Priming tools and practices

E

eww1350

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I have never used a priming tool that only holds one primer at a time..such as the Sinclair and all the rest...Is there a distinct advantage to a "one at a time priming" vs a Lee Priming tool with tray..?
I load my 6ppc and 30BR using the Lee Prime Tray and my accuracy is right along with that I see in the match reports, and I win my share at the local club matches.
So is there an accuracy advantage..?
Yes I have heard all about the "feel" of priming individually, but I am way past a novice in reloading...
 
I have been using the Sinclair tool for years at first I thought it would be really slow but I find it really isn't. Its a very nice tool. So is the K & M which is quite a bit less expensive.

Whatever you do if you keep using the Lee auto Prime be careful, and do not use it with Federal Primers they sometimes go off and you get a chain reaction. One person that posts here got a nasty burn on his hand once that way.

Dick
 
I was using a Lee Auto Prime and bought a Sinclair just because it seemed like the BENCHREST thing to do.

Like Dick said, they are not terribly slow like you might think.

The reason I like the Sinclair is that the tool clamps the case rim down before you seat the primer. The primer is pressed in nice and square.

The Lee tool allows the case rim to rock around with no support and when the load of the primer seating is applied the area of case that doesn't have support above it will tip upwards. This puts the case on a lean so it is at an angle to the primer and primer punch and thus the primer is trying to be pushed in off at an angle. You can see this if you have a nice fresh tight primer pocket, the primer can end up with a flattened area on it, have a look at some newly seated primers closely.

Also the whole "feel" thing is much better than the Lee.

Whether any of this matters is highly doubtful but it is a nice way to prime so far as I am concerned. If nothing else, when doing one at a time you are hard pushed to get a primer the wrong way up and pushed in the case upside down. I know that can happen with the Lee if you don't watch closely.

Bryce
 
As far as accuracy goes there is no difference, zip,nada. If you are talking about quality build and longevity K&M and Sinclairs will beat a Lee hands down. Is that important you may ask, well have a really good day like winning an agg with only one group to go and have the handle break off on the first primer your reloading. It does wonders to your confidence in your equipment when you go to the line after asking around to borrow or buy one and everyone wanting to see your broken one while telling you that you shouldn't be using that junk and panic is now replacing confidence.
If you stay with the Lee have a spare and only load enough primers to load what you need at the moment and no more.
 
Other than a possible tilted primer or a accidental crush/ignition.:eek:
Is there an accuracy advantage?
I gather from the responses that there isn't..
 
I'd say the benefit is purely in the head.

I just like stuff that is nicely made. The Lee works, the Sinclair works and impresses with it's quality. I kind of knew that would be the case before I bought the Sinclair but I am still happy I have it. Plus it takes up a little less space in the toolbox.

You could probably jam the primers in with a small hammer and a metal block like with a Lee Loader and still get the same accuracy, just depends on the level of refinement one feels is worth the cost required to achieve it.
 
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Kinda like asking is there a real advantage to cleaning your primer pockets ?
I don't really know if there is any real measurable difference but I feel its part of precision reloading.

So is there a real measurable difference probably not.
 
I am still using the same Sinclair I bought 4-5 years ago.

Want to buy a box of broken or worn out Lee bits?
 
well i'll show you how silly i am. my 308 br is loaded by a lee tool. the newer lee's are a bit stronger, and i have not broke one of the new ones( and yes i did break one of the old ones.). for my 6ppc, i use a real old school lee single feed primer tool. it has a screw in steel shell holder. what i like is that it is dedicated to just the 6ppc, and is very consistant.....
i guess when i'm rich and famous( neither is likely)..i could spring for a specialty tool for benchrest priming.

mike in co
 
Karl, as you rotate the outer sleeve, the shellholder descends and the priming post sleeve remains fixed. The case head is this trapped between the shellholder which is bearing down against the upper side of the rim, and the priming post sleeve which is bearing on the case head right around the primer pocket.

Creighton Audette described this system and offered it as a "free patentable idea" to anyone who cared to make it in the final chapter of his six part primer series in Precision Shooting in 1994-1995.

The Sinclair is the best priming tool I've ever used, there's a large collection of others gathering dust. Does it improve accuracy? Yes. When using this tool, the SD of chamber pressure is always smaller and that has to lead to better accuracy by whatever measure is employed to gauge accuracy. Building accuracy into a rifle/ammo system is the process of eliminating sources of error and the Sinclair tool does that with respect to primer seating which itself is an important element of accuracy.

I do a lot of testing work with primers and this is the tool I use to seat every primer that gets fired for testing or competition. In fact, I have two of them out of simple paranoia. I hesitated to post in this thread because the original post conveyed (to me) that the poster wanted confirmation of his preconception rather than a good exposition of facts. Maybe I just read it wrong, maybe not. In any event, these are my experiences and preferences.

German Salazar
 
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German - Thanks for the info. How do you change the shell holder? I notice Sinclair sort of recomends a second head like it involves a little work. What holds the head on the body?
Convincing myself I deserve a Sinclair! you know how that goes.
Thanks --
 
Shell holder (Lee Type) is held in place by allen screws . Its not really all that easy to change but not hard either , I have one for PPC and one for 308 thats all I use,

Dick
 
What would make the Sinclair priming tool even better is if they offered it with fixed priming heads, machined solid ones along the lines of the case drivers. Make them for say 222, PPC, BR and magnum and also offer the currenty style for everything else when used with a Lee insert.

I had a look at the case holder from the driver and it wouldn't take much to machine it a little differently to adapt them for the prime tool.
 
BJS6 said:
What would make the Sinclair priming tool even better is if they offered it with fixed priming heads, machined solid ones along the lines of the case drivers.
Click to expand...

I doubt they would get enough additional sales to come anywhere near breaking even on manufacturing and handling costs .
 
I'll probably draw sneers, but I like and use the RCBS handheld APS primer seater. Load the strips my self and find it easy to do.
 
Karl, as Dick said, it's not too hard to change shellholders, three tiny set screws hold it in. It's real easy to drop the set screws, even when you mean to leave them partially screwed in, however! Like Dick, I have an extra head, same sizes, PPC and .308.
German
 
Eww

I use an old RCBS that is older than my grown Son. I just seat a primer, turn it about 1/2 turn, and hit it again.
I like picking them up one at a time. Just out of habit more than anything else.
Using such an antiquated tool doesn't seem to show upon the target.......jackie
 
Another question

I thought the idea was not to touch the primers therefore I bought the RCBS with the primer flipper tray that plugs into the priming tool.
Where have I gone wrong?:)
Centerfire
 
Centrefire,

You'd have to have your hands pretty well smothered in case wax or have a very serious oily skin problem to mess up a primer picking it up from the tray to the tool !!

Just whipe your hands dry of case lube and start priming.

The whole never touching a primer is another of those old wives tails that seems to surround shooting, essentially sounds in the basic concept but exaggerated out of all proportion in the real world.

If you would eat a sandwhich, liverwurst or otherwise, then your hands are clean enough to prime cases !

Bryce
 
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