Tried the RCBS hand primer.......

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Mus408

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Apr 30, 2011
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And love it! Found it made for a much smoother reload operation with my Dillon 550 press.
I took my .45 ACP brass and primed while sitting back on the porch and later ran them thru the
Dillon resizing and thru the other operations on the press.
 

rugerjunkie

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Thats all Ive used for years now. Took the priming arm off the press and might as well throw it away. The hand primer is faster by far and gives a way better feel to the operation. And when primed , a quick swipe with a finger to feel how deep its seated along with a visual and done. 10x faster than using a press to prime...
 

Jim Puke

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Work fine as long as you have a good one...my last one is a DOG..despite what 6gun says...and RCBS has not made it right...YET..also, despite what 6gun says.

I loved my first one...that is the reason that after years, I decided to buy a second one...mistake, apparently.

Glad you like yours and maybe it will serve you well.
 

6gun

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Mus408 said:
And love it! Found it made for a much smoother reload operation with my Dillon 550 press.
I took my .45 ACP brass and primed while sitting back on the porch and later ran them thru the
Dillon resizing and thru the other operations on the press.

Glad to hear, I knew you would like it as much as I like both of mine. :mrgreen:
 

sandman228

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Sep 15, 2011
Messages
191
Ale-8(1) said:
I've had good luck with the LEE version. Anyone care to offer a comparison?

:)
I can chime in on the comparison, I started out with a lee hand primer it was ok at 1st and seemed to do what I needed it to. I don't know about there newer model they went to a couple years ago but the older model with the round primer tray the handle was week I broke at least 3 of them .also the linkage rod that goes into the handle wore down badly in about a year or so of use . my neighbor and I were talking guns ,reloading ,ect , ect 1 day and I told him about my troubles with the lee hand primer he said he got out of reloading a while back but still had some dies and a few other thing left in his basement that I could have if I wanted in amongst it was an rcbs hand primer after cleaning it up and adding a drop of oil here and there I started to use it and it works great .about a year or so later I got a call from a friend said she was just at a yard sale near me that had a bunch of reloading stuff so I went and checked it out .im glad I did cause the guy had his stuff priced to sell I picked up a 2nd rcbs hand primer new in box still in plastic wrapping for 5$ so now I have 2 of them 1 perminantly set up for small primers the other for large and they work fine. I do however use the rcbs bench mounted priming tool for my 9mm and 35 rem rounds ,it seems my sr9c and my 35 marlin don't like rounds that the primer isn't 100000% perfect and almost countersunk a bit. oh and 1 other thing I like better about the rcbs hand primer tool any shell holder will work with it you don't have to buy shell holders that are for just the hand primer tool
 

6gun

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My hand primers are the universal one's they need no shell holders that's why I bought them.
 
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DixieBoy said:
Jim Luke said:
Work fine as long as you have a good one...my last one is a DOG..despite what 6gun says...and RCBS has not made it right...YET..also, despite what 6gun says.

I loved my first one...that is the reason that after years, I decided to buy a second one...mistake, apparently.

Glad you like yours and maybe it will serve you well.

Jim - I don't doubt that you're having the trouble you say you're having with your most recent RCBS hand primer.

I'm hoping that you can get a straight answer from RCBS to settle this question of point of manufacture.
Are the darn things made in the good old U.S.A. or aren't they?

My RCBS hand primer is set up to work with the APS strips, and I love 'em. But then, it's at least 15 years old.

I'd really like to know if big green has gone China on us with this tool. Hope you'll keep us posted with how
they fix your problem. - DixieBoy

They may be made in China now. I have had mine for years and works extremely well.
Mine does not use strips have that little tray with ridges to flip primers.
Love the thing don't know what I'd do without it.
I Too wish you luck Jim, on the bright side RCBS has good customer service at least the use to. ps
 

Rick Courtright

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Ale-8(1) said:
I've had good luck with the LEE version. Anyone care to offer a comparison?

:)

Hi,

I'd try, but can't, yet. ;)

About 12-15 years ago, I got the then "new and improved" Lee version with the primer tray to add to an older single primer model. Figured when I wore one of them out, or it broke, I'd buy an RCBS to try. There's other "green" stuff on the bench, but so far, a "green" primer tool's not included!

There's a problem with Lee equipment I've found seems to run thru their line: the user has to be able to read and follow simple instructions, and Lee doesn't cater to the illiterate 800 lb gorilla market. Mr. Lee even tells us how to break some of his stuff in his "Modern Reloading" book! If one doesn't follow the instructions, bad things can happen. And do.

Then, with respect to our simian relatives, there's this word an old timer once told me is important in the use of and its effect on the longevity of tools: "finesse." As applied to the reloading world, there's always gonna be that guy who can screw up an anvil with a rubber mallet and another guy whose equipment looks brand new after 100s of 1000s of rounds. Since I've even read accounts of folks who've broken Rock Chuckers, the old fellow might have been on to something...

Rick C
 

Bucks Owin

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51st state of Jefferson
I have used an old Lee handheld exclusively for MANY years and many thousands of rds with zero problems. Know why?

