Best Value Hand Primer?

[Dickieray]

My Lee hand held primer is about worn out (never worked really well with small pistol primers) and I need a replacement. In your opinion.....which one is the best VALUE for the $ on the market today? Why

 

[mallc]

RCBS Unviersal

Better fit and ergonomics. Does not require shell holders and is well priced.

Scott

 

[Walkalong]

I had a Lee, and liked it fine, but it took seperate type shellholders, and the tray full of primers is staring you right in the face. In the unlikely, but possible, event they went off, that would be bad. I bought an RCBS and have been using it around twenty years. The plastic inserts finally got worn and loose. I called RCBS to order new ones and they are sending them free of charge.

 

[Historian]

I bought an RCBS Universal and haven't looked back. Easy to use with just about any caliber you want.

Historian

 

[vzwnnj]

I have the RCBS...works great

 

[jerkface11]

RCBS is head and shoulders above the Lee.

 

[Seafarer12]

Another vote for the RCBS Universal. No shell plates, works great.

 

[ir3e971]

I will echo other sentiments and say that after I broke my Lee tool, I went with the RCBS Universal Priming Tool. I have been very happy with the change.

Value wise I would say the extra few dollars is worth the frustration later.

 

[.38 Special]

RCBS universal.

 

[Dickieray]

Thanks Guys! It seems to be universal..........I mean unanimus

 

[hershey]

if you only need one then that is great, but i have about as many lee's as there are type of primers, i/e i keep one set up for each application, because lee's are so inexpensive, that kinda makes me like the lee's, but if i only owned just one it would not be a lee, or at least when i replaced the first one it wouldn't be another lee.

 

[FullEffect1911]

I haven't tried RCBS's universal hand prime, because I've had no need. I like the Lee hand priming tool a lot.

 

[Jenrick]

Used my Lee quiet a bit since I started reloading, never had any major problems with it. The only downside is needing to get a separate set of shellholders. I just looked around and got mine for about $10 bucks. Works very well for what you pay for it.

-Jenrick

 

[ljnowell]

I have a lee that is about 15 years old. Probably primed about 10K cases over the years (not by me). I bought a $2.40 shellholder for my .45 and started using it. Still solid, still does the job well. Only time it ever messed up is when I didnt pay attention to the orientation of the primers and installed one upside down. My fault, not the primer tool. Cheap, works good.

 

[Racinbob]

I feel the RCBS primer is miles ahead of the Lee and I love Lee equipment. I first tried it with Lee shell holders and wasn't impressed. On a hunch that the taper on the holder was different I went ahead and bought RCBS shell holders. A world of difference. Now I wish I'd have gone with the universal based on what I've read here. But I'll stick with what I've got since I have all the shell holders I need and it works great.

 

[Dean Williams]

I don't guess I'll ever know how good an RCBS unit is. I've had a Lee for nearly two decades and it's not showing any signs of wearing out. It's always worked flawlessly.

 

[Matt Dillon]

+1 on the Lee primer - I've got two - one for small primers and one for large primers. I have even used it with Berdan primers.

 

[FullEffect1911]

I think that's very decisive, RCBS universal or Lee.

Pick one of those and you'll be a happy camper.

 

[mallc]

How many of you guys...

...work for LEE???

Scott

 

[ljnowell]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...work for LEE???

Scott

nope, I just cant afford to spend money that I dont have to.

 

[Redhat]

I have a Lee...works fine too!

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Racinbob,

RCBS sells the square tray upgrade for the original hand primer. You don't get the universal shell holder, but you do get a larger tray that is easier to load, and feeds better from the corner than round trays feed. Pretty cheap IIRC.

I started with a Lee hand primer, but the thumb action was giving me problems when I would prime more than a hundred or so at a time.

I switched to the RCBS Universal, and am glad I did. I kept the Lee for small primers for a while, since I don't load as much of them as I do large primers. Then my wife bought me a second Universal, and now I keep one set up for each size. The nice thing about the two tools is their trays are universal, so I can load two trays with 200 large primers each, then go sit in my easy chair and prime cases for a while. My thumb would have fallen off If I tried 400 in a sitting with the Lee. I also like that the universal tray slips out of the handle so that they can be stored more easily and compactly. Laying the tray flat on the table makes it easier to load too.

Since I have a co-ax press that does not use shell holders, having a hand primer that also doesn't use them helps a lot.

Andy

 

[VegasOPM]

The Lee has worked for me for a long time. I don't do much hand priming though. I got it as part of the Anniversary kit 15+ years ago.

 

[Inspector3711]

Hornady... Hands down, the best. I've used Lee and RCBS, both models.

 

[williamthedog]

LEE
it has worked flawlessly for years.
how many of you guys work for RCBS?