Benefits of hand priming vs priming on the press

[LiveLife]

Over the years, many people have asked why I hand prime even though I have a progressive press that has primer feed attachment.

I use Lee Pro 1000 progressive press and the primer feed attachment has been a problem with me from time to time. I still have primer feed attachments on both Pro 1000 and use them from time to time - I find that as long as the feed ramp is kept clean and filled with primers, I get consistent priming.

For me, hand priming is not just to eliminate this issue.

When I primed on the press, I noticed on some cases deeper firing pin indentations on the primer cups - I used to think this was caused by inconsistent powder charge. Also, as I primed on the down stroke, I noticed different pressure it took to seat some primers, but as long as the primers went in, I didn't care why.

When I started hand priming, I was immediately able to tell the loose primer pockets due to very little effort needed to seat the primer (almost no resistance). The different indentation depth marks may be caused by loose primer pockets and not by inconsistent powder charges as my charge-to-charge variance is less than 0.1 grain. And if the primer pocket is really loose, the primer will flatten out to the bottom of the case and I have seen Glock firing pins puncture the primer cup causing hot gas to leak out of the hole.

This decreases the chamber pressure and the slide won't cycle fully causing stove piping of the spent case on mild loads. This will also alter the accuracy of your shot groups. For match shooting, any stoppage and/or decrease in shot group (double tap) accuracy is a huge issue.

This is the reason why I hand prime now and mark loose primer pockets with permanent marker. The loose primer pocket cases are tossed for scrap after shooting when I sort cases by caliber. They are not used for match shooting, just for range practice.

If you prime cases on the press, you won't notice this as much and loose primer pockets will keep getting looser unless you stop and mark your case bottoms. I have tried to do this on the progressive press, but it took too much time to stop, disengage the shell plate to pull case out to mark and put the case back. It really disrupts the "rhythm" of progressive reloading.

I have shared this with other match shooters over the years and this is the primary reason why we all hand prime our cases now. Of course, hand priming also absolutely eliminates the frustration over the primer feed on the progressive press and wasted primers from crushing, dimpling and priming upside down.

 

[rcmodel]

Loose or tight pockets are much easier to detect.

I had AR-15 slam-fires when I used to crush them in with a press.
Then in 1970 something, I bought an RCBS hand priming tool and never had another one.

rc

 

[jmortimer]

Hand priming gives you a better "feel" also, you can prime anywhere you want - not stuck at the bench.

 

[Lee Roder]

Don't hate me but I find it more relaxing, and in the end actually faster. Using the priming arm on my press, I can't seem to seat more than 9 out of 10 primers deep enough. Feel isn't as good so I end up going over them all again with my K&M hand tool anyway.

 

[Walkalong]

Of course, hand priming also absolutely eliminates the frustration over the primer feed on the progressive press

Amen, plus all the reasons hand priming is better all around.

 

[Iron Sight]

Hand priming is the only way I have been able to achieve satisfactory primer depth. (Hornady progressive and a Lyman Turret.) Quit using any automatic systems very early in reloading (4 years) they are too frustrating. RCBS Universal works best for me vs Lee and Hornady hand primers.

 

[Offfhand]

Bottom line: Primer seating attachments should not even be allowed on single stage loading presses. Should always be done seperately with a hand tool.

 

[Seismic Sam]

Yup. I bought one of the Lee Autoprimers back when they first came out about 30 years ago, and I have never looked back. Primer tubes are a pain in the butt to fill, and in the time it takes to put 100 primers in tubes you can dump 100 primers into an Autoprimer and be DONE with priming before you could even get the filled tubes in your press. Plus you can prime cases in front of the TV instead of your reloading bench in the basement. Yes, there are Dillon automatic primers tube fillers, if you have a spare $265 to spend on one of these toys.

And the point about picking up loose primer pockets is the real deal breaker. Knowing when you cases are old and need to be retired (just like me!!) is pretty much priceless, if you look at what could happen if you don't pick up on this problem beforehand.

 

[JimKirk]

I prime on the Forster CoAx press, it is the only press that has a decent priming system, it always seat .005 below flush. Of course I do my reloading in stages, I may size a 100 or 1000 brass today, tomorrow I may prime those 10 or 1000. Next time I'll charge and seat the bullets. If I need something in a hurry I will do all the steps at one setting. I go to the shop to get away from the house. Just today, I charged and seat some bullets in some 44 mag cases that have been primed for two years, just decided to do it.

Jimmy K

 

[Doug b]

+1 JimKirk I couldn't agree more.I'm new to the Forster only been using it a couple of years.I've tried other priming systems over the past 30 or so years, this system beats them all and it works at my speed.

 

[Steve in PA]

19 years of using the RCBS primer attachment for my Rock Chucker, never had an issue or problem. I can easily tell when the primer pocket is too loose. AR's, Garands, M1 Carbines......handgun cartridges......I reload for all of them.

 

[GMFWoodchuck]

I don't have a hand primer. The one on my boss press seems fine to me. No problems yet. They always seat fine and flush.

I suppose I'll get one someday, but I have other things to purchase first.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I also hand prime. I bought a RCBS and a Hornady hand primer. Since i load more small primers, i use the Hornady for them and the RCBS for the large. I just like the feel better with the Hornady.

 

[BullRunBear]

I prep case in stages, whether it's 5 or 500. I use 2 Lee hand priming tools: one for small primers and one for large. I prefer the "feel" they provide and I can prime cases while listening to a ball game or a book on tape. When I sit down at the press all that's left to do is flare the mouth, charge with powder and seat the bullet. If I used a fully progressive press and had to load a thousand rounds a week,which I don't, I might check out an automatic primer but I like the relaxing aspect of hand priming.

