"Best" Stand Alone Priming Tool?

[308Jeff]

Thought about making this a poll, but there's too many options out there.

I don't mind priming pistol on the progressive, but I prefer to prime my rifle brass off the press.

I'm partial to a discontinued and borrowed-time tool, but I'd like to hear what ya'll are liking.

Thinking a balance of feel, speed, consistency, and reliability.

[Hick]

RCBS Hand Primer. I like it so much I bought another so that I have one dedicated to large primers and one dedicated to small primers. Over 20,000 primers installed so far without a problem.

[M-Tecs]

RCBS Automatic Bench Priming Tool https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/45...-RCBS-_-457599

Used on since the early 70's

[Jniedbalski]

I liked my old lee round priming tool. I have loaded thousands and thousands of rounds ,pistol and rifle with it. It's at least 20 years old and getting worn out. The plastic tray where the seating rod goes up and down is getting oblong and not round any more. You have to be carful when seating primers so they don't go in crooked. I tried the new lee lawyer approved primer tool and it just doesn't work good. I am also looking for a good hand primer tool

[gwpercle]

The "Best" doesn't come cheap , so if price is not an object , the Sinclair Priming Tool claims to be the "World's Finest". I've looked at one but could never afford the $120.00 price tag. They look and feel very nice. Maybe when my Lee tool wears out and I win the lottery .
Gary

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have two of the old Lee hand priming tools that I use and like them very much. A friend gave me an RCBS but it was too uncomfortable for my smaller hands so we parted company.

[VHoward]

The "Best" is also subjective for each person. For me, I like the RCBS bench mounted automatic priming tool. I have the Lee Ergo Prime which works well, but not as good as the RCBS. There is the best for me.

[Artful]

Hmm, let us see
My Most used is Lee Auto Prime round tray

- disadvantages they ain't made anymore
but you can still find them on the internet (ebay) or some gun shops with old stock.
No cutoff on the tray and the cover over times gets brittle and warps so doesn't stay on
the tool as well (fix with rubber band), you can fix the ram arm from Lee "ergo" tool.
You have to have special shell holders for the Lee tools


Next most used is the RCBS universal hand prime tool.

Advantage no shell holders needed
but it doesn't feel as good in my hand as the lee. Oh another advantage is RCBS customer
service - I broke a part and lost a part and they just sent new parts without charge - AWESOME.

Bottom of my hand tools is
Lee Ergo

Doesn't feel good and doesn't work as well as Original Auto Prime.

Bench mounted I have
Forster primer tool

Doesn't use shell holders, the flipper tray is built in so you want to mount to a
block of wood, little finicky about alignment but once adjusted works well.

I can use the dillon seater without issue but my preferred is course
is
1) Decap cases and clean
2) Inspection and them prime
3) run thru Dillon to size, flare, powder charge, seat, crimp or remove flare

[SARuger]

I have the Frankford Arsenal hand primer and it works very good, comes with the shell holders. I DON'T like the shell holders, they are cheaply made. I bought the Lee shell holder set to go with mine, I haven't tried them yet, will let you know if they work.

[reivertom]

I have two of the old Lee hand priming tools that I use and like them very much. A friend gave me an RCBS but it was too uncomfortable for my smaller hands so we parted company.

THIS^^^ Lee! Cheap and works!

[jmort]

I have been using the Lee Bench Prime of late
Have the RCBS bench primer and
And fleet of the old round trays and some others, Ram Prime, Lee Ergo etc.
For around $30 the Lee Bench Prime is my current favorite.

[Greg S]

Gwpercile, a friend has the sinclair, not good for mixed brass. Nice for one lot with uniformed pri er pockets. The ram is adjusted for stroke and it is a repeatable cush/seat on each cartridge. If different length of stroke are needed i.e. mixed brass or un-uniformed pockets the final crush/seat pressure will vary. You can achieve that with an RCBS or Lee hand primer.

I've got an older rcbs bench primer, one at a time that can be adjusted simularly to consistant crush or by feel as a hand primer. I was looking at the primer strip model but rcbs is doing away with the strips plus, you need the load to load the empty strips.

[Drew P]

Well I didn't know about it until recently but this cps priming tool seems like it fits the bill for "the best" but I'll never know at $600. Does looks slick though.

I tried the Forster bonanza bench unit and found it to be a complete joke. I now use the rcbs bench primer and it's good, real good, but still has room for improvement for sure.

[OS OK]

OK...so I'm for the bench model but I did keep my Lee hand priming tools too...one set up in LP's and one for SP's.

But...if you have old aged hands, the bench model is easiest on them.


Attachment 193936

[HeavyMetal]

I have the RCBS bench prime tool, used the Lee hand primer for years but between primers size being "off" and my hands getting a little shop worn I've gone to the RCBS tool with much glee.

Got the Lee bench primer to, seems to need a little work to move primers along but very easy to seat them right once you can get a primer out of the try, LOL!

[DougGuy]

I tried the new Lee Bench Priming Tool and it lasted about a day and got sent back, worse than priming on the Load Master. Couldn't believe anything could do that but it did. Went back to the Lee Ergo prime hand primer with square tray. The new fold up flipper tray is pretty crappy too, sad to say.

What I WISH for, is a foot operated cable pull for the Lee so you don't wear your hands out in a session priming 300-400 cases. Leaves the tool free to be shaken which is necessary to keep primers feeding reliably, you could still "feel" the primer seat to the bottom of the pocket.

[Drew P]

Now hold on, here's an express version of the cps, press mounted. This looks very promising. 159$

I do like how my bench mounted unit isn't bench mounted. This wood arrangement (purple heart in this case) makes a very portable and solid unit that I sometimes bring inside to use.
For me the cons on the rcbs unit is the thwapping primer tube in your face, the fact that the last few primers in the tube are more than likely to fly out and away, and yes I consider filling primer tubes a flaw. There must be a way to overcome that.

[jmort]

The CPS system may well be the best
Someday possibly, I will find out

[Bmi48219]

For $25.00 the Lee Bench is the best money I've spent. Yesterday I primed 500 9 mm, 300 45 acp (LPP) & 200 .30 carbine, took less than 3 hours, one SPP started to seat sideways. My fault for not paying attention. Never had a LPP go sideways. This tool has well over 9000 primers through it. No more than 9 wasted total, and even those were avoidable if I had been watching. Like everything else, if we expect things to work perfectly, we have to do the same.

[Three44s]

I like my RCBS hand held tool that uses regular shell holders .... the holder does have to be of the newer manufacture ........ you can tell if it's the right one if it has the bevel on the underside of it where the new primer rises through it.

I am told that if you send the old style to RCBS they will replace it ........... (for free I believe).

Once I get them all seated, I inspect them and if I need to push any of them deeper ........ I break out my RCBS bench tool of the Lachmyer style ...... the one with the cam in it.

Three 44s