I LUBE THE DANG THING OCCASIONALLY! :shock:

Try it and have no more "problems"... :wink:
 

SweetWilliam

Buckeye
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Messages
1,609
Location
Ohio
I still use an old RCBS that takes shell holders. No complaints.
I lost the lg. primer rod & have went through 2 lg. (Black) rod guides. RCBS sent me everything at no cost.
 

Johnnu2

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Jun 26, 2003
Messages
2,846
Location
NYS
I've used RCBS with shell holders and when those two just wore out, I got the RCBS that has the 'universal' chuck and the green tray with ridges. Other than a slight problem with the tensions spring on the 'jaws' (which I fixed)....I have no problem and enjoy using it.
 

Rclark

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Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
3,533
Location
Butte, MT
I still use an old RCBS that takes shell holders. No complaints.
Me too. I do need a new black guide though as mine now has a chip out of it, but still works fine. All I use.... Many many rounds.
 

Boxhead

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Mar 28, 2004
Messages
969
Location
Either Texas or Idaho
I prefer my ancient Lee's to my 10 year old RCBS. I bought the latter as the Lee's would not handle the Rigby case. I have read nothing but horror stories regarding the Lee's of more recent manufacturer.
 

langenc

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
471
Location
Lewiston, MI USA
powder smoke said:
DixieBoy said:
Jim Luke said:
Work fine as long as you have a good one...my last one is a DOG..despite what 6gun says...and RCBS has not made it right...YET..also, despite what 6gun says.

I loved my first one...that is the reason that after years, I decided to buy a second one...mistake, apparently.

Glad you like yours and maybe it will serve you well.

Jim - I don't doubt that you're having the trouble you say you're having with your most recent RCBS hand primer.

I'm hoping that you can get a straight answer from RCBS to settle this question of point of manufacture.
Are the darn things made in the good old U.S.A. or aren't they?

My RCBS hand primer is set up to work with the APS strips, and I love 'em. But then, it's at least 15 years old.

I'd really like to know if big green has gone China on us with this tool. Hope you'll keep us posted with how
they fix your problem. - DixieBoy

They may be made in China now. I have had mine for years and works extremely well.
Mine does not use strips have that little tray with ridges to flip primers.
Love the thing don't know what I'd do without it.
I Too wish you luck Jim, on the bright side RCBS has good customer service at least the use to. ps


I wonder what the price difference really is-American made vs China made??
The price to consumer don't seem to make a big DROP when China makes em and the companies imply tey are made so much cheaper there.. What happens to the difference in $$$?

Ive seen it happen w/ so many good products.
 

Rick Courtright

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Messages
7,897
Location
Redlands CA USA
langenc said:
I wonder what the price difference really is-American made vs China made??
The price to consumer don't seem to make a big DROP when China makes em and the companies imply tey are made so much cheaper there.. What happens to the difference in $$$?

Ive seen it happen w/ so many good products.

Hi,

Sadly, a lot of companies are trading on a good name that took decades to build, but only takes one genius MBA a short time to ruin. I actually don't mind buying Chinese products, IF I pay Chinese prices, which more often than not means what the dollar stores charge. And I expect an appropriate level, or lack, of quality.

But if I'm going to be charged American prices, I want the same quality the company used as a selling point before jumping on the boat to go overseas. When that's missing, I feel taken advantage of--or just plain ripped off--and try as much as possible to avoid that brand in the future. I can become rather "unbashful" about sharing my thoughts with those around me, as well. I also have taken to writing more, and less friendly, letters to those companies. Might not do any good, but at least someone did get a chance to know how I felt before they hit "Delete."

Some companies "get it." Witness Buck Knives and New Balance shoes as a couple I know of: both went to China, and are bringing at least some of their production back to the States. Neither's US made products match their Chinese offerings in price, yet people seem to be willing to pay the higher price to get a better product. In Buck's case, I think bad "press" on forums and social media was a big player, while New Balance mentioned as they expanded their local SoCal manufacturing facilities just a few years ago the difficulty of dealing with the Chinese on several levels, quality being a big one. When someone expands in CA, with all our ill-conceived legislated roadblocks to business success, it really makes the Chinese look bad! Other companies don't get it, or don't care, so it's a crap shoot.

But maybe there's one way to attract some attention:

When one gets a paper catalog or looks online, there's often a notation the product is "Imported." But what does that mean? "Imported" on its own is not a dirty word, but as it's applied, it may become one. For example, I have a gun case that's "made" in the US of "US and imported" materials. Well, digging deeper, I learned those "imported" materials are rather high quality cloth, from one of the oldest mills in Scotland. Excellent! Another gun related item is Browning shotguns. "Imported" with them could mean Belgium, Portugal or Japan, which are on the "good guys" list in my book. But when another one says "Imported" it means "Made in China." If I know that, I'll avoid the product whenever possible.

So what if we were to start badgering our legislatures to strengthen the truth in advertising laws to require stating the country of origin by name, rather than just allowing the umbrella term "imported?" I like to think a lot of consumers would start voting more with their wallets and credit cards, perhaps enough so as to attract attention from the companies involved.

Just a thought...

Rick C
 

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