Bench or Press mounted priming tool?

Tim

Tim

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I've been priming rifle brass using a cheap Lee handheld. It works and I can 'feel' the primer seating properly. However, the tool it a bit awkward to use. The problem - to me - is worth a few bucks to fix, but not much more than that. Say, $50-75 max.

What are the choices for bench mounted or single stage press (Lee Classic) mounted priming tools?

Edit: I don't want to 'pick' up each primer individually to put in place. It needs to have some sort of tray I can dump 100 at a time on to and then feed mostly automatically.
 
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I use a Redding T7. It feeds with a tube, so yes, you have to pick up the primers one at a time...but it literally only takes 1 second per primer. I can pick up 50 primers in less than a minute with the pickup tube. Then priming with the press is easy and pretty fast and it doesn't wear out your hand from squeezing. I also like no having my hand so close to the primer while working with it.
 
Timfoilhat said:
I use a Redding T7. It feeds with a tube, so yes, you have to pick up the primers one at a time...but it literally only takes 1 second per primer. I can pick up 50 primers in less than a minute with the pickup tube. Then priming with the press is easy and pretty fast and it doesn't wear out your hand from squeezing. I also like no having my hand so close to the primer while working with it.
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I don't mind a pick up tube, I'm talking about using my fat clumsy fingers to set the primer on the stem by hand.
 
Bench mounted RCBS for me. Tried using the tubes but it goes easier for me loading one at a time. The handle can be tiring so I welded a big ole flat washer at the end making the force required to seat a primer spread over a bigger area of my palm.
 
I like my bench mounted RCBS. Do have to get the handle at just the right height or it gets tiring. And lee shell holders need beveling or the seater sometimes doesn't drop.
 
Tagged for interest: I use an RCBS hand held and have for thousands of rounds- its a PITA because it has a catch that seems to come and goes that throws primers left and right in the tray, sometimes it works like a champ, sometimes it takes forever to load 20 primers.....
I have same criteria of wanting to dump 100 and not touch them.
 
I'll be the odd one out and say that I like the press mounted Safety Prime on my Lee turret press. I had to shim the mount up just a little to get reliable feeding, but it works well for me.
 
I have an RCBS hand primer and use the priming system on the Dillon 550 as a "bench" mounted primer. For small batches, the hand primer wins. For bulk priming, the Dillon gets used.

The only drawback that I find to using my Dillon to prime is that I can get heavy-handed seating primers and have a higher "crush rate" due to unswaged cases, mis-seated primers, etc.
 
I like my RCBS bench mount as well. Tried the Hornady system on my single stage press and it would drop 3 or 4 primers sometimes. Tried the hand primer and it bothered the arthritis in my wrist so I tried the Lee bench press and got tired of breaking plastic parts and primers rotating.
 
Toprudder said:
I'll be the odd one out and say that I like the press mounted Safety Prime on my Lee turret press. I had to shim the mount up just a little to get reliable feeding, but it works well for me.
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you're not odd. 90% of the time I use my LCT to prime pistol and some rifle rounds (.223 and .300blk) and it just works. I have the old school round safety prime and I am going to cry a little when it finally cracks or breaks. Then I'll probably get a Dillon XL750 lol
 
FYI you can replace the little spring in the safety prime with a short length of guitar string. I gave mine a second life that way.
 
Ikarus1 said:
you're not odd. 90% of the time I use my LCT to prime pistol and some rifle rounds (.223 and .300blk) and it just works. I have the old school round safety prime and I am going to cry a little when it finally cracks or breaks. Then I'll probably get a Dillon XL750 lol
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Yep, mine are the older round ones, too. The only real problem I have, though, is getting the last couple of primers out, I typically have to do those by hand.
 
Toprudder said:
Yep, mine are the older round ones, too. The only real problem I have, though, is getting the last couple of primers out, I typically have to do those by hand.
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Mine acts the same. Usually the last 2. When I try to prime and it doesn't come out I just add another 100 so I no touching the primers from box to boom. The old style Lee Safety prime is so much better than tubes IMO. And mine has worked 100% right out of the box.
 
I like the hand held over any others. Just the way I load I guess but ive tried the tubes and the press mounted arms and didn't like either. All that stuff is removed from my 5 presses and bagged and put away. And I try to load something every day.
 
I've never used a hand primer, nor a bench mounted primer. Changing small primers for large primers, and back, only a small adjustment is needed on my Dillon SDB. After many adjustments on the Lee Classic Turret, I do occasionally have a dropped primer. Neither is 100%, 100% of the time. Good enough for me.
 
Tim said:
I've been priming rifle brass using a cheap Lee handheld. It works and I can 'feel' the primer seating properly. However, the tool it a bit awkward to use. The problem - to me - is worth a few bucks to fix, but not much more than that. Say, $50-75 max.

What are the choices for bench mounted or single stage press (Lee Classic) mounted priming tools?

Edit: I don't want to 'pick' up each primer individually to put in place. It needs to have some sort of tray I can dump 100 at a time on to and then feed mostly automatically.
Click to expand...
@Tim , I’ve got a new Lee Auto Prime II that you’re welcome to. Had it for years and will never use it.
 
303hunter said:
@Tim , I’ve got a new Lee Auto Prime II that you’re welcome to. Had it for years and will never use it.
Click to expand...

That seems like a great piece of gear! Shoot me a PM with price and pay info.
 
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