I am in need of a new hand priming tool and want to know which ones you guys have tried and your likes and dislikes of them. We can leave Lee out of the conversation. Its the one I'm replacing and I won't be buying another. The RCBS universal caught my eye and so did the Hornady. What do you guys think?

Sorry you had bad luck with the Lee, I've been using a couple for a lot of years. Broke the lever on one last year after tens of thousands of primers and Lee sent me a new one free when I called them.

I didn't like the Hornedy one, used it for a month and it was such a pain changing around shell holders and the plastic primer guides that I sold it. The new RCBS handprimer looks good, but it's basically a Lee copy. Let us know what you end up with.

I like the RCBS hand primer. Had one for years and it worked without a hitch. -- Mykal

I have a little bench mounted rcbs primer have used for years, the only one I havent had a problem with

I have 2 RCBS strip hand primers,1 set up for large the other set up for small primers and they work great. You can buy the tool to refill the used strips and you can put what ever primer you what in them. Just label them with what you put in. I would not be without them there fast easy to use and you can do 25 rounds a strip or attach the next strip to the one your using for a constant strip. No shell holders to mess with it has a one size fits all type set up in it.


Hoeram :D

I use the Lee and have for years, have three of them. No problems. I also have the Hornady; it is a pain to change shellholders so I leave one in it for .44s.
Pete

Agree on the RCBS Universal hand primer tool. It's the one I'd buy if looking for another. Have both the Lee and the older RCBS. Both have their problems. Lee shell holders for it have excessive slop and allows the case to be pushed up in it. The RCBS is sticky in travel of the ram to pick up another primer - have to use a small punch to push it down all the way.

I like the RCBS Universal hand primer with the square tray. The tray detaches easily and lays flat on the bench for loading. It is large enough to take an entire factory sleeve laying flat inside it. It will hold two hundred primers easily. It has a sliding gate to close off the chute to avoid spilling primers. The chute is on the corner where it feeds more reliably than my Lee did from the side of the circular tray. The universal shell holder is very nice. If there is anything to complain about, it would be that it is not the easiest to change from small to large primer punch, because the included "socket wrench" does not fit well. I bought a second one so I could keep one set up for each primer size. The trays are interchangeable, so I can load up two trays of large primers and keep priming for a long while.

Hope this helps,

Andy

Kdub--had the same problem with mine and fixed it fairly easily. If I remember correctly I used either a numbered drill bit or had a sharp reamer the correct size and chucked it in a drill and just burnished the plastic to make it smooth and allow the plunger freedom of movement. The second item was some of my early shell holders was not beveled enough on the bottom and when seated in the primer frame cause distortion in the plastic where the plunger slide through. By beveling the bottom of the shell holder more it relieved the distortion being caused in the plastic. They can be beveled quite easily by chucking them in a drill or drill press and using a dremel with grind stone to deepen the depth of bevel. After battling this problem for some time one day I modified all my shell holders to about the same degree. Have noticed the new RCBS shell holders have the bevel deep enough so suspect this was a problem from the beginning.

I have both old and new RCBS hand priming tool. With my permenant residence and work residence 300 miles apart, I had to acquire additional reloading equipment this past couple years. The new priming tool was one and its a much welcome relief with the universal shell holder. I agree with BigJakeJ1s about changing primer sizes. This has to be one of the most stupidly contrived and engineered ideas to come out of Oroville CA. Lots of blue smoke the first time I had to change sizes.

If money is no object, get the sinclair....it uses the Lee holders....I have been using a Lee for ten years...and only recently had to replace the small primer tray.....but....if I buy another it will be the Sinclair

Aren't the Sinclairs single feed tools, meaning you have to place each primer in the tool by hand. I found the k&m tool which is a cheaper copy of the Sinclair but I don't want to have to feed one at a time.

If memory serves the Sinclair is a single primer tool--you must load each primer by hand before seating in the case. Not practical for someone who shoots varmits or one of the other disciples that use lots of ammo. Its geared more to the bench rest shooters.

That's what I thought. I do all my precision priming on my Co-ax press and mainly use the hand primer for large batches of pistol stuff and would like a auto feed design.

