Help w/ primers I give up!!!!

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Joe&40

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I'm using a lee 1000 and I'm done with the auto feed primer system. Can someone recommend a good hand primer? Thanks.

Frustrated joe&40
 
I like the RCBS hand primer but if price is a factor the NEW Lee hand primer is very good too. It's been redesigned so it's safer and the square tray helps when loading. I like the RCBS better but i do own a Lee as a backup and for a fast setup for for priming small batches of brass.

Welcome to the forum...
 
What problems have you had with the Lee 1000 primer feed?

If it's just the primers coming out of the hopper into the trough, just use your left middle finger (not to flick it off) to tap at the 11:00 position of the hopper. This jostles the primers enough to clear the jam, and urges the cover to tighten with the tapping. Not that it needs to be tightened, but you sure don't want to loosen it.

If it's problems with the primers tipping upon entry to the turret or not feeding all the way, you likely need to disassemble and clean. Gotta keep that powder out of there which can be tough to do if you don't get the primer in its pocket. That worked wonders on my used and slightly rusty 1000. I've been able to load 800 rounds with very few issues.
 
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Presently, I use both the RCBS Universal hand priming tools, with the tray and with the APS system. They work fine except occasionally a primmer difficult to seat will spit the case out of the shell holder jaws.

Also, they won't prime one or two cartridges like brass .410 hulls.

I just bought a Lee Auto-Prime XR to try. I used to use the old Auto-Prime (20 some years) until Lee took it off the market. I actually like to prime with my thumb (Auto-Prime) versus squeezing with my hand (RCBS). The new tray on the XR is an improvement but I do not like that the primer is not contained as it transfers to the seating step.

Either one would serve you well.

I have two so that I do not have to change between primer sizes and so I have spare parts on hand should one break.
 
I used the RCBS hand tool and still do, for loading a few cartridges at a time. But for bulk reloading (as recommended by Waywatcher) I use the RCBS Auto Bench Priming Tool. With this you can prime a hundred cases in minutes. As a side note, for anyone with arthritis, this priming tool is a life saver.
 
+2

I have used the same RCBS hand primer for 20+ years. I like it. I used a Lee before that. :)
 
A Hornady priming tool makes the RCBS look and feel like Lee.
 
My old lee hand priming tool broke and I bought the new model.....well all I can say is the new one sucks.......go with the RCBS, my brother has one and it works great.
 
Thanks for the info.

Bds. It's jamming right in front of the seating pin. The ones that turn sideways are the biggest problem. I have cleaned it from powder and washed the whole assembly in heavy detergent and with laundry sheets and used some graphite. I ran 100 rounds tonight through it and had about ten jams. Thanks.
 
silver primers work better in lee devices than gold ones. I guess they're slicker. I have that same problem in my lee ram prime. The primers aren't sliding far enough forward for the ram to push them up, so the ram lifts up on one side of the primers, jams it all up and I wish I had the hand priming tool.....

my pro1000, on the other hand, always primed reliably. Sorry your's isn't working for you. It's a pretty slick little press when it works right.
 
Joe&40 said:
Thanks for the info.

Bds. It's jamming right in front of the seating pin. The ones that turn sideways are the biggest problem. I have cleaned it from powder and washed the whole assembly in heavy detergent and with laundry sheets and used some graphite. I ran 100 rounds tonight through it and had about ten jams. Thanks.
Click to expand...
That's what happened with mine.
 
Joe, I was taking close up pictures of Pro 1000 primer feed attachment fix last night. I will post my solutions this evening after work - yes, they do work. Stay tuned.
 
Primer advance assist: Custom made tool.

I second the notion of looking for burrs. Also, a bit of silicone spray dry lube might help. But I would not put it on top of the graphite. I would wash again, first.

Using a hand priming tool with a progressive press just seem wrong. It violates the concept of "progressive" adding extra insertion/removal cycles and paying extra to add steps that should not be necessary in the first place.

I did not like my Pro-1000 presses for several reasons. One was the primer feeding. If you try to go too fast, the primers don't have enough time to get positioned on the ram. I used to pause just at the instant I saw the column of primers in the ramp advance. Sometimes, if it looked like they did not advance as far as usual, I would take a custom-made tool to make sure the primers were fully advanced. (Favorite material for custom tools: unbent paper clip) That cured almost all my primer feed problems completely. But it did slow down my production rate.

About my production rate: I was never comfortable with operating my progressives. Watching multiple simultaneous operations made me nervous and cause me to slow down as I chanted a mantra that ensured I left no step out
stroke
spent primer drop
powder drop
stroke
case feed
primer feed
primer seat
bullet place
etc.

I finally got wise to my own limitations and style and got a Lee Classic Turret. I could not be happier. My production rate is about the same as the progressives, caliber swaps infinitely faster and the new primers are 'way above the primer dust and VISIBLE when placed in the primer arm's cup. Best of all, I am relaxed when I reload now.

Not suggesting it for you. Your style will be different than mine. Just food for thought.

Try the dry silicone spray lube. Then the primer advance assist tool if necessary.

Good Luck

Lost Sheep
 
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