Best hand priming tool?

[freebird22/250]

The old round tray Lee priming tool works great for me.

 

[ChrisNZ]

I love my RCBS
Plenty of leverage that doesnt fatigue the hand
..

I'd used a pair of these for years and was relatively happy until I ran into White River primers and tight PRC pockets. At max squeeze, the primers ended up proud of the case base.

At the recommendation of some team mates, I got a 21st Century tool and couldn't be happier. It has significantly more leverage than the RCBS ( needs less than half the force) and you have full control on the depth. The loss of magazine feed doesn't actually worry me,

 

[Kiwishooter]

The Lee hand priming tool with the round primer tray, 20+ years and still going strong

 

[Fire Dog]

I'd used a pair of these for years and was relatively happy until I ran into White River primers and tight PRC pockets. At max squeeze, the primers ended up proud of the case base.

At the recommendation of some team mates, I got a 21st Century tool and couldn't be happier. It has significantly more leverage than the RCBS ( needs less than half the force) and you have full control on the depth. The loss of magazine feed doesn't actually worry me,

Yes, never had a problem with mine seating the White River primers…
Plenty of leverage and the click adjustable head allows for the ability to be sure the primer is below the base of the case.

 

[bulletpruf]

^^^^^^^^^^ This. No way I'd want to use a hand primer where you'd have to load each primer into it, singly. The Frankford is terrific.

Frankford Arsenal works well for me.

 

[SSL]

After having two Lee hand primers finally give up the ghost due to wear on the "cam" piece that caused primers to no longer be seated entirely (not complaining - many years of service until that happened) I switched to a pair of RCBS Universal hand primers. I set one up for large primers and the other for small. After several years of use now, the ease of use and function have me completely sold. Maybe I'll consider a form of the bench mounted tools when my old hands finally won't handle the hand tools, but these work for me just fine for now.

 

[Thor357]

My search found threads a few to many years old. I know things change and new things come out. I can only consider a HAND priming tool, much as I wish I had a nice room to set up a good bench setup. So, what is the current best hand priming tool for a brand new never did it before person? Thanks in advance for the many helpful replies that always occur.

I bought the Frankford Arsenal priming tool and it is a piece of junk. Switched to a 21st Century. Very happy now.

 

[joshb]

Huh. I bought one last spring to replace the old one I wore out. It works great.

 

[Tommie]

Mine’s the best

 

[lotech]

I've used several hand priming tools. For the last ten years, I've primed just about everything with a 21st Century tool. I've had a Sinclair and it's almost as good. The 21st Century works perfectly and is made of good materials. I doubt you'll hear complaints about them except for the price. However, amortize the cost of the tool over it's lifespan and consider how much you use it. Cost is then negligible able at best.

I liked the original round tray Lee Auto Primes and wore out several. You can scrounge for parts and keep these going if you like them that well. Many say they have used the Lee tool for decades and I don't doubt that. However, if you're priming a lot, say 20,000 or more cases a year, they won't last long because they are made of material that won't last long.

 

[quest450]

FWIW Yesterday I primed 100 cases with 21st Century hand primer, primer pockets were uniformed and I got .0005" variance in primer seating depth, my CPS Comp primer has been collecting dust lately

 

[tikkaman308]

Frankford arsenal is a great hand priming tool and relatively inexpensive