Do you prime off the press?

Do you prime on or off press?

  • On

    Votes: 38 26.2%
  • Off

    Votes: 71 49.0%
  • Both

    Votes: 36 24.8%

  • Total voters
    145
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I hand prime off the press using a RCBS hand primer.
It is much easier and I am able to get a better "feel" when seating primers.
Also, it allows me to get up and walk away from the bench, for awhile, when priming a batch.
 
I resize and prime as a separate step using my LCT with the indexing rod pulled out. The LCT has been the best priming tool I've used. Doesn't require much effort and allows me to sort out problem brass. I also like to take a look at each set primer.
 
I do both:

Pistol, .223, .308, & .300AAC are loaded on either a Dillon 650 or 550 and are primed on the press.

All else is primed off press using a RCBS bench priming tool. My "precision" .223 & .308 is also bench primed.
 
Loading rifle rounds on a single stage I sometimes prime on the press, more often by hand. Just bought a couple of the old style Lee hand primers on ebay, the "dangerous" round ones that work well.
Loading on a progressive, why would I not prime on the press?
 
I did not read ALL the posts. Personally I prime with a Lee hand primer (old round one) for 95% of my ammo. I think the "feel"/feedback when using a hand primer is better as well as being able to inspect the brass after. The other little bit (my WSM's and 500 S&W) I have no shell holder and they will not fit into the Lee tool anyway so I use a Ram Prime on top of my press. I load in batches and use a single stage and Turret from RCBS presently. I tried using the press supplied priming tools but did not like them. YMMV
 
Both, and then some.
Constantly varying 'what and how much' gets done 'when',,,

I have a small bench with (1) Inline press mount. (Quick Attach version)
A lot of my priming may depend on which press (LNL-AP or RockChucker***) is in the mount, what caliber it was used for last, and how many rounds am I working with.

*** My RockChucker was part of a kit that included the hand primer. I added a new caliber to the fleet recently, and could only find a Hornady shell holder that day. (RCBS Hand Primer doesn't work w/Hornady shell holders)

Anywho, I remembered the 'Chucker came with the little 'prime on the press' primer arm,,,, Never used it before,,,

Dug it out of the closet,,, Set it up,,,,

Placing those little primers on the pin requires both patience and a very steady hand,,, I found out quite quickly I have neither!!!!
 
I prime everything on the press. If I load that caliber on my LNL-AP it gets primed on there.
If I am handloading on a single stage they get primed on top of my Rockchucker II with an old Lee Auto Prime II.
My LNL primes perfectly so most everything I load get's primed on it.
 
I prime on a single stage Lee (Breechlock). Is the only way I've ever did it. The primer feeder attachment makes it really quick and easy. I've heard people say they like priming by hand because they can get a good feel of the primer seating. Once I got used to it I could get a good feel of the primer seeing also.
 
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Both

Hand Prime (mostly, Rifle Loads) when loading on a Single Stage RCBS Rock Chucker using the RCBS Hand Priming tool.

Press Prime (mostly, Pistol Loads) Progressive Press on Dillon xl650

If I strive for accuracy, I use single stage. For plinking and such, I use progressive.
 
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I load on a Lee Pro 1000, and the biggest problem I would run into was the shellplate getting out of time and primers tipping and then having to clean up spilled powder, try to reset the shellplate timing and clean up the primer situation and remove the cases that were being processed and start a fresh case. I bought a Lee universal decapping die and a hand primer and now prime off the press. I've also purchased a FART and can now have nice clean primer pockets as well since I tumble after decapping.

I'm now perfectly happy with the Lee Pro 1000 since I only load for hand guns currently so I'm fine with only 3 places for dies.

I'm curious who primes on and off press and, what type of press people are using to see which ones are more prone to priming issues.

The Mods have added "both" so feel free to change your vote.
 
Have tried hand priming but finally went to a RCBS tube priming operation a couple years ago. After some fine tuning on my part all is well and no pinching for fingers or other problems. Did buy a back-up set of tubes, just incase. :) Wish I had got one 40 years ago. :)
 
Been reloading for over 30 years and use a Rock Chucker press. When I purchased the Rock Chucker, I also purchased two Lee hand primers. I set one up for small primers and the other for large. Loved the system then and still love it today. I love the fact that using the hand primers is fast but a bigger bonus is that I can feel when the primer is fully seated. Wouldn't have it any other way. After well over 70,000 rounds never had a primer problem.
 