Jeff

 

[ric426]

I tried the priming system on my Lee Pro 1000 and the next day bought a hand primer. I too like the feel and can tell when there's a loose pocket. The problem is I have arthritis in my hands and after about 5 minutes of priming my hand starts to hurt. I've switched to an Auto Prime II on a single stage press and if I'm paying attention, I can still tell when there's a loose pocket. It's a little fussy about feeding the primers compared to the hand tool, but if I keep an eye on it I can still work at a good speed.

This brings to mind a somewhat related question. I had sorted and was decapping a bunch of .38 Spl cases that were given to me. I noticed a bunch of them (mostly W-W headstamps) that took some extra effort to decap. Are these likely to be tighter pockets than normal or was it caused by something else? I'm wondering if I should mark those cases and see how they are when repriming them, discard them or separate them into their own batch.

 

[LiveLife]

They always seat fine and flush.

Primers should actually seat slightly below flush.

When I deprimed and primed on the progressive press, I noticed that if there was a dirty primer pocket full of crud/fouling/gunk, I had harder time seating the primer and this fouling build up would keep the primer from being seated to the right depth - slightly below flush.

With the progressive press, even if there are dirty primer pockets, the cases move to the next station with the person reloading unable to inspect the primer pocket. Since the primer pockets never get checked and/or cleaned out, the fouling/crud/gunk buildup continues reload after reload - and the primer gets harder and harder to seat.

Depriming/sizing separately and hand priming allows you to inspect the primer pockets. As I hand prime, I often quickly glance at the primer pocket and clean any excessively dirty primer pockets (1 quick twist of Lee primer pocket cleaner does the job).

Clean primer pockets will allow the new primers to seat slightly below flush.

I noticed a bunch of them (mostly W-W headstamps) that took some extra effort to decap. Are these likely to be tighter pockets than normal or was it caused by something else?

ric426, are you depriming/resizing at the same station or just depriming? If you are doing both at the same station, the extra effort your are feeling is the resizing of the spent case, not decapping the spent primer.

 

[ric426]

ric426, are you depriming/resizing at the same station or just depriming? If you are doing both at the same station, the extra effort your are feeling is the resizing of the spent case, not decapping the spent primer.

Nope, just depriming. I prefer to clean the cases before sizing. I only noticed the tighter primers on about 5-10% of the cases. When I primed the batch of Winchester cases with the hand primer a little while ago, I didn't notice that any seemed tighter, so I'm not going worry about it.

After saying that I was switching from the Lee hand primer to the press mounted Auto Prime II, I'm going to eat my words. After dealing with the typical feed issues and at least 5 crunched primers in the first 100, I'm back on the hand primer. It's faster and a lot less hassle, plus you can feel the primer seating better.

 

[EddieNFL]

Hand priming gives you a better "feel" also...

I've heard a couple guys claim they can achieve the same feel on the press as with a hand tool. I've used both methods for...a long time and let's just say I'm from Missouri.

 

[LiveLife]

ric426, could these cases have been military crimped primer pockets? Since I size/deprime at the same station, I often don't feel the military crimps. I sometimes catch them when I sort by caliber and certainly when I hand prime (I used to get frustrated with military crimped cases on the progressive, but not anymore - 2-3 turns of Lee chamfer tool on the fly and I am back to hand priming cases).

The problem is I have arthritis in my hands and after about 5 minutes of priming my hand starts to hurt.

Have you considered using a bench mounted priming tool? I wonder if you can fashion a mount with lever for the hand priming tool ...

 

[ric426]

Have you considered using a bench mounted priming tool? I wonder if you can fashion a mount with lever for the hand priming tool ...

Yeah, that's what the Auto Prime II is. I have it mounted on a single stage Lee press. I've altered my technique with the hand primer so that as I'm squeezing wwith my left hand I also push the tool into my left hand with my right. I did about 500 today and it works well enough. I can still type...

 

[LiveLife]

Actually, I was thinking about something like this (Sorry about the crude drawing). When I am hand priming 500-1000 cases, it does tire out my thumbs.

For the fancier one on the left, I was thinking about making a quick release mount to go on top of the bench with modified lever made out of bent rod with a ball end. For the more economy model on the right, I was thinking about using two pipe clamps padded with dense foam pads to mount the hand primer to the bench. I am working on quick detachment of the hand primer for reloading the primer tray.

This way you can still have the "feel" of hand priming but without the sore thumbs. I can post pictures once I get one fabricated/tack welded together.

The best part? You won't be able to break the steel rod lever. I feel sorry for those poor primers already - Boy, are they gonna get the "rock and a hard press" feeling

 

[b78-22250]

I think the quote is, God made man Sam Colt made them equal.

 

[INSULATION TIM]

Interesting thread. I have been using a Lee single stage press with good results and hand prime with their gadget. That being said, I went a bought a Dillon 550 Progressive press and spent this weekend setting it up. I just cannot get the Auto Primer to work properly.

I like the idea of a progressive, but how can I make it work if I skip the priming portion? I still need to deprime the spent cartridge.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I have a Hornady progressive and single stage and really dont have many problems priming with either. I like the hand primer for detecting loose pockets.

 

[ric426]

Actually, I was thinking about something like this (Sorry about the crude drawing).

I have a question about your design. How would you load it with more primers with the handle strapped to the bench?

When I am hand priming 500-1000 cases, it does tire out my thumbs.

I had to change my grip. My thumbs wouldn't make it through the first 100 primers. I added some padding to the lever and hold it with the lever in in my palm. That way I'm using more of my hand to squeeze and I can use the other hand to push it into the gripping hand as an assist. Necessity is a mother and all that...
Who knows, maybe I'll build up some grip strength in the process.