New Lee Precision Hand Priming Tool

[Maven]

I guess after Lee's disastrous attempt to improve the hand held Auto Prime tool (with the square primer tray), they've gone back to the drawing board and have introduced the Ergo-Prime ("Automatic hand held priming at its best"). It's pictured on the cover of their new catalog http://leeprecision.com/xcart/home.php (middle of the home page) and in an ad on p. 67 of the Feb. - Mar. 2012 "Handloader" magazine. As the tool may be too new to have been reviewed yet, I must ask whether any of you have handled or purchased it and what you think of it?

[mac60]

I don't think they've got it on the market yet. At any rate it's not available for sale on their website yet (or anywhere else that I can find).

[Pigslayer]

Don't understand going to the square priming tray. I've been using the round one for many years. What was supposed to be the advantage in the change?

[hk33ka1]

The square tray lets you dump the now approved in some Lee tools Federal primers in from their factory box.

[338RemUltraMag]

from 20 bucks to 40 bucks... no thanks...

[MtGun44]

Suare tray fitted the square primer box, no primers falling over the corners. The biggest
improvement was the tiny pin pattern for flipping primers is about 20 times faster than the
little concentric grooves.

Bill

[MtGun44]

looking at the image, you can see that you are using all your fingers to seat the primer,
which is MUCH better than just your thumb. I always put my other thumb on top and seat
with both thumbs, so this may be better.

More ergonomic, as the name implies.

Bill

[garym1a2]

Mt thumbs would always hurt after a few hundred of them. Still for me no need for a hand primer when the prime system works so well on the cast turrent press.


looking at the image, you can see that you are using all your fingers to seat the primer,
which is MUCH better than just your thumb. I always put my other thumb on top and seat
with both thumbs, so this may be better.

More ergonomic, as the name implies.

Bill

[jimkim]

from 20 bucks to 40 bucks... no thanks...

It's priced at $28.95 at Midway. The prices from the manufacturers are always higher.

[Ziptar]

It looks pretty good, allot the Hornady hand primer maybe a little more comfortable. I've got an original auto prime already, they go for $30.00 all day long on eBay lately it seems. I'd give on a try for $28.95.

[462]

The square tray appears to be the same as the one used on the much loved/hated Auto Prime XR, which has been discussed on a couple threads.

[zuke]

I've had my round one's for 25 year's now and still haven't broken one.

[eniku40]

So is the only difference that the new version is finger actuated whereas the Auto-Prime XR is/was thumb actuated?

[abunaitoo]

Kind of looks like the RCBS hand primer.
Haven't uesd either, but they look alike.

[Hardcast416taylor]

It`s ergo red painted now, not chrome plated. I thought everybody knew that painting a bad tool or vehicle another color and changing the name made it all better???Robert

[Hickory]

Suare tray fitted the square primer box, no primers falling over the corners. Bill

I sort of like the old round ones,
it gives me a chance to practice
my second language . . . profanity.:popcorn:

[dmize]

The main reason for the XR wasnt the square tray,it was designed to sepearte primer being loaded from primers in the tray.

[MtGun44]

"the prime system works so well on the cast turrent press."

Tell me you are not talking about the little system for the Classic Turret with the
dangling swinger priming systems? If so we are at the opposite ends of this one.

I found those (Safety Prime, I think they are called??) to be the absolute worst PITA
that I have ever tried to use. The small primer unit dribbles at least 1/3 of the primers
on the floor and some are inverted in the system handling - a more Rube Goldberg
setup I have never seen.

Bill

[jimkim]

The only thing they needed to fix in the old ones was the lever. All they had to do is make it out of steel, make it thicker or cast a rib into it, preferably all three. There's probably a ready made market for CNC machined steel levers.

[Floydster]

MtGun44,
Boy, I have been using the safety prime on my Lee turret press for five years, many thousands of rounds thru it, it is the most user friendly priming system I have ever used, also the round hand priming tool is great, been using the same one for over 10 years, never broke a handle like some people have.
No, I do not work for Lee:)
I quit priming on my LNL, what a pita that is.
Floydster

[gefiltephish]

Have to agree with MtGun44 on the cheesy Rube Goldberg-like Safety Prime system, however, mine works pretty darned well :o. And yes, I too like priming on the cast turret better than the LNL.

[Rio Grande]

I bought the square tray tool and then gave it away.
Went back to the OLD Lee priming tool with the screw-in shellholders. The one-primer-at-a-time tool.
The first and best Lee hand priming tool.
Most the time 'new and improved' is just cheaper to make, or more expensive to buy, or harder to use, or unnecessary, or all of the above.