I have an RCBS universal hand priming tool. The one with the square tray. It works great for priming large primers and magnum primers.

It is a nightmare however for priming small primers. I know how to switch them out and have even had replacement parts sent to me but it is still impossible to prime small primers with this thing. Out of 100 I will have 20 or so that dont seat correctly or have a crease in the primer. I have these issues when trying to prime 5.56 and .300 blackout brass. I ream the snot out of the primer pockets and still have issues. I am using federal gold metal match small primers #205M. Its like the automatic shell holders dont hold the small shells perfectly centered to insert the primer. It a guessing match. The primers wont go all the way in the pocket or it crushes them partially. If you press to hard the shell just flies off the tool with the primer not seated correctly and you cant try and reseat it. You have just wasted a primer.


A friend of mine uses the regular RCBS hand primer that uses exact shell holders and he has no issues with small primers. I have thought of purchasing one of those and one shell holder for about $45.00 total and just leaving it set up for small primers and use the universal just for Large and Magnum primers.

Then I saw a Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Perfect Seat Hand Priming Tool that comes with all the shell holders in a kit for $59.00 but I dont know anyone who uses one.

I was just thinking that having a tool that uses a shell holder would help my small cartridge alignment and seat my small primers. I dont want to buy all new shell holders though, but I could buy one for just 5.56 and .300 blackout.

What is everyone else using????? Any thoughts??

I bought a Lee auto prime 40 yrs ago, it's done many, many thousands of primers. Still works like new. You do need Lee shell holders, but they're cheap.

I use a hornady hand press round tray. With individual shell holders. I have found that 1 brand of 223 and lots of surplus brass in 556. The primer pockets are to tight for some primers. In my 556 I use cci 450 primers and have had problems, never had any with the #41 primer. I switch to the 450 when you could not get #41.

I prime on the press but you may like a bench prime for the tight pocket Small rifle primers

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with as hard as I sometimes habe to press even with reamed pockets I am not sure I could do it with the little hand prime also push thenturn the case a bit them pres again sometimes helps.

some brands of brass just have much tighter pockets , if you say ran all Remington brass you could probably always hand prime with ease some of those go in so easy I wonder if they are going to stay in.

I specifically pick out all the Rem 223 brass to form into 300 blk out because the brass is consistently thinner than others so I don't get neck thickness issues like some other brands

same here... still going strong after 45 yrs...many small primers

X+ on the lee sit on the couch or at kitchen table and prime cases great feel for seating

well hang onto the Lee they redesigned them in 2017 and supposedly they are not even close to the quality of the older ones.

x5 or 6, whatever i am, lol
Love the feel you get with them over doing them on the press. Easy to find loose pockets.

I have a Lee auto prime. I can feel the primers seat better with the AP vs the rcbs I tried.

Best??? Sinclair.

I use the one that came with the press I have.

I got so frustrated with my Lee hand priming hunk of crap I put it next to the boat. i bought a Franford Arsenal hand primer and its is the dogs danglies. A great bit of kit. You can adjust the thing, has great feel to the way they go into the pocket and I have thus far not had a single one turn on me. As hand priming tools go, its the best I have used to date.

I have the Lee one too, works good for me

Sounds like you need a primer pocket uniforming tool.Sometimes when brass is made there is more brass in the pocket than there should be.A primer pocket uniformer cleans the pocket so that it is easier to prime your brass.Sinclair International and K&M reloading make good tools for doing what you need.

I use the old lee hand prime keep a little lube on the pivot points and they'll last a long time.

We had old one that worked great. Company said it was unsafe sent us a new one. But it's pain in the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman). I need to get back in to loading ammo

The old Lee ones were OK but the new ones are crap. Thats why I settled for the Frankford Arsenal one. That thing is the best one I have ever used.

I use a RCBS Bench Mount. I mounted it only 2 loose screws instead of 4, so that with a piece of inner tube under it, it will rock a bit. When you bump the handle down the primer tube will come forward and deposit a primer on the anvil, The next stroke will seat the primer.
Seat, bump-new primer, seat, bump new primer, really goes thru a tube quick.

The only Lee product I own is their hand primer. I like the "feel".