Lee for me. Cheep and works. I probably will just get another if this one breaks even though I am sure they would fix it or send me another. Great tool.

I would get the newer RCBS if I was shopping today. Wish I had gotten one instead of the POS Lee.

I bought the RCBS APS Hand Priming Tool and never looked back. This thing works beautifuly. The strips feed perfectly and you never have to touch a primer. The shellholder is universal, and will work on .32 ACP, up to .460 Weatherby. The strips can be reused over and over. I also bought the strip loader, and then you can load any brand of primer you want. Bill T.

Have used this tool for years. I broke one and got a replacement free. Take care...
Oberndorf

I'm going back to the Lee. I've tried the newer RCBS with the round trays for several thousand rounds, and I just don't like how it seats, it'll flip 'em upside down occaisionally, and when you have a problem, it's an engineering disassembly. So back to the foolproof Lee and a sore thumb.

I have several different priming toolsthat I bought over the years.
Now,all my priming is done with the new RCBS ATB tool.
Loading the strips is not fun,but can be done at times when time is aailable.
Actually priming the cases is as easy as it gets.
Frank

It depends on the purpose. I disassembled and cleaned out my old Lee Autoprime and lubed it with ceramic grease and it works pretty well for sitting in front of the TV and priming a bunch of pistol cases. The lubrication made a big difference, and I'm sure a moly grease or a Teflon grease would have worked fine, too, so you should try that if your thumb is sore.

For rifle, I use the Forster Bonanza Co-ax press priming tool for rounds that will feed semi-auto. For long-range or other precision, I use the K&M Markel tool, which you can loosen the shell holder threads on until you get just the touch-down feel you want. I like it better than the Sinclair tool for that feature, and the cost is 60% lower. Like the Sinclair and the one on the Co-ax press, it is a one-at-a-time tool. No tray. If you worry about touching primers (I don't) you'll you need to wear a rubber glove on your primer handling hand.

I bought the RCBS APS Hand Priming Tool and never looked back. This thing works beautifuly. The strips feed perfectly and you never have to touch a primer. The shellholder is universal, and will work on .32 ACP, up to .460 Weatherby. The strips can be reused over and over. I also bought the strip loader, and then you can load any brand of primer you want. Bill T.
Roger that! This RCBS priming tool would be high on my list of things to buy.

Have you ever tried a Lee Ram-Prime? It's super low cost, and replaced my RCBS bench tool for low volume priming, and my auto prime is the answer to more than 20 cases at a time.

I've had very good luck with Lee products over the years.

Well, you eliminated the only priming tools I've been totally satisified with for some 20 years or so. But, with so many hating the Lee tools perhaps I've been missing something anyway. ???? :D

I have the lee hand primer, the rcbs hand primer (not the strip model) & a lee autoprime 2. I use the autoprime 2 most of the time. It is mounted on a dedicated & inexpensive lee 'c' press. The lee hand tool hurts my thumb after awhile when tight primer pockets are encountered on some lots of new brass. The autoprime 2 is not perfect (primers can 'log jam' in the tray) but I like it better than hand priming. I have done a lot of hand priming...

Perfection has yet to be achieved in priming tools (& anything else for that matter) - IMO.

I have used the lee primer for a number of years and just ordered the RCBS. I am still going to use the Lee for my small rifles and the RCBS for the large.
For the price Lee is great but I do believe that RCBS builds a better product.
That is just my opinion though.

I had a thread on this subject a month or two ago. I tried them all. Very disappointed with the older RCBS. Lee; okay but not the best. I bought the new Hornady.



They have addressed the issue of changing shell holders. much better now on the new model. They give you 2 primer trays. One for RCBS shell holders the other for other shell holders. The only negative is the cover is a little hard to seat and the shell holder moves a little during priming, causing you to move it every once in a while. I still like it, though.

I would think the RCBS APS primer tool would be the only other tool I would consider. I threw the first RCBS hand priming tool in the garbage. Too much of a hassle changing primer sizes and it was not dependable.

I spent a lot of money until I got the new Hornady.