I've used an Ultramag for close to twenty years. As you assumed, all work is done from the front of the press, but there is plenty of room for this. Spent primers are directed downward through the ram and drop into a clear flexible hose that's capped on the end. When the hose fills, pull the cap and drain the primers. Occasionally, a primer is ejected onto the floor before it can be captured in the hose. The Ultramag is a good, strong, big press that one probably won't outgrow. Whether it's any better than the RCBS, I can't say.