Primers & Priming Units

[amazon shooter]

Hi CBO's,

I need your help again. I'm in the process of making up a buying list of supplies and reloading equipment.

My plans are to shoot 380 ACP, 38 Special and 38 Super.

1) What size primer is used with these calibers, small or large?

2) What brand of primers are the most reliable and trouble free?

3) Will I be alright if I just stick with Winchester?

4) I have a Lee Cast Iron 4 Turret Press on my list and I need something to feed the primers. Is the "Lee Safety Prime Priming Unit Large Primers Post 2006 Presses" ok? It only has 3 stars and the rating looks mickey mouse.

Thanks guys.

 

[rcmodel]

Standard "Small Pistol" primers.
Not "Small Pistol - Magnum" unless your load data calls for them.

CCI, Winchester, or Remington if you plan to run them through your Lee set-up.

Lee does not recommend Federal primers be used in thier auto-feed systems because they might blow up!

If you're making a list and checking it twice, be sure to include a Loading Manual or two from Lyman, Hornady, Speer, etc.

It will answer most all of your questions, and give plenty of safe loads.

rcmodel

 

[TX1911fan]

I use a Lee Press and I prefer the RCBS hand primer to prime cases. It's a little easier to feel the primer going into the pocket. The Lee System is pretty good though.

 

[cpttango30]

I too use the RCBS hand priming tool. It is big well made and works as smooth as a baby's butt with butter on a tile floor. If you are going to use the RCBS tool make sure you buy RCBS shell holders I had some lee and they would not fit and my brass would hardly fit in them so I buy RCBS and have ZERO problems.

I just got done priming 100 cases infact took me 10 minutes with changing from large primer to small primer in my RCBS hand priming tool.

 

[Walkalong]

I use an RCBS hand primer, and all the primers work well and are dependable. Of course, we all have our favorites. I have used Federals, Winchesters, and CCIs with zero problems.

 

[RustyFN]

I load on a Lee classic turret and prime with the safety prime. I think the safety prime works great. Being as it's part of the process while you are running through the dies it makes loading faster than having to remove the case to hand prime it.
Rusty

 

[amazon shooter]

Thanks guys,

My impatience to sit and wait for information is showing.

The Lyman Handloading book and the Lyman Cast Bullet book, which I ordered from the States, is already on its way to Iquitos, Peru, 2000 miles up the Amazon.

I hope the US Postal Service doesn't put it on a slow boat to China or get confused with the spelling and send it to Poland.

Thanks again for your time and interest to help out someone holding a candle at the end of the tunnel.

 

[rcmodel]

Peru?
Yikes!

From your handle, I was thinking more of a tall, blond, Scandinavian woman leaning on a broadsword, in a bearskin bikini!

Sorry!

rcmodel

 

[nambu1]

You need small pistol primers. I like the Lee auto prime II and use CCI, Winchester and Remington primers.

 

[amazon shooter]

Hi again,

I have a question for Nambu1.

1) Would the Lee Auto Prime II work well on the Lee Cast Iron Classic Turret Press?

2) Is the Lee Auto Prime II perferable over the Lee Safety Prime Primer Feeder? I will only be shooting 380 ACP, 38 Special and 38 Super.

3) Lee states that "Requires standard shellholders (sold separately)."
Why does Lee make buying their products an "Easter Egg Hunt?" Why not simply include it with the product?

4) Shellholders? If I have the Lee Cast Iron Classic Turret - 4 holes and I am loading for the 38 Super and I am using the Lee Auto Prime II, how many shellholders do I need? Just the one which comes with the 38 Super Dies or do I need one for each of the 4 holes in the turret plate?

Thanks

 

[springmom]

Amazon Shooter, we bought the Lee Auto Prime attachment for our turret press. Unfortunately, it was sent to us without all the parts that are supposed to come with it. Given where you are, and the time it will take for you to send orders back, I'd suggest going with the most foolproof equiment. If you get the auto prime, don't throw away that little primer gizmo that came with the turret press. They work fine; although we've found that we may sometimes have to really give it a bit of a push on the lever to get the primer seated really well.

Good luck, from another newbie.

Springmom

 

[Shoney]

It is the extreemly rare event to see rcmodel being wrong about anything! But now we find out that:

From your handle, I was thinking more of a tall, blond, Scandinavian woman leaning on a broadsword, in a bearskin bikini!

And now he finds out that an amazon shooter is actually someone who goes around shooting tall, blond, Scandinavian women leaning on broadswords, in bearskin bikinis!

The only other people who wear bearskin bikinis are Yellowstone Park Rangers. Let me tell you that with wolfskin butt flaps and bearskin bikinis, those men do not look good at all.

 

[RustyFN]

Thanks for that picture Shoney.
amazon shooter the auto prime hand primer takes a different shell holder than the press. You can buy a kit with 11 shell holders for the auto prime for around $15 and they will fit any caliber you want to reload. The safety prime mounts to the press and will let you prime on the down stroke after you size the case. With the auto prime you would have to size all of the cases, prime all of the cases and then load them. It is a lot more work than using the safety prime.
The round thing with the clear plastic lid is the primer tray.

This is the primer arm. There are two, one for large primers and one for small primers.






Hope this helps.
Rusty