Hand prime?
- Thread starter chopit
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Hand prime only here using a 21st Century tool , which is very nice to use . I shot over 12 000 centerfire rounds last year ,
each case primed with above tool . I can do 50 rounds in less than 5 minutes .
each case primed with above tool . I can do 50 rounds in less than 5 minutes .
I only hand prime.
Tried the press and found hand priming to be at least 10 times faster than the press with indistinguishable results. I am sure there are tools out there that will give you more precision but i am satisfied when it goes bang!
Tried the press and found hand priming to be at least 10 times faster than the press with indistinguishable results. I am sure there are tools out there that will give you more precision but i am satisfied when it goes bang!
I hand Prime with RCBS universal tool. I feel as though I can consistently use the same pressure to seat the primer by hand rather than using the long lever of a press which has a lot more leverage.
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Hand priming is the best way, you get a good feel for the job. I want to feel the primer touch the bottom of the pocket then I apply a slight bit more pressure, this slightly compresses the priming pellet and set it to be sensitive.
As an aside, you should check your main spring at least once a year. I don't have the specs here in front of me but springs loose there power over time and this can and will cause ignition problems. When it happens, tracking down this problem will drive you crazy... don't ask how I know...
Wayne
As an aside, you should check your main spring at least once a year. I don't have the specs here in front of me but springs loose there power over time and this can and will cause ignition problems. When it happens, tracking down this problem will drive you crazy... don't ask how I know...
Wayne
What is a good hand primer that isnt too costly since i am trying to buy alot of this stuff at once.
This+1....has adjustable click head for seating depth and easy on hands.... you will appreciate it when you get older...stainless steel and great company to deal with...not the cheapest but worth every penny..
Is there any reliable test data to support a distinct accuracy superiority for hand priming vs press priming?
Greg
Greg
I have a K&M and a Frankfort Arsenal hand primer. The Frankfort Arsenal Primer is HUGE. I don't know if hand priming makes rounds any more accurate than priming with my forester or dillon reloaders. One advantage a hand primer has over the one on a press, is you can prime cases as you watch TV.
Now I hand prime with the 21st Century tool, it's very nice and consistent. I was priming on my Dillon 550B but I found that I was getting really inconsistent results causing my SD/ES to suffer.
I highly recommend the 21st Century hand priming tool if you're in the market, it's built like a tank and changing from large to small primer is a breeze.
I highly recommend the 21st Century hand priming tool if you're in the market, it's built like a tank and changing from large to small primer is a breeze.
When I loaded on my dads oress I hand primed finally got my own stuff and bought a lee which came with the tool to do it on the press. So that's what I'm doing now. The press method is much much slower but if you're one of those people who's super anal I personally feel like it's alittle more precise since it has the stopped which hits the bottom of the brass rather than relying on trying to squeeze the same every time. Granted I haven't seen a difference and I'm not one of those people that's that particular but right now it's what I have and I'm never really loading any more than 100 pieces at a time and never in a big enough hurry to need to go faster. If I get more into
The prs stuff like I'm
Hoping I may eventually buy a hand primed to speed things back up
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The prs stuff like I'm
Hoping I may eventually buy a hand primed to speed things back up
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I hand prime. I used to use an old Lee and it was great until it finally broke. I'm using the Lee AutoPrime hand primer right now but I'm going to switch to the 21st century as soon as I can afford to.
I think hand primers give you a better 'feel'. JMO
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I think hand primers give you a better 'feel'. JMO
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I don't understand what people mean by "better feel". Any priming tool, hand held, press, etc. seats the primer the same way and it's either seated or it's not. Is it even possible to seat a primer too far by using too much pressure?
chopit, I presently own an older Lee hand primer (round tray version) that has performed well for many years but has recently begun to show signs of wear on the plastic parts. I tried looking at Lee for replacement but their new design is more difficult to use and employs more fragile plastic parts than their older version. I suppose Lee may have come up with a novel way to do "product improvement."
