Witch is better in your opinion rcbs bench primer or lee primer. Iamlooking for one .
Printable View
Witch is better in your opinion rcbs bench primer or lee primer. Iamlooking for one .
rcbs bench primer
Yeah I like my
RCBS bench primer
I have never used the Lee but like my RCBS.
Another vote for the RCBS Bench priming tool.
rcbs
RCBS all day.
I have used both. I started with the Lee and it was trouble free for over a year, and at least 1,000 cases primed, then I dropped it and it landed on the corner of the shell holder slot, broke it off. Got an RCBS and was sorely surprised at the poor design. It cannot be used without a 3 1/2" riser or the handle hanging out 6" beyond the bench top edge as the handle hits the bench top way before a primer is seated. I didn't like the primer tube flopping back and forth inches from my face. It was designed before "ergonomic" was an important design aspect for hand tools. I had to build a riser for bolting the tool to my bench as it could not be used in my Rock Dock. I had to cut 2" off the handle to make the action smoother (and to keep my knuckles from bumping the bench). After my modifications the RCBS tool works, but not any better than my Lee did...
If it was painted red and had "Lee" on the side there would be thousands of complaints of a poorly designed priming tool and most would call it junk and recommend it not be used...
I used a Lee Auto Prime, with the old round primer holder, for many years, until I broke it by using too much of my manly strength to seat one that just wouldn't go in the pocket. I bought the newer Lee auto prime (the one with the square primer holder) and found it has many quirks. Richard Lee was obsessed with the idea that a primer seated too hard could ignite the whole batch, and so the newer version used a unique engineering solution for a problem that didn't exist. In order to achieve complete physical separation between the primer being seated and the ones remaining in the holder, a lift ram was used to raise the primer up, then shove it into the slot under the brass. The main result of all that is to periodically flip primers over, just as they are ready to be seated. It is a royal pain. I still use it, but if I had to get another, I would look around. Also, the clear plastic cover on the primer reservoir is a loose friction fit. I have to use a rubber band over it to keep it from falling off in use.
Apparently Lee recognized that the new design had problems, and so they now offer a variety of primer tools; I have yet to try any of them.
Wayne
Lee is pretty good for entry level, or if you don't load much.
I you load by several hundred or thousands at a time--- RCBS is the way to go.
The bad thing with cheap stuff is if you don't like it, there's no trade in allowance when you get the one you really want.
Never used the Lee.
Would never be without the RCBS, in fact I keep a spare just in case the go away one day.
That is the way I feel about the Bonanza/Co-Ax priming tool. I have used the Lee and have had 3 of them come apart in use; the newer ones were worse than the first one I bought. I have used RCBS, Herter's and Lyman press mounted priming units too but for off the press priming, the Bonanza/Co-Ax tool really does it for me.
For speed and convenience the old Lee Auto Prime with the old round primer holder. They can still be found *Like New* if you look around the auction sites (or perhaps post a WTB here).
I will admit, I like my RCBS bench mounted, it's excellent. The RCBS Ram Prime is worth looking into as well.
Murphy
RCBS bench prime tool is my favorite. I have the RCBS bench primer but was gifted the newest version of the Lee bench primer back in December. I must say it works very well. Fit and finish still goes to RCBS, however I have been very impressed with the speed and comfort I can prime on the Lee bench primer. I don't know that it will hold up as well long term but I find myself using the LEE bench primer over the RCBS bench primer. It's faster to load up the tray on the Lee vs the tube on the RCBS. I've only loaded a few thousand on the LEE so far and I don't believe it will last as long as the RCBS but I do like using it.
Richard Lee was "obsessed" only with making a safer tool. The dangerous aspect of the original Lee round tray Auto Prime was well documented through testing thirty or so years ago. Details of Lee's testing were written up in at least one gun magazine and it may be covered in one or more editions of the Lee loading manual ( that's not a recommendation of the data in the book). The original "dangerous" (my word) model Auto Prime worked very well, but there were verified customer accidents with certain primers. The newer tool with the square tray overcame the potential safety hazard, but wasn't a very good tool. I threw away two or three of these.
