After using the RCBS auto tool for a long time already here are a couple of observations. (Not in order though)
- The primer tubes will eventually bend/warp over time from the repeated flopping back and forth.
- The primer seating ram is not compatible with all shell holders. I've had to dremmel out the lip on a few shell holders to keep the cup that holds the primer from hanging up on each other. And some shell holders, the hole is simply too small all together but this can be fixed with a bit of dremmel work.
- The pick up process for primers is just as long (almost) as priming itself. In order to load the tubes you have to get the primers all oriented on a flat surface then pick them up one by one with the little plastic end of the tube making sure not to bounce the orientation tray in the process. If you bump it just a little you have to reorient a lot of your primers.
- Sometimes that 'bounce' that happens from flopping back and forth will cause your primer to bounce out of the cup or become disoriented during the process.
The cups and the ram can become unscrewed (and do) which becomes a bit of a hassle because it can cause other types of malfunctions.
Primers are 'stacked' so if one goes boom, it can cause a chain reaction. (chance of this is slim but still worth noting)
I haven't had much time behind the Forster but here are a few notable things that are better.
- You don't need shell holders at all. It's super easy to adjust to whatever case you are using too using the jaws on the device.
- The loading of the tubes is much easier. I bought a compatible primer loading tray which is a big deal. Orient your primers and then put the primer tube in the slot and simply dump the primers in. This is made possible because the 'tubes' are square and not round.
- Loading the tubes takes a fraction of the time vs doing a one by one pickup. This is because they can simply slide in sideways.
- The primers are oriented anvil facing out so if one goes boom hopefully it's just that one.
- The tube doesn't flop around causing the problems mentioned above. It's in a fixed location so they just drop into place.
- The size of the unit and how it works makes it more 'mobile'. My RCBS one I have mounted to a QD plate for an inline mount. Previously I had it mounted to a board but it's a lot more fiddly. With the Forster I can mount it up and prime anywhere in the house (like while a football game is on or whatever). You can do that with both but the Forster one lends itself to do that much more easier.
At the end of the day the non reciprocating tube is better and most importantly the loading of the tube itself is done in a fraction of the time (at least in theory). The latter of the two saves more time than anything. Doing two reloads of 50 primers each can be done much faster than a single reload of 100 primers picked up one by one.