Anyone Using a Hornady Hand Priming Tool?

[DeletedMember275]

I bought a used Hornady Hand Priming Tool for a decent price, and found that it was missing one of the priming posts. I contacted Hornady and was told that I had to send them the entire tool, so they could 'upgrade' it to the latest configuration. Okay, so I did.

I finally drug it out last night, intending to prime 100 rounds of .40 S&W brass. Maybe it's me, but I had a terrible time with it! I realize that there's one primer tray for use with Hornady shell holders and another for use with 'other people's' shell holders. That didn't seem to matter. The primers kept flipping sideways in the tray, and they didn't feed worth a darn. I finally ended up inserting the primers individually, and primed the brass that way. What a PITA!

I dunno what I'm going to do with the darn thing, but I don't foresee a long and happy association with it in my future.

Just curious if anyone else has experienced these problems.

 

[Cheesewhiz]

Double check that the primer tray cover is indexed properly. There is only one way to get it on so it works. Mine works fine as long as I put it together the right way.

 

[DeletedMember275]

Thanks for the tip; I'll check it tonight when I get home.

 

[Twoboxer]

. . . I realize that there's one primer tray for use with Hornady shell holders and another for use with 'other people's' shell holders. That didn't seem to matter. The primers kept flipping sideways in the tray, and they didn't feed worth a darn . . .

Had a very similar problem with the Hornady. Great ergonomics - even stands up by itself - but using Lee shell holders (and the correct tray) small primers would continuously jam at the ram and tipping the tray backwards to clear it would cause them to flip over. Put a couple of primers in backwards before learning to watch for that. Bought Hornady shell holders and used the other tray - same result.

Then I bought an RCBS Universal priming tool. No shellholders, no feed issues.

The only** issue I've found with it is snapping the cover back on will pop the primers off the tray flipping many of them. Sanding down the cover's center post until it slips into the bottom tray easily is one solution. The other is to herd all the primers into one corner and put pressure on that corner first when putting the cover on.

** If I was really gonna get picky, I'd add that the RCBS bottom tray doesn't flip primers over as well as other trays I've used, and the squeezing ergonmoics aren't as good as the Hornady and some others. But this is clearly still my hand primer of choice.

 

[DeletedMember275]

Had a very similar problem with the Hornady. Great ergonomics - even stands up by itself - but using Lee shell holders (and the correct tray) small primers would continuously jam at the ram and tipping the tray backwards to clear it would cause them to flip over. Put a couple of primers in backwards before learning to watch for that. Bought Hornady shell holders and used the other tray - same result.

Exactly the problem I was having - a Lee shell holder. I bought the Hornady because of the ergonomics; guess that doesn't matter if it won't work. I don't plan to replace all of my shell holders with Hornady's products, either.

I had one of the early type RCBS priming tools and didn't care for it at all. I sent it back and traded it for a neck sizing die! I've worn out a couple of Lee Auto Primes (the older style, before they 'new and improved' them), and hate the ergonomics and lack of 'feel' with them. If Sinclair or K&M built one that handled more than one primer at a time, I'd own one. Seems like someone used to offer a precision, made-to-last priming tool that used Lee trays, but I can't find them any more.

 

[Twoboxer]

. . . Exactly the problem I was having - a Lee shell holder. . . . I don't plan to replace all of my shell holders with Hornady's products, either. . . . I had one of the early type RCBS priming tools and didn't care for it at all.

Just to be clear, using Hornady shell holders and the other tray does NOT help. Small primers still bind at the ram, and often flip when cleared.

Finally, I really like the performance of the RCBS Universal so I'm finished trying different hand primers.