I never had problems with the original round tray Auto Prime, but almost always used CCI primers (or a few Winchester) as recommended by Lee because they were safer IN THIS TOOL. Many claim to have used this tool for forty or more years and I have no doubt that's true, but they probably didn't prime more than a few thousand cases per year. The material that the body of these tools were made of was soft and would wear, even if lubricated, with extensive use. The tools eventually reached a wear point that prevented primers from being fully seated. For the price, these were good, safe tools if you used them according to Lee's suggested guidelines, but they weren't designed or made to last forever.
i still use the the lee round auto prime .works fine,got 3 1 for large 1 for small 1 as a spare.i have used the lee bench primer tool and was impressed how well it worked .i will admit i only half fill the tray on the auto prime and use cci primers.
Since I tend to be away from the bench when I do off-press priming (usually in easy chair watching TV) I use my original single feed Lee priming tool with screw in shell holders for the bulk of my priming. There’s a brand new RCBS priming tool still in the box in the basement somewhere. It was a gift from an uncle whose wife gave it to him for Christmas, and he didn’t use it either!
Disclaimer: This is my strategy and it works for me. You gotta do you. ;)
Froggie
I use the lee with the round primer holder. Been using it solely for rifle cartridges for 35 years. No problems so far.
IMO, the original Lee hand priming tool (round tray) was, and still is, the best priming tool ever. I have two of each, large and small, and enough spare parts to keep them running for as long as I'm gonna' be on this planet. I had an RCBS bench mount tool, never worked properly from the git-go. Green junk.
RCBS bench primer - mine is 25+ years old and still works like a champ !!!!
Sadly it's use has been minimal for the last 3 years....
I'm a bit of an oddball I have an old rcbs hand primer for when I'm away from the bench I don't use much. At the bench when I'm only priming in lage batches, I run my Lee Auto-prime 2. Now that one I can see why Mr Lee was fearful of a potential primer going off then setting others off. It allows you to adjust seating depth and if you adjust to deep then slam your primer in. I would think it could set a primer off instead of just crush it. Other then that I still feed one at a time on the single stage.
RCBS. I have it mounted on an oak 2by4. I put the 2by4in the vise to use it. Then set it on the shelf until I need it again. I do the same thing with Lube Sizers
For just a few use the Lee Ram-prime, for larger batches a Lee Auto Prime II. FWIW only time I had a primer fire was priming on the downstroke when I got too enthusiastic seating Winchester primers. Using the Ram-prime on a Rock-chucker have twice over did it and actually tore the rim off the 06 case and popped it out of the shellholder. Neither CCI primer went off despite the abuse. Prime now using the little Lee C press, which is screwed to a 1X4 and clamped to the end of my bench when needed. Like it as I can feel the primer bottom out in the pocket.
I have one of these but they are no longer made. This choice is very limited in availability.Quote:
for larger batches a Lee Auto Prime II
I have the Basic Original Lee Hand Primer, and RCBS Hand Held Primer, and RCBS Bench Mounted Primer, and the Lee Ram Prime and a Lyman version of the same tool. All have their uses.
Randy
True but I sale about 1 a year since I won't pass them up when I see them. One could always post a WTB ad here and I'm sure someone would have an extra one under the bench. I almost always see them at the biggest gun shows.
I saw a guy on ebay several years back who was making his own. I set him a message about possibly testing his product and if everything worked out I was planning to help him sell a bunch to reloaders i knew who wanted one but it took months for him to reply by then I had moved on and found my first set.
I never had a problem with the original Lee but gave it up for the RCBS hand held after my second Lee broke(I still have two boxes of spare parts). The RCBS hand held works well and I use it when I only need to prime a small number of cases. The RCBS Bench Mounted primer works like a champ and I too "fabricated" (a scrap piece of 1x3 red oak) a mounting block to secure it to the bench. I simply clamp it in place when I use it and put it on a shelf when finished. The bouncing primer tube was resolved by placing a small piece of foam between the tube assembly and the frame.
I'll tell you what beats them all ...
A little gadget called a Lee Ram Prime #90106 used in a Lee Hand Press #90685 .
makes the best , no plastic parts , primer seating tool there is .
I have two hand presses and use one for seating large and the other for seating small primers . No tubes , flimsey covers , plastic parts , folding trays or safety devices ...
Yeah ... just old school metal primer seating ... I Love It !!!
