Lee hand priming tools
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Dudedog
Contributing Member
Yes,
The old round tray ones were the best IMO.
and I would say it's a toss up between the new ones (sort of triangle tray) and the older square tray ones, with maybe a slight edge to the square tray one.
The old round tray ones were the best IMO.
and I would say it's a toss up between the new ones (sort of triangle tray) and the older square tray ones, with maybe a slight edge to the square tray one.
barnfrog
Member
Tried the square tray variety for a very short time. Found it difficult to get the primer to reliably feed in the proper position without a bunch of fiddling, so I sold it. Maybe I was holding it incorrectly, but I'm happy using my Ram Prime so it wasn't worth trying to figure out the intricacies of the hand primer.
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
Gave up on the Lee primer and switched to the RCBS…gave up on those in favor of the RCBS Automatic Primer.
LiveLife
Member
I love the "feel" of the original Auto Prime for consistent seating depth and still use it along with XR hand primer with "unbreakable" handle. (I bought extra handles before Lee discontinued the Auto Prime)
But anticipating the passing of years and hand grip strength issue (I can seat primers to .008" below flush with both Auto Prime and XR hand primers), I got Lee Auto Bench Priming Tool for the day when I can't comfortably hand prime anymore.
FYI, use of Lee priming tools (Hand or bench) require use of priming tool shell holders - https://leeprecision.com/priming-tool-shell-holders.html
But anticipating the passing of years and hand grip strength issue (I can seat primers to .008" below flush with both Auto Prime and XR hand primers), I got Lee Auto Bench Priming Tool for the day when I can't comfortably hand prime anymore.
FYI, use of Lee priming tools (Hand or bench) require use of priming tool shell holders - https://leeprecision.com/priming-tool-shell-holders.html
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LaneP
Member
I use the Lee ram prime quite a bit, particularly on rimmed cases that my RCBS APS strip priming tool doesn't work well with.
noelf2
Member
I have the old lee auto prime (the round one) but lost the small primer seater. Figured I'd fabricate a new one, if I ever decide to use it again.
I have the round one, the square one and the Ergo (triangular one). Round will always be my first choice. Exception, some 45 ACP are very tight so I use the Ergo (but with the square tray) because I have run out of spare handles for the round type. Cheap metal and prone to breaking. The Ergo body is very well built. You can usually find the round ones on Ebay for not too much.
gwpercle
Member
I used a round tray for decades , still works , just old and getting worn ...so I buys the new improved , folding tray model theyhave out ... " New Auto-Prime " # 90230 . That thing has some flimsey plastic parts on it ...some kind of safety and the flimsey plastic tray looks fragile ... I am afraid to use it because it looks so breakable ... I wish it had some good sturdy pot-metal parts on it .
I was so disappointed I put it back in the box and used a Lee Ram Prime primer seater on my Lee Hand Press ... it came with the hand press kit ... it's all metal and seats primers like a champ ... no flimsey plastic parts , no plastic safety gizmo and no flimsey folding plastic tray ... the Lee Ram Prime Priming Tool #90106 is probably the neatest and best priming tool they now market and it sells for only $14.00 ... all metal !
Used in my Lee Hand Press ... I've found my A-1 Best priming tool .
Lee should be ashamed to market that flimsey plastic thing they call the "New Auto Prime" ...
... Old auto prime was a gazillion times better !
Gary
I was so disappointed I put it back in the box and used a Lee Ram Prime primer seater on my Lee Hand Press ... it came with the hand press kit ... it's all metal and seats primers like a champ ... no flimsey plastic parts , no plastic safety gizmo and no flimsey folding plastic tray ... the Lee Ram Prime Priming Tool #90106 is probably the neatest and best priming tool they now market and it sells for only $14.00 ... all metal !
Used in my Lee Hand Press ... I've found my A-1 Best priming tool .
Lee should be ashamed to market that flimsey plastic thing they call the "New Auto Prime" ...
... Old auto prime was a gazillion times better !
Gary
Taurus 617 CCW
Member
I lost a part to my original Lee hand primer. Much to my dismay they discontinued the round tray version. After much research I ended up with a Lyman hand priming tool. Works great and is very solid.
chamokaneman
Member
I have two of them, the only way I've every primed. One has the round tray and the other has no tray, you drop primers into it one at a time. I got the no tray one from my dad years ago. I assume its a Lee tool although I don't think there's any markings on it. I actually like the no tray one best.
