hand primer vs press

[coondogger]

Being new to reloading, I have to ask. Which is safer and more accurate, to prime off the press, or to use a hand primer? Also, I'm talking about a single stage press, for the purpose of the question.

 

[dave333]

As long as you don't force something I would say safety wise it would be a wash. When you move to progressive presses your chance for a mishap goes up slightly, but honestly, as long as you are being careful and not forcing things the risk of detonation is extremely low. I have had a few primers detonate on me over the years, very few mind you, and other than a couple plastic priming pieces that got broken no real damage has ever occurred. Best practice is to wear safety glasses any time you are messing with explosive compounds.

Many guys, even with progressive presses, prefer to hand prime so I guess that would be more "accurate" but I can't imagine a decent single stage press wouldn't be just as good. Probably get a touch better feel by hand priming I guess.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I like to prime on top of the press and set up my press so the ram is topped out when my primers are where I want them.
When I started reloading so many years ago I made this die out of old Lyman Jr turret press parts and it worked well. I machined out the body of it to fit the Lyman shell holder and machined out the plunger to sit in the ram like shell holders do.
But I was still touching all my primers.

So I finally bought a Lee Auto Prime II that had the flip tray and used it for years. It's sad they discontinued it. I never could figure out why.

It worked the same way mine did but I didn't have to touch the primers. Again, it's discontinued.
With my progressive Hornady press I prime 9mms on the press because of the thousands at a time I load on it. It does really well and I'm still not touching the primers.
If I had to start over and didn't have the Auto Prime II, I would be using a hand priming tool, I still wouldn't be touching each primer like when you prime on a single stage and I would learn the feel of how the primers are going into the cases and strengthen my hands at the same time. That can only help with using handguns. And they are auto feed like the Auto Prime above is
I have never bought one because I went the route I illustrated above but anything to keep you from touching the primers is a plus in my book.

 

[Random 8]

I use a Lee hand primer for small pistol only, as I tend to shoot this in volume and I can sit down and batch prime several hundred in front of the TV. For all rifle loads, and the small amount of large pistol I shoot, I use a Lyman ram priming system. You set the press so the handle bottoms out at the end of the stroke setting your primer depth. You will need to readjust this for different headstamps, sometimes different batches of the same stamp of cases, as well as different brands/types of primers. I shoot a significant amount of ammo through 2 semi-autos (AR-15 and M1 Garand) where a high primer would be extremely dangerous so this gives me piece of mind that all my primers are seated consistently below flush. I still give each one a "touch test" to confirm. I also feel this method lends itself to greater consistency in primer seating depth which may aid in accuracy.

 

[Blue68f100]

If done right there is not bad way. I press prime, always have since I started hand loading in the 70's. I have a very old Lee hand primer tool. The only time I use it us to check a primer I suspect may be high. It takes a little more time to develop the feel when priming on a press. The only true seating depth is when the primer bottoms out and preloads the anvil. You have a better chance of crushing a primer with a hand priming tool vs a press that seats primers on the down stroke.

 

[daboone]

The sadly discontinued Lee APII is a great press priming tool. It was a major step up from the Herters press priming arm. Gotta admit I didn't use the APII anymore after I got the RCBS bench primer.

 

[243winxb]

A Ram Prime Unit made by RCBS or Lee. I use RCBS.. Some primers will require a lot of force to seat.

Set up- 1. Ram fully extended. May not seat all primers fully.
2. The primer should be seated by feel and ram should not be fully extended.

Seat same primer 2 times. Turn primed case 180 degrees, seat again. Slop in some shell holders will allow the case to tilt on seating.

 

[jmorris]

Which is safer and more accurate

Depends, what tools are you using?

I have little exposure (never even touch one) to any danger using a Dillon primer tube filler, transferring primers from the filler to a 1050 primer tube and then set the depth I want them seated to with an Allen wrench so all are seated to the same depth.

At the opposite end of the spectrum you can get a Lee Classic loader and drive them in with a hammer, after handling every one.

Lot of methods that work fine for most of us In between the two.

 

[Skgreen]

Which is safer and more accurate, to prime off the press, or to use a hand primer? Also, I'm talking about a single stage press, for the purpose of the question.

Appears many will futz over seating depth, but as Blue mentions above, there is really only 1 true depth.
The only primer I've ever detonated during the reloading process occurred when using a hand primer

Some like to perform as many steps as possible each time they slide a piece of brass into the press.
Some like to break everything down into as many separate steps as possible.
If you're paying attention, either way will get you there just fine.

 

[Walkalong]

If you're paying attention, either way will get you there just fine.

Agreed.

 

[Iroquois]

I prefer to hand prime with the RCBS hand priming tool. I have never had a primer go off when seating them, over 25 years of reloading. It may be a little slower, but it allows me to seat them at the same depth with the same force. I don’t have to set up or disassemble anything on my press either. It will be slower if you load high volume, but I very rarely load more than 100 rounds of anything in both rifle and pistol. Make sure your primer pockets are clean and you should not experience any issues seating. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[cfullgraf]

I prefer to hand prime versus priming on my progressive presses. In part, it is due to priming by hand tools since 1980, Progressive presses are a relatively new addition to my reloading room. I'm just more comfortable with hand priming.

I can't get my progressive press priming systems to be as reliable as I want, 100% would be good. Since there is no way to inspect the primer before dropping the powder charge, it causes more re-work than necessary for me.

