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We're thinking there must be a better way to prime cartridges. Our experience to date is with a RCBS primer, which we've used to prime about 1000 cases, and a Lee primer, with which we have primed about 200. Both work on the same principle, ie squeeze a pawdle to push a ram upwards, collect a primer form a tray and push it into the primer pocket of a cartridge. The RCBS primer tool had a better feel to it, allowing us more easily to sense the primer going into the pocket, but both have had failures. Too many for our liking - about 1 per hundred 'loads'. Occasionally a primer seems to enter the pocket at an angle, jams and becomes stuck part way in. The cartridge then can't be removed and the tool has to be dismantles to free the cartridge. The RCBS also seems to sometimes allow a primer to stick on top of the ram before it reaches the case, and a double feed then seems to occur.

Has anyone experience using one of the bench mounted primer presses from Lee or RCBS ? Any other recommendations ?

I use one of these things most of the time:



I have made a couple of minor modifications to suit my own needs and I use a separate tray flipper to settle the primers in the correct orientation and pour them into the 'magazine' Once set up I can prime brass quickly and consistently.

I use the older Lee round primer trays from the Safety primer feed system with my RCBS Universal Hand Primer, perfect fit, flip primers better than the RCBS square tray and never had a mis-fed primer.

http://www.titanreloading.com/service-p ... prime-tray

The new Lee triangular folding primer trays are what can only be politely describe as "complete pants"

Ovenpaa wrote:I use one of these things most of the time:



I have made a couple of minor modifications to suit my own needs and I use a separate tray flipper to settle the primers in the correct orientation and pour them into the 'magazine' Once set up I can prime brass quickly and consistently.

What is it ?

I've never had a problem with my RCBS hand primer over thousands and thousands of rounds. Are you sure you're using the correct ram? It comes with 2 sizes depending which sized primers you're using.

meles meles wrote:We're thinking there must be a better way to prime cartridges.
...
Any other recommendations ?

One of these:




Then one of these:



..

HALODIN wrote:I've never had a problem with my RCBS hand primer over thousands and thousands of rounds. Are you sure you're using the correct ram? It comes with 2 sizes depending which sized primers you're using.

I have never had an issue with the rcbs either, UNLESS, the primer pockets still have crimp left. But thats a prep problem not the primer tool. Works well from 4.6x30 up to 338LM without any extra shell holders etc.

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Oh yes ooman, we're using the correct ram (we're terrified of using the smaller one by mistake and setting summat off) and the cases don't have a crimp. Even when the tool loads a primer correctly, which is most of the time (but 'most of the time' isn't good enough when we have explosives in our paws) it doesn't feel smooth. We can't see any burrs or projections in the tool that could be a problem.

This might sound daft, but have you got the ram the right way round? One side is flat the other convex.