Shellholders

[270Forever]

Are shellholders universal between different brands of equipment? I have a Pacific press, a Lyman case trimmer and an RCBS auto priming tool, so will I need a shellholder from each brand?

 

[doubleh]

I can only speak for RCBS and Lee. They interchange. I have found some of the Lee holders to be looser in tolerances than the RCBS.

 

[.308 Norma]

I'm not sure about your Pacific press, but what few Lyman shell holders I have fit my RCBS press and RCBS hand priming tool, as well as my Hdy case trimmer. I kinda thought Pacific and Hdy are the same company too. Am I wrong about that?
Anyway, whenever I buy a new set of dies, I buy 2 shell holders (usually RCBS) along with the die set. One shell holder goes in the box of dies, and the other goes in my hand priming tool box. I like to do my priming sitting in the living room in front of the TV, and I don't like having to get up and go back downstairs to get a shell holder.
BTW, welcome to THR 270Forever! I like your handle.

 

[ericuda]

Presses not sure but seems that rcbs hand primers need rcbs shell holders.

 

[hanno]

Presses not sure but seems that rcbs hand primers need rcbs shell holders.

FWIW, RCBS hand primer will work with Lee shell holders. I just tried it. I use RCBS shell holders in mine but Lee will work.

 

[.308 Norma]

Presses not sure but seems that rcbs hand primers need rcbs shell holders.

Not necessarily.

 

[rfwobbly]

In lots of cases, most shell holders are interchangeable.

Most manuals have a shell holder cross reference table, or you can print one here.... https://www.grafs.com/catalog/tech-resource/technicalResourceId/15

 

[ericuda]

Sorry maybe you guys are right but dont work on mine very well. The rcbs has a bevel on bottom of shell holder where it slides on primer nipple and lee doesnt have enough. My bad.

 

[Phantom 309]

Short answer is mostly yes, but sometimes no.

I've found that my Lee shellholders will not function in my hornady cam-lock case trimmer as the center hole on the Lees are smaller and won't allow the end of the shaft through to lock the case in place.

Conversely, the hornady shellholders do not work as well with the Lee safety prime on my classic turret press. The larger hole allows the primer cup to float around a bit and complicate things.

For die sets that don't come with a shell holder, I buy hornady holders for all operations other than priming, and a Lee holder for on-press priming. This was a bit of a bother when I first started gearing up but now that I know about it I just figure it in when purchasing new die sets.

 

[270Forever]

Thanks all for the responses! Trying to piece my first set together....bad timing for that for sure!

 

[Walkalong]

Sorry maybe you guys are right but dont work on mine very well. The rcbs has a bevel on bottom of shell holder where it slides on primer nipple and lee doesnt have enough. My bad.

Yep, some will have to be modified a bit to fit well.

That said, shell holders are universal for the most part.

bad timing for that for sure!

Yep, but hang in there, it will get better.

 

[Highland Lofts]

The lee auto prime take a whole different shell holder. Most shell holder are interchangable. I run two Hornady single stage presses and use lee shell holders.
The number 19 shell holder seams to loose for 223 and It slips causing stuck cases. When I resize the 223 again I will try the RCBS shell holdet.

 

[Blue68f100]

The main differences between mfg is the hole in the center for priming. There different sizes since most mfg use a different seating cup. There are also some differences in the base where they snap into the ram. So some combos works others do not.

 

[lordpaxman]

I have mostly RCBS shell holders until I purchased a Lee bench primer and bought their shell holder set. 7/8x14 seems to be the most universal in reloading. Good luck.