At least with the hand primer, I can check each primer after seating and correct any problems on the spot.

Lots of folks prime on their progressives and do just fine from their standpoint. I have never used a top end press like a Dillon 1050.

As long as you get good, consistent priming, and either system can provide that, it really does not matter which you use.

I find other benefits from separating the resizing process from the loading process and I still load more ammunition in a short amount of time than I have time to shoot. I'm a happy reloader.

 

[coondogger]

At least with the hand primer, I can check each primer after seating and correct any problems on the spot.

That's a good point which I hadn't even thought of.

 

[cheygriz]

On my Dillons, I prime on the press.

On the rare occasion that I use my single stage, I prime with my RCBS bench mounted priming tool.

 

[Allen One1]

Use what you have. You can see by the responses that either way will get the job done. The press is more stable, the hand primer is more portable. If you start loading higher volume and move to a progressive then you automatically have an additional option. If you are looking for more accurate start by uniforming you primer pockets this will give the primer a better surface to seat against.

 

[PWC]

I only have a single stage press and have never primed any other way. I've heard others say they ha e more 'feel' with dand priming. I don't know what that is, but I can feel the premer slide in and take the interference fit of the pocket and bottom out. I alwayz run my finger over the primer to feel that it is flush or below the case head.

I've heard it said that priming on the press doesn't have the feel and you are more apt to crudh the primer because of the press's mechanical advantage but if you go slow at first you will develop a 'feel' for the press. Never had a detonation, and the only primers I've crushed are from not getting the mil crimp completely removed

 

[dh1633pm]

I find using the press to prime is more time consuming. I use a hand press which allows me to sit about anywhere and not have to stand next to the press. I don't know about feel even with the hand press.

 

[doubleh]

I've been using a hand priming tool forever---almost. It saves a lot of wasted motion, time, and allows you to really feel when you have a loose primer pocket.

 

[cheygriz]

Whether or not you uniform pockets, hand prime, press prime, etc., the single most important thing is that the primer "bottom out" in the pocket.

I uniform pockets in my varmint loads and rifle target loads. In my experience, it's works well in very accurate weapons (3/4 MOA or less) but doesn't really help in normal rifles. YMMV!

 

[old heeler]

I hand primer on my hunting rifles. Varmint rifles if I load more on volume 200/300rds, I'll use RCBS bench priming tool and check each primer. Either way I keep it separate and I don't load pistols. I use K&M and easy to set up

http://kmshooting.com/kmshooting/media/pdf/11.pdf

 

[.308 Norma]

Whether or not you uniform pockets, hand prime, press prime, etc., the single most important thing is that the primer "bottom out" in the pocket.

This^

I use a hand press which allows me to sit about anywhere and not have to stand next to the press.

Actually, I like to sit in the living room in front of the TV while priming cases - inspect them carefully (hold the tray up and look for high primers) afterwards of course.

Being new to reloading

Make sure and get yourself one of those inexpensive primer turner trays, coondogger. It will save you countless hours of frustration in turning all your primers right side up.

 

[labnoti]

The only tools that I know of that offer more precision don't involve a primer feeder. They would be the KMS hand priming tool, Sinclair, and 21st Century. The KMS has an option for a pressure gauge. The 21st Century has an indexing head that works like a precision bullet seater.

I have limited experience, but I found the Lee Safety Prime to be too frustrating to adjust and it would drop too many primers. The trays also tend to get primers jammed in them.

The Lee Bench priming tool uses the same trays that jam up, and the plastic feeding inserts often feed primers sideways and the soft plastic is quickly damaged.

The RCBS Universal Hand Priming tool has a tray where you set all the primers upright on the tray, and then go to push the cover on. The cover bumps the tray going on and you have to start over again righting all the primers that were flipped. It also has a plastic insert that gets damaged the first time a primer is fed imperfectly.

I started using the RCBS Hand Priming Tool (the one that uses press shell holders). I haven't used it long enough.

I've also used a progressive press just to prime. I don't like how manual priming interrupts the other operations on a progressive press, but if it's done separately, I like it. I use a Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro. I put all the cases in the case feeder. Because it feeds cases automatically and it also ejects them, it is not much worse than a hand priming tool. I wear a tight-fitting nitrile glove to avoid contaminating the primers. With the press, my left hand feeds primers. With the hand priming tool, my left hand feeds shells. My experience so far is the shell feeder is more reliable and more durable than any of the primer feeders I've used.

 

[Dudedog]

I can sit down and batch prime several hundred in front of the TV

I load on a Lee turret and a Hornady LNL progressive.
I like to deprime my brass wet tumble, then I will hand prime while watching TV.

I find other benefits from separating the resizing process from the loading process

I agree.

I have primed on my LNL when loading but I prefer to have primed brass when I go to load.

Just make sure you get them seated all the way.
Lots of ways to do it, any way that works well for you is good!

 

[old heeler]

This is another primer

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2018/10/darrell-holland-upgrade-for-rcbs-bench-priming-tool/

 

[cheygriz]

This is another primer

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2018/10/darrell-holland-upgrade-for-rcbs-bench-priming-tool/

This is exactly what I DON'T want.

Consistent depth is the WRONG way to seat primers. they need to bottom out in the pocket regardless of depth.