I've been thinking of getting the bench mounted version or the setup to use with my Lee App just to up my speed a little but what I have works fine.
I've been thinking of getting the bench mounted version or the setup to use with my Lee App just to up my speed a little but what I have works fine.
scotty
Member
I bought a round tray Lee and a set of shellholders 20+ years ago and it still works just fine. When I load higher volume on my Dillon 550, they get primed on that press. I think the only time the priming setup on my Rock Chucker ever got used was when my father wanted me to load some .25ACP which I didn't have a Lee shellholder for.
ColtPythonElite
Member
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2011
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Another round tray user here
I feel the old round tray Lee hand priming tool is one of the best ever made. It's only downfall was the cheap parts it was made from. But the cost of the tools was reasonable to have a spare tool or two on hand for spare parts. Towards the end of the production life of the Lee tools, they finally offered replacement parts.
Since Lee discontinued the round tray priming tool, I've moved on to the RCBS hand priming tools with the universal shell holder. It works fine for the most part.
The "new and improved" Lee priming tools are a great leap backwards in my opinion.
There are a couple cartridges that do not load well on the RCBS hand priming tools and I have saved my Lee round tray priming tools for those cartridges. 25 ACP is one of those. There are one or two others.
While I really like the hand priming tools, my hands are not as up to the task as they once were. When I plan a large run of cartridges (500 or ore rounds) I have the APS bench mounted priming tool. It is alot easier on the hands. I have the APS strip loading tools for when I cannot get pre-loaded stips. Unfortunately, RCBS seems to be phasing out the pre-loaded APS strips so I keep all my strips for future use.
Except for my Dillon SL900 (shotshell), I do not prime on the press, it is not reliable enough for my purposes. Many folks are happy with the priming on their presses and that is great.
Since Lee discontinued the round tray priming tool, I've moved on to the RCBS hand priming tools with the universal shell holder. It works fine for the most part.
The "new and improved" Lee priming tools are a great leap backwards in my opinion.
There are a couple cartridges that do not load well on the RCBS hand priming tools and I have saved my Lee round tray priming tools for those cartridges. 25 ACP is one of those. There are one or two others.
While I really like the hand priming tools, my hands are not as up to the task as they once were. When I plan a large run of cartridges (500 or ore rounds) I have the APS bench mounted priming tool. It is alot easier on the hands. I have the APS strip loading tools for when I cannot get pre-loaded stips. Unfortunately, RCBS seems to be phasing out the pre-loaded APS strips so I keep all my strips for future use.
Except for my Dillon SL900 (shotshell), I do not prime on the press, it is not reliable enough for my purposes. Many folks are happy with the priming on their presses and that is great.
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
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- 24,232
I have two of the round ones that get used from time to time. My RCBS one is easier to use though and if I am using a progressive, I am priming with it. I don’t own any progressive that I can’t prime with, kind of looses the point of a progressive if I have to make multiple trips and do a bunch of manual operations.
I have used all of them above but I still love the Lee Auto Prime Bench, easy on the hands and you don't have to ram anything home. You can set a primer with the push of your index finger. I have maybe one or two out of a hundred that don't go in the right way but if you check the primer area you will see it and can fix it before it gets installed sideways or off center. Love my Lee Auto Prime Bench even though you have to buy their shell holders.
I’ve said it before, I would hate to an engineer at Lee. They design great products but then the production department makes them out of cheap material.
All they needed to do was make the push handle out of stronger metal, problem solved. I do remember rumors about primers going off in the round model
so I guess Lee panicked and redesigned it.
All they needed to do was make the push handle out of stronger metal, problem solved. I do remember rumors about primers going off in the round model
so I guess Lee panicked and redesigned it.
CoalCrackerAl
Member
Never used a hand priming tool. I prime on press or use my RCBS bench prime.
BJung
Member
AzShooter1
Member
I use the Lee Primer Feeder when I load on a single stage press. With my Dillon progressives I just do it on the press.
I've found the Lee to be totally safe and I like the way I can seat the primers below flush for a more consistent loading. If I get a primer on the progressive that's not low enough I use my Lee to re seat the primer.
You don't need a lot of pressure, just a gentle push will fix it.
I've found the Lee to be totally safe and I like the way I can seat the primers below flush for a more consistent loading. If I get a primer on the progressive that's not low enough I use my Lee to re seat the primer.
You don't need a lot of pressure, just a gentle push will fix it.
rabid wombat
Member
Yeppers….
AJC1
Member
Threw mine in the trash when I got an rcbs universal.
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