Not satisfied with the newer Lee primer, I looked at many of the other priming tools mentioned above and settled on the RCBS Universal tool as it had a tray, relatively robust construction, and an attractive price. While I felt many of the available single feed units were excellent overall, I put great weight on not having to touch every primer and this is what finally sold me on the RCBS and after several months use I have been very satisfied with its performance. In fact, I'm likely to get another so I don't have to reconfigure unit whenever I change primer size.
It's definitely possible to seat a primer too far, once the primer hits the bottom of the pocket then you start to crush it. If your brass has primers with varying amounts of crush then it's quite possible that you won't get consistent results. I was priming on my Dillon 550 and was getting some less than desirable ES/SD, once I switched to hand priming with the 21st Century and each primer was seated the same amount (or as close as possible) I started seeing my ES/SD drop across the board.
Anyways, that's just me..
@OP
What press do you have/are you buying?
I prime on a Dillon 550 that has been slightly modified to seat primers approximately .003-.007" under flush. I find this to be the fastest and most accurate method. And I own almost every priming system that has been mentioned so far. In a distant second, I'd put the 21st Century and Sinclair which are very accurate but slower and can take a toll on your hands having to tighten each case before priming. The RCBS and Hornady tools are OK, but have diminished "feel" compared to the Sinclair and 21st Century. In addition, I don't believe either have a way to adjust the primer seating depth.
What press do you have/are you buying?
I prime on a Dillon 550 that has been slightly modified to seat primers approximately .003-.007" under flush. I find this to be the fastest and most accurate method. And I own almost every priming system that has been mentioned so far. In a distant second, I'd put the 21st Century and Sinclair which are very accurate but slower and can take a toll on your hands having to tighten each case before priming. The RCBS and Hornady tools are OK, but have diminished "feel" compared to the Sinclair and 21st Century. In addition, I don't believe either have a way to adjust the primer seating depth.
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I have a lee classic turret and hopefully a forster co ax soon. The press does a good job on pistol primers but i kinda had hand priming in my mind. The 21st century looks awesome but not crazy about feeding one at a time. Giraud Case trimmer, annealer, and 21st century neck lathe are much higher on my list. I think the rcbs will probably do me for now.
The rcbs will certainly do you fine. I used one for many years without issue. But don't let the single feeding scare you away from the 21st, it's actually surprisingly fast.
You it is not so much the single i guess but i dont know if my old blind ass can pick up a primer and set it in that tiny space.
I finally swapped to a hand primer about a year ago. Got the RCBS and love it. So much faster and more consistent.
Been using the RCBS bench priming tool for a couple years now. Like it way better than a hand held priming tool or priming on the press. It still has good "feel" while seating primers but it doesn't leave me with a numb hand and wrist after a couple hundred cases like the hand primer did.
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Another upvote for the 21st Century tool, it's a Cadillac. Buy once, cry once. The 21st Century is single feed, but 50 or 100 rounds doesn't take long. The feel is far better than anything else I have used.
I had an RCBS with a tray. Yes, it was faster. Yes, it was less expensive. Got rid of it when I bought the 21st Century. Only way I would go back is if someone stole my 21st and they were no longer available.
I had an RCBS with a tray. Yes, it was faster. Yes, it was less expensive. Got rid of it when I bought the 21st Century. Only way I would go back is if someone stole my 21st and they were no longer available.
Gee guys, if you just mash a primer in the case and call it good, then your reading the wrong thread.
a little research will get you info on why you want to use a hand priming tool instead of your press. But, if you want to advance, listen and learn,
Seating a primer .003-4 below the case head Is fine for pistol rounds, but unless you've uniformed the primer pockets and all the case rims are the same thickness the primers will still have varying amounts of pre-load on the priming pellet. That can and will get you larger SDs. You don't have to drop $100.00 on a custom priming tool, just get an RCBS or Lee and learn how to use it via the feel method. As I said in an earlier post, you want to feel the primer touch bottom, then you want to add just a small amount of pressure to the priming pellet. This sets it at its highest sensitivity, and can help with varying SDs.
