dread_scott wrote: ↑July 31st, 2020, 2:52 pm
TheAccountant wrote: ↑July 31st, 2020, 2:11 pm
I'm just confused about why you would not use the priming function on the press? Having to run the brass through the size/decap function, prime the brass off the press, and then run the brass back through the press again to finish up seems pretty inefficient for straight wall cases. I get those three steps are batched, but I would still like to know what the perceived advantages are. The pickup tubes can be a pain, but it only takes about 10-15 minutes for me to get 5 tubes loaded up, which still seems faster than straight wall brass through 3 times.
For a hand primer, 21st Century is the gold standard, but overkill for most. Frankford Arsenal has been focusing on producing quality tools as of late. I use their hand primer for anything I load that's not on a progressive and I think it works very well. There's enough leverage to make seating smooth and effortless without ruining the ability to feel the primer seat.
As far as Lee goes, their factory crimp die is great. Haven't been impressed with much else.
I won't speak for AZ1182 and let him answer the primer part, but I know I have heard from others that they do it so they can verify more easily that it is seated properly (orientation and height), some say they don't like the finnickiness of some progressive's primer systems, some say its therapy to sit and do it. So there are a myriad of reasons it sounds like as I've been trying to get as much info I can from as many people as possible lately.
I personally will be trying to use the press to prime, but now know that handpriming wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be, especially if I get one that doesn't have any issues. Took me 12-15 mins to hand prime 200 9mm cases. I'm brand new and was having issues with the handprimer, so that feels pretty quick to me, especially if I was doing something to pass the time; music, podcast, tv, etc.
5 tubes in the same timeframe does sound pretty nice though! Especially if I outsource and have the kid or wife do it for me! haha I'm assuming each tube holds 100?
Yes, each tube holds 100. Some primer brands have the primers oriented all the same way, others just random, but flip trays are inexpensive enough.
If I couldn't get the press won't prime reliably, that would 110% be a deal killer for me. It may not seem like a big deal now, but trust me, it will get old in a hurry. Hand priming has its place, but that place is definitely not bulk loaded rounds.
One nice thing about going with the local blue company is they will get you fixed up quickly and you'll never reach for your wallet. I had one of my presses back to them for a timing issue that was causing some primer flip, but it was resolved quickly and they went through the whole press while they had it. Dropped it off on a Saturday and it was back on my bench before the next weekend. It had a solid 10k rounds through it at that point and has had least that much through it again without any issues.
Ideally, a clean piece of straight walled brass should enter the press and 4 or 5 stations later it should leave as a loaded cartridge. If that's not your process, then I would evaluate what you're doing. You'll find some people spend hours doing pointless crap at the reloading bench when they really should be out behind a gun. Shoot 20 of yours against 20 of theirs and see if there's any difference on paper before you go wasting your time.
Bottleneck cases are a different animal.