I don’t know about others but I find no difference with “feeling the primer being fully seated” whether I’m loading on my LNL or using the RCBS hand primer I have.
 
At least 13-14 years ago I had some issues with my Lee 1000 priming correctly, so I have primed with a Lee hand prime for years and years.

Takes a bit longer if course, but I’ve never had an issue since.

Someday I’ll find a deal on a Dillon 550 or a 650 and then I can think about using the press to prime again.

Stay safe.
 
I have hand primed for many, many years. The only time that I have primed with a press was when I was loading 40 S&W for IDPA. I used a friends Dillon then and would run off 200 or 300 rounds at a time. Don't shoot competition anymore so I am back to my hand primer.
 
I put primed cases in the case feeder of my progressive press. I don't prime during the loading because that extra step slows me down and draws my attention away from more critical operations.

I've experimented with several different ways to prime cases, but have not found one totally satisfactory yet. Priming on the progressive press without any other operations (simply producing primed cases) could work quite well because the case feeder and ejector are efficient at moving cases through the operation. Unfortunately, the Lee Safety Primer and the folding primer trays suck. The Safety Primer simply drops too many primers.

The folding primer trays don't hold very many small primers, they're very poor at flipping primers, and primers don't flow well in them.

The Lee bench primer itself is junk and it also uses the folding primer trays. The bench primer is prone to misfeeding primers (sideways) and the ram damages the clear plastic priming cartridge ruining it. Lee provides replacement parts free of charge (as does RCBS), but they won't provide a dozen the ensure minimal interruption of your work.

The RCBS Universal hand primer has a similar problem with the piston pushing primers into the white plastic insert guides. It also requires the use of force to both insert a shell and to remove it from the spring-tension shell holder. The primer tray is difficult to close without the plastic nib catching on the hole and slipping causing the tray to shake and a bunch of righted primers to flip as the lid is pressed on. The tray does work well once it's together with all the primers facing the right way, except on occasion the primers jam together and don't flow into the tool without shaking the tray.

The RCBS Hand Priming tool is the best I've used so far. I have not had the piston damage the plastic guide on it. It requires special shell holders, but they work well because you can easily slide a case in, prime it, and let it fall out without having to pull it out. So you can use your hand to grab the next case while the primed case is falling. It's faster and more efficient. The tray closes without jostling the primers, but it doesn't stay closed as positively. It tends to work loose and a primer will flip on edge or upside down, interrupting the workflow. The tray also seems even more prone to primers jamming together and not flowing into the tool without frequent shaking. Fortunately, the trays for the Hand and Universal models are interchangeable, though neither is perfect.

Tube or strip fed priming tools have an advantage in avoiding tray problems, but require additional procedures to load tubes or strips.

So the best I have used so far is the RCBS (non-universal) Hand Priming Tool using the Universal version tray.

The second best is using a progressive press with case feeder and ejector and putting the primers in the arm with my (nitrile-gloved) fingers. I do this without loading cartridges, just producing primed cases.
 
Depends on the round. I normally just hand prime. But for my 38spl and 44spl, the primers don't always seat all the way, so I hand prime, then push it again in the press to make sure they are firm. All other rounds are hand prime only.
 
I prime rifle rounds (270 & 7mm-08) with a Sinclair hand primer and pistol rounds (9mm, 10mm & 45ACP) on a Dillon 550..

You didn’t ask but I de-prime rifle on a Redding Big Boss II (during sizing step) and de-prime pistol on a little dedicated Lee press with de-priming die, as part of brass cleaning prep...

It’s time consuming but enables me to keep press area free of primer dust, etc..

Commo
 
For pistol, whether small or large primers, I load, including priming on the Hornady AP. For most rifle I prime off the press using either the very old RCBS hand primer, or the newer version of it.
For some rifle, I size on the RockChucker, prep the brass, then bring to the AP for priming, powder and bullet seating.
 
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