I still am enjoying handloading as a novice but as with other things at some point the honeymoon is over. My source of irritation is priming. With most sources I read recommending a primer depth of .004 my Lee safety prime on my turret press will seat them no better than flush. This leaves no margin for error as with my eyes and a magnifying glass I can't tell the difference.

I'm ready to start priming off the press if that's what it takes and I'm seeking input to get the best priming tool out there whether it's on or off a press. I'll probably buy the best "off" tool now and might buy the best "on the press" tool later with a new press wrapped around it.

Please let's not let this turn into another pro Lee anti Lee slugfest. I know Lee stuff has its quirks but I can live with them for now. Just point me to the best priming tool money can buy.
Thanks in advance.
Mike in Tennessee

Lee Auto Prime hand primer is hard to beat.

i like the rcbs bench mounted priming uses standard shell holders.
is quick and has pretty good feel
i drill a hole in the bench mounted the tool on a small board and get it out as needed
of course the dillon has one mounted in it which is pretty good a;so

. . . With most sources I read recommending a primer depth of .004 my Lee safety prime on my turret press will seat them no better than flush. . . .Mike in Tennessee
What these sources often neglect to mention is what to do when you cannot seat your primers to a uniform depth due to inconsistencys in the primer pocket, primer, etc. IMO, for most shooting purposes, with the exception of shooting competitions etc., primers that are seated to the bottom of their pockets will perform quite well and the bullets will shoot with adequate accuracy. Exceptions? Of course, and it will depend on how consistent your ammunition must be in order to suit your needs but for most of us, seating to the bottom of the primer pocket and having the primer at least flush with the base if not slightly below is good enough. No need to tear your hair out over this issue.

It's a quality control issue. I can't "feel" them hit bottom with the setup I have. I exercise great care to make sure my primers are not contaminated yet I have too many go unfired to suit me.
Mike

As Marshal Kane aptly put it - be sure your primer pockets are clean and the primers are bottoming out (CCI says there has to be a "crush" of the primer cup/anvil to assure detonation, but I've forgotten how much pressure they recommend) and use a straight edge to assure they are at least flush. Try to be consistent with the seating (as with all loading steps) and then go and enjoy your shooting.

If you're using ex-military brass, be sure to swage or ream the pockets to get the primers to fit.

. . .With most sources I read recommending a primer depth of .004 my Lee safety prime on my turret press will seat them no better than flush. This leaves no margin for error as with my eyes and a magnifying glass I can't tell the difference. . .Mike in Tennessee
Mike,
Here's a tip from an old timer that might help you put that magnifying glass away and enjoy reloading more. After you seat the primer to the bottom of the pocket, run your finger lightly across the base of the cartridge case and across the primer. You'll be surprised that after doing this a few times, you can feel high, flush, and below flush primers. If you suspect a high primer, place the cartridge case on a flat surface e.g. flat piece of metal or pane of glass and give it a light tap at the casemouth. If it's a high primer, the case will rock a little. That one needs the primer seated a little deeper. Don't worry about the primers that seat flush or slightly below flush. Just make sure all primers bottom in the primer pocket. I do this procedure with every case that I prime and only examine the ones that feel high.

Mike,
It sure sounds like another issue besides your primer set up. What are you loading for? High primers are not a good thing and this needs to be resolved. Placing them on a flat surface and looking for wobble is a good test. Running the finger over them is good too. It just sounds to me like you have an issue that we have not addressed yet.

Give us more specifics.

Thanks everyone. Marshal Kane has revealed what's happening I believe. As I described, there is, with my equipment, a difference between "flush" and "bottom" Now with the glass test (an excellent idea!) I can guarantee if it's flush but don't know if it has bottomed. If you saw the Lee primer cup you could tell that it is physically impossible to seat beyond flush. I think this is what's happening at least some of the time. The primer maybe once in 500 or 1000 rounds goes into a primer cup with a fraction of extra room and the primer/anvil is not distorted enough to detonate because it has a little room to travel. Hopefully the new inspection routine will help cut down on the majority of misfires.
Mike

If not, a switch to a hand priming system is in order. I use two Lee Auto-Prime units, each set up permanently for large and small primers. The body of the Lee tends to break once in a decade or so, usually where the shellholder is held in. But Lee will dutifully send you a new one every time.

The Hornady and RCBS units are also excellent and probably a bit beefier, with equally superb warranties. If you can, try samples of them in a store to see which fits your hands best. Priming CAN get to be a tiring, hand-cramping exercise, but at least it can be done while in your La-Z-Boy with the tube on!

Like Rocky I've been using the Lee hand prime units, set up exactly like he has, for lots of years. You can feel the primer bottom on the pocket using these units and at under 12 bucks apiece can leave them set up for both large and small primers.

I talked to Richard Lee once, actually got him on the phone and we were talking about his auto prime units. I had broken the hand lever on mine. He told me about a fella that returned one that was broken and when ask how he broke it he said that pushing the last 1/4 inch or so after the primer was bottomed to seat it was why it broke. It must have taken some huge pressure to push that primer handle all the way after the primer was seated solid.

Richard said he'd explained the system was designed to not go beyond where the primer was bottomed out and you could feel the seating. He replaced my years old lever for free by the way.

The best thing you can do is get away from priming on the press and do that stage by hand with a Lee Auto Prime.

I use a Lee hand tool and my primers always, always go bang. I don't much fiddle with cleaning primer pockets either.

The best thing you can do is get away from priming on the press and do that stage by hand with a Lee Auto Prime.

This my vote for the "answer"

I have a couple of "green" priming tool's that i will send to anyone on the forum that wants to cover the shipping cost. Not a joke.

I have a Lee Autoprime, and it's OK for most applications. But the best option so far is an Auto Prime II on a cheapo Lee Reloder press.

I am not a Lee flag waver, it's just what works.

I use three different priming setups, an older RCBS hand primer, a RCBS Ram Prime, and the Turret press priming system.

By far, I like the Ram Prime unit, mine takes the APS strips so its really fast and no hand cramping. I like the hand primer for the best feel, but if you have arthritis or have broken your hand (like me) it can be very difficult to get through more than 100 or so cases. The turret press has a very nice system, but mine tends to flip primers on their side once or twice per 100, so I have to go back and punch those primers out and its very annoying. So, I'd vote for the ram prime, they come where you load them single, for around $20, or the APS version which is like $40. You can load the APS strips by hand or get the $10 loader so you don't touch primers at all.

I've never had a bad primer, only some CCI primers that didn't want to stay in the cases.

Hand prime of the press is the best way if not on a progressive. I use an RCBS hand primer when I don't use the prime seat on the press. Just like Rocky you can do all your sizing then take all the case plop down in front of the boob tub and prime away. The hand primers have a great feel for seating.

HI mes49 ive used the lee hand held priming tools for several years.[ 1000.s of rnds.] never had a real problem with them. I have 2 of them one set up for lrg. rifle the other for small rifle. imo. any hand held tool is faster, and easier than using your press.good shooting to ya.