, I pull the handle to prime, and then when I return the handle to the up position I hit the shuttle as it hits the stop in one motion...
It's not really that big of a deal.
That said, the leverage you get from using a legit press, versus some miniaturized bullshit, is real. Makes things much easier to tear through a bunch of cases and know that more than likely all your shit is coming out repeatable, consistent, and legit case to case.
Like a lot of things related to this stuff, you find what routine works best for you and it takes care of itself after enough reps.
For me, I pull the handle to prime, and then when I return the handle to the up position I hit the shuttle as it hits the stop in one motion...
It's not really that big of a deal.
That said, the leverage you get from using a legit press, versus some miniaturized bullshit, is real. Makes things much easier to tear through a bunch of cases and know that more than likely all your shit is coming out repeatable, consistent, and legit case to case.
Haters gonna hate - Makes as much sense. Neither phrase proves anything. You're missing the point that what you said is simply incorrect. I'm using a CPS currently. Not really that enthusiastic about it - it doesn't quite live up to Greg's hype. But it does get the job done, as do many other options. But operating the primer shuttle simply does not add "time" to the process as you declared, because it is done simultaneously with other processes occurring. You operate the shuttle with one hand (blink-of-an-eye fast) as you're loading the next case in the case holder with the other (much slower task). If the unit DID provide automatic primer loading, as you suggested, it would not be ANY faster at all. The rate-limiting step is how fast you can load the next case into the shell holder. The primer will already be there waiting on it. Watch a video of someone proficient using it and you will see.
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How about contacting RCBS to fix your universal primer under the fantastic warranty they offer AND I would suggest the RCBS bench mounted primer? This would give you a bench mounted tool and your universal as a back-up or for small jobs.
shop.rcbs.com
Automatic Priming Tool
shop.rcbs.com
I have already reached out to them about getting it fixed under the warranty. I am looking at a bench primer to help as a result of arthritis in my hands as well as the side effects of breaking and dislocating my thumb and hand a couple years ago. I don't have the hand strength I used too not can I prime a couple hundred rounds in one sitting like I used to. I am definitely not looking to spend Primal Rights money. The PCPS is interesting but not sure I want to spend that much right now.How about contacting RCBS to fix your universal primer under the fantastic warranty they offer AND I would suggest the RCBS bench mounted primer? This would give you a bench mounted tool and your universal as a back-up or for small jobs.
Automatic Priming Tool
I don't either and can only imagine having that trauma to your hand makes it many times worse.
I do keep a couple universal primers available because loading up a small batch of brass is much easier with the universal. You don't have to deal with putting the unused primers back into the tube. Just sharing what works for me.
I'll add, the RCBS handle benefits from a little extra padding than what is factory. I took a short section of pipe insulation and covered my handle, giving a nice cushy handle.
I run the automatic RCBS tool and love it. My only concern is the concern of crushing primers. Is it obvious if you crush a primer? I try not to push too hard but like most of us, I subscribe to the better safe than sorry and give it a stern push.
True! I always felt it was starting to dig into the palm of my hand after a bit. I never got around to adding the padding, but it could sure benefit from some.
You have to do that with the PCPS also but it's just a flick of a finger or thumb. Happens almost subconsciously
BTW I had to have my RCBS bench primer warranted before I got the PCPS. The RCBS was leaving too many primers proud, not seated flush or below flush.
My RCBS has been in use for going on 20 years, so many cases primed that the end of the rod/piston is mushroomed like a splitting wedge