Gary
I don't prime on the press, I like to feel the primer when is seats on the bottom of the primer pocket. I tried a Lee ram prime and did not like it at all. Sold it and bought a RCBS primer unit. It worked ok but I still wanted to feel the primer seat and those two are mechanical and you do not feel them seat. I went back to my old Lee screw style hand primers ( I have several ) and its screw in shell holders(getting hard to find now) and also have several of the older RCBS Posi-Primers and both are what I use and have used for many, many years now. I use a Sinclair prlimer pocket uniformer that reams the primer pocket flat and at a uniform depth. Works for me and the best method I have ever come across. I usually prime brass while watching a good college football game, or college basketball game or the Atlanta Braves play baseball. I am working up some 30-06 brass right now ( I deprime the case, stainless pin wash, size the case, uniform the primer pocket with the Sinclair tool, deburr the flashole with a Sinclair or RCBS tool, trim to length, champher the neck inside and out) they will be primed the same way as I said above. I have been doing this for years and I have not had a failed primer since the late 60's. Maybe I have been extremely lucky but I will continue doing it my way as it works for me. my experience anyway, james
I am a fan of the Ergo prime with the folding tray. I noticed the blast shield can be removed, releasing about half the spring tension resistance of the tool.
I use the Lee/ Mequon type, the Lee Auto prime, the RCBS hand tool that uses regular shell holders, the priming arm on the Rockchucker, and the Lee ram prime.
The Lee Loader " beat that primer in with a hammer" and the Ram Prime do the best job of bottoming out the primer in the pocket.( in my opinion).
Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk
Never had a bench primer but I prime on my Dillon 550b and Lyman T2 presses but do use an older round Lee Autoprime for cf rifle reloading.
I like to use a hand primer tool in order to feel the primer being seated. And purchased a single load Lee primer tool a long time ago. It may be slow but has never caused me problems.
I have both. Love the RCBS.
Yep. For a lot of people this is opposite. They don't get much feel on the press, because the leverage on their press is too great, and the lever is too long and just floating in space. The Reloader press is pretty small.
I threw out my Autoprimers and use my Breechlock Challenger. I adjust the lever so short that I can squeeze each primer home with my fingers wrapped around the front of the O frame. It's the perfect amount of leverage and feel. I am usually expanding the case in the same operation, so it's a two-for-one.
If you get a primer that gets started but then feels sketchy, you can slide the shellholder out the side and then poke it out with a decapping pin, manually, and then use a reamer on the pocket.
Ive got both....the LEE gets used for lots of stuff but the rcbs for obscure stuff as the shell holder just slips on and away I go... single feed primers using tweazers ,the handle is mounted off edge of bench,no worries...one day will get square ended 6mm rod made up..my piece of 6" nail doing ok for now.... yes was 2nd hand in pile of stuff I inherited and took awhile to work out what it actually was.
The complaint about the lever extending past the bench is interesting. Every press I have owned has extended much further and lower than my bench prime. It was designed well before any of the docking stations were even thought about. Someone may not like it, but to call it a defective design is a bit of a stretch.
I agree the primer tube moving back and forth is a bit disconcerting at first, especially if you are standing up. Once I sat down on a stool to use it, the tube was not even noticeable. When it was first designed it had tubes that were much shorter. My first one had tubes that only held 50 primers. I think the new ones are using 100 primer tubes. The jump from 50 to 100 primer tubes made a big difference and not necessarily for the better.
I would never have bought one at RCBS's asking price. My first on came with a bunch of dead guy stuff I bought. I figured I would try it before I sold it. Glad I did. I did sell the next two dead guy bench primers I acquired. Not going to sell the original one.
I do two things not in the manual, I mount it ~30 degrees to the front of the bench, swung to the right, (I'm right handed). I can sit in front of the press and operate the handle while it is on my right side, not unlike having the handle on the Rockchucker, Dillon or any other rifle press offset to the side.
Now that I type this, may give it a try with the MEC's, I've always thought the lever being dead center was cumbersome.
Next, I use a primer follower from one of the Dillon's to ensure consistent primer feed. Seems to help, especially with the last couple of primers.
I started with a Lee Ram Prime. OK, but the tension to hold the primer cup assembly was not good, always pulling it out and squeezing the fingers together. Next was a Lee round primer tray primer. Until it broke.
Mixed in there was a primer that work pretty good, just obscure manufacturer and I don't have many of the custom shell plates for it. It held the shell horizontally and pushed the primer in the end not the bottom.
Lyman version of the RAM prime, used that until I bought an RCBS hand primer. Sold both of those after getting the bench prime. I suspect that will last me for as long as I need.
RCBS every time. Buy once, cry once. I never buy starter tools.