Lee Precision 90230 New Auto Prime Hand Priming Tool

When I first started it was difficult to work but it has broken in nicely. The whole thing came apart in my hand and took some brain wracking to get it back together the instructions showed that it was meant to come apart but were absolutely cryptic as to how to accomplish reassembly. I have noticed in the past how very very vague Lee Precision instructions are. Once you figure it out you think oh yeah!. All of their merchandise is also very simple and that may be why it is so difficult to figure out. Getting back to the hand primer it works BUT you have to watch it at all times or the primers will be inserted upside down sideways or jammed. The tool does not come lubricated and is necessary for proper operation. I also had very good luck loading 1/2 of the tray of primers even though it will fit 100 easy, the primers I have located were made in Argentina and work quite well. But I loaded one thousand in perhaps an hour. Overall I'm very satisfied.

Gets the job done. Great shipping.

Used this to prime a thousand 5.56 cases in an afternoon. For the most part it did the job it was designed to do. That being said, I lost count as to how many times a primer jammed between the feeding tube and the shell holder or body that held the shell holder. This resulted in no primer feed or a flipped primer. It seems that the tolerances are a little loose. The pain part of it was probably more my fault because of the tight primer cup that I suaged I still have tingling in my hand and arm a week later.

I have two of these (one for each size primers). I also have another RCBS hand primer and a bench mount RCBS primer device. Also my progressive press has an auto prime feature. I prefer to hand prime and I prefer the Lee product to do it. The Lee is well thought-out and simple to operate. Also, it is difficult to make a mistake with it since the primer is more visible up to the point of its being pressed into place. I do have two small criticisms of the Lee. #1, the cover of the primer tray is prone to jarring loose, upwards just a tad, during use. This can allow stray primers to lodge into an area they are not supposed to be. This results in additional space between the primer tray and the cover. This, in turn, can allow primers to turn upside down. You lose time realigning everything. I generally use a small piece of tape to keep the lid more firmly in place. #2 the literature for the Lee Auto-Prime fails to make the point that it uses its own version of shell holder, rather than the shell holders designed for the reloading press. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how a reloading-press-holder could possibly fit into the Auto-Prime. (The RCBS hand primer uses the same shell holder as used in the reloading press; the Lee does not) I concluded that my Lee Auto-Prime was mis-cast when made until I returned to the instructions and decided that there must be a separate line of shell holders. There was. Some clarification of this point might be in order.

My first hand priming tool was loaded one by one, which was tedious. I loved it when I found one that had a circular holder, and some texture inside that would flip the primers anvil up with a little jiggling. But now Lee offers a square holder, which one can put over a whole tray of primers, hold the two together, and turn over to dump all of the primers at once, neatly into the holder. Any that remain on the slight shelf can be brushed into the deeper area with the other primers, and again, the texture on the bottom of the holder allows gentle jiggling to turn all of the primers anvil up, with a little finger action to turn over any that resist. Carefully slide the lid over the primers, which holds them flat in place, and the rest of the work is fast and easy. Grab a shell, slide it into the holder, and smoothly press the primer into the shell pocket. This priming tool has a two-stage feed, which moves the primer being loaded away from the other primers, adding a level of safety in the unusual case the primer in process were to fire. Always take a quick look to be sure that the primer being loaded is not somehow turned sideways or completely backwards, although this is rather rare. Also, press smoothly, and stop if the primer does not seat itself with the usual ease. Resistance to seating may be due to the primer being turned sideways, or it may be due to a shell that has a military crimp or an otherwise obstructed pocket. So simple an action as cutting a slight bevel at the pocket rim with a small knife can provide the funneling action that seats the primer easily and firmly. In any case, these priming tools have been getting easier/faster to use and more strongly built, and I like the controlled feel of priming by hand, so this is a tool that I would not be without! If one wears out, I don't even shop around; this is the one.

Not crazy about this new design. Hard to flip primers in the tray if they come packaged cup facing up, so you're trying to flip them with one hand while trying to hold it flat with the other. The thumb lever is just enough shorter it makes my hands cramp and really takes some effort to get the primers seated flush. Lee you might have saved a few pennies in manufacturing with this new design but the old one was a lot better.

I have been loading my own ammo for a very long time. I've always used my RCBS hand-primer tool, and it works flawlessly. I bought this Lee tool because I use a lot of Lee dies and they are high quality and I've never had any issues at all with them. My reasoning for wanting another hand-priming tool was that I could just leave the shell holder in the priming tool, and have another that was in the press - no need to swap them out every batch of ammo I process. Right now I am working through 1000 9mm rounds, and I do them in batches of 50 at a time. It's convenient to not have to keep taking the RCBS hand-primer tool apart for the shell holder. I know, I could just buy another set of shell holders, and I SHOULD have done exactly that. But instead, I opted for this tool and the set of 11 shell holders that come with it (and are specifically designed for this tool and nothing else - they do not fit my RCBS equipment). Here's my experience with it: First of all, the handle is too small. I'm not a huge guy, but still, this thing is like a child's toy in comparison to my RCBS tool. The lever on this tool is difficult to press because it's hard to get a good grip on the handle. Loading primers into the tray wasn't too bad - pretty much like the other tool I have. I simply turn the tray upside down, place it on top of the tray the primers come in, and flip it over, thus setting the primers in the tray upside down like they should be. Putting the cover on this tray is a bit cumbersome. One slip and you have a lap full of primers. Installing the shell holder is a lot easier than the RCBS tool, but the thing is, the holder moves around a lot when you are trying to set a primer into it's pocket in the casing. The primers don't press in as solidly as my RCBS tool - you can't really tell by the feel of the thing if the primer is set or not. My RCBS tool gives me the tactile feedback that assures me the primer is in as far as it can go. This Lee tool does not. It's very spongy feeling, and again, it's too small to fit comfortably in my hand. And the topper was when I was gently shaking the tool to get a primer into the ram position, the tray moved a little bit and primers came out from the place where they enter the ram pocket and fell on the floor. It was then that I gave up, and decided to send the thing back to Amazon for a refund. All in all it was a bad experience and a waste of time and money. I should have (and will) simply buy a set of shell holders that fit my RCBS tools. I don't plan on getting a new press so I just need to get a spare set of dies that work with it. Stay away from this thing if you want to get any reloading done without hassle. My RCBS priming tool works flawlessly every time. This Lee tool is junk. I'm surprised that they designed this and then sat back, looked at it, tried it out, and said "Yes - that's a good one. Let's sell it to the public.". Could this possibly be a case of a tool that was designed by people who never used it?

It's just too convenient! Simple setup if you read the instructions. I love how the primers flip themselves the right direction and then pushes the primer in with an easy press of the thumb. Too easy. Ingenious engineering although I'm sure plastic parts will eventually wear out, but the price is good enough to just buy another if you're a heavy user.

Funcionamiento perfecto , ya dispongo de otros productos de la marca Lee y tienen una buena relación calidad precio.

Good quality, fast delivery!

Me decepcionei! Pode usar as espoletas que for, cbc, inbramun... várias delas viram no êmbolo que empurra a espoleta para dentro do estojo e por uma protuberância na carenagem que acopla tudo, a espoleta é virada, entrando várias erradas/lateralmente dentro do estojo e causando perda de insumos.

easy to use and works great

sehr stabil. Zuerst ein weing schwergängig . Funtioniert aber tadellos.