The reason for this extra care is not magic or smoke and mirrors, just mechanics. The primer is made of three pieces, the cup, priming pellet and anvil. With a primer that's seated properly, the blow from your firing pin dimples the primer cup which smashes the pellet against the anvil, setting the priming compound off via percussion. If the primer isn't seated all the way to the bottom of the pocket, a portion of the firing pin's energy is used to finish seating the primer which causes eractic ignition. If the primer has been seated deaper than needed, the pellet may be crushed and cause eractic ignition, or maybe even a misfire.
Thus the reason for using a hand priming tool instead of your press, with a press, there's so much leverage it's very hard to feel your progress as you seat the primer.
Wayne
a little research will get you info on why you want to use a hand priming tool instead of your press. But, if you want to advance, listen and learn,
Seating a primer .003-4 below the case head Is fine for pistol rounds, but unless you've uniformed the primer pockets and all the case rims are the same thickness the primers will still have varying amounts of pre-load on the priming pellet. That can and will get you larger SDs. You don't have to drop $100.00 on a custom priming tool, just get an RCBS or Lee and learn how to use it via the feel method. As I said in an earlier post, you want to feel the primer touch bottom, then you want to add just a small amount of pressure to the priming pellet. This sets it at its highest sensitivity, and can help with varying SDs.
The reason for this extra care is not magic or smoke and mirrors, just mechanics. The primer is made of three pieces, the cup, priming pellet and anvil. With a primer that's seated properly, the blow from your firing pin dimples the primer cup which smashes the pellet against the anvil, setting the priming compound off via percussion. If the primer isn't seated all the way to the bottom of the pocket, a portion of the firing pin's energy is used to finish seating the primer which causes eractic ignition. If the primer has been seated deaper than needed, the pellet may be crushed and cause eractic ignition, or maybe even a misfire.
Thus the reason for using a hand priming tool instead of your press, with a press, there's so much leverage it's very hard to feel your progress as you seat the primer.
Wayne
For those that single feed with the 21st century tool, do you just dump them on a table top and pick up one at a time? I always thought touching primers with bare hands was a no-no.
Also, does anyone use Orkan's priming tool? If so, thoughts?
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Also, does anyone use Orkan's priming tool? If so, thoughts?
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I use the RCBS hand tool also. When I was just loading for the AR I would always get a bunch of rounds where the primer was not flush. It sat above the case ahead slightly. Figured I didn't get rid of the crimp enough or did something incorrectly. Always thought I'd get a slam fire or have ignition issues - though I never did. Then I got the small primer arm for my Rock Chucker and I was doing both; finish seating the final .00?" with the Chucker. After doing this longer than anyone should I finally took measurements and emailed RCBS. They sent me a new rod that goes into the grip of the hand tool and no issues since.
I put the primers in a old bowl shaped tea cup . Cases are in a Lapua case box lid used as a loading tray . Its easy to slide a primer out of the cup ,
drop it in the primer tool , slip a case in the shell holder and prime . I find it very easy to do knowing which way the primer is oriented by feel , don't
need to look at individual primers . Haven't had a fail to fire ever , and have installed only one primer upside down in years …( sleep deprived )
Give the Sinclair a shot.
I haven't found much else that gives a repeatable, perfect fit.
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I haven't found much else that gives a repeatable, perfect fit.
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RCBS Hand primer II used the majority of the time. In rare cases I would use the press. I get a more consistent feel on the hand primer and feels safer, though ocassionally I'll use the press if I'm trying to cut down on added steps.
For .308 for my bolt guns I use the priming tool included with my Lee Classic Cast press. If I'm loading.308 for my M1A then I use the priming feature on my Dillon RL550B. I load .223 primarily on a Dillon XL650, and use the priming feature on that. Personally, I've never had a problem with primers not seating fully. Your mileage may vary- choose what works for you.
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