Anyone here use the noted RCBS tool to prime with?Any positives or negatives of this tool?

Lots of leverage,but it's a slow process.I used the one that came with my press at first and then I bought a hand primer.If my arthritis gets bad,I'll go back to it.

I've been reloading since 1990 and started using a RCBS Ram Priming Unit for 6 years now and I like it a lot . I set mine for a primer depth of .004" below flush and at this depth it handles all brands of primers with no problems. CCI primers like depth from .002"-.004" and all others should be seated .003"-.007". I like using this tool because once adjusted correctly it has a mechanical stop so it is true every time. Since I been using this tool I have eliminated primer related ftf proplems with my firemans with trigger work done on them. This tool eliminates the feel factor or guessing on primer seating.

I use the CH-4D version of this occasionally. Theirs is a little different than the RCBS version, but operates the same way. You have fantastic feel for seating primers, but it is slow since you have to manually put the primer in the seating cup each time. I use mine occasionally when I feel too lazy to set up my RCBS bench priming tool, which I heartily recommend for off-press priming.

I was turned on to it years ago by hand loading guru Ed Matunas the press accurately controls the seating depth I set it for .005" Its probably a bit slower than some of the primer tools with feeds but I have become adept at feeding the primers, since you handle primers make sure your hands are clean and free of oil or grease.

Its also safer than primers staked in a feed tubes

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Len

I have the page from Ed Matunas column from 1991 Shooting Times hanging in my reloading area.

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I use a discontinued Lee Ram Prime II that is similar to the RCBS, but has a built in primer flipper/holder so it is much faster than feeding individual primers. I like it so much that I bought the last two in town when I found out that it was discontinued.

He was a good friend we hunted together, and before he got too sick to travel he would visit with me in Ohio. The first time in my reloading room he stared throwing out my really old powders. I used to use an RCBS bench mount primer tool with a tube feed he noticed major variations in my primer seating depth and insisted I pull out my old ram (top) primer.

Ed did a fair amount of firearms related expert witness work, as such he saw a lot of problems caused by a primer igniting others in the feed tube causing serious injury. I would imagine the strip primer feeds would prevent such a problem but none of these tools have a solid stop.

I believe Holland gun smiths made a conversion unit for the RCBS with an adjustable depth control.

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Len

Thanks for sharing. I always enjoyed reading his column and articles his work was always straight forward and made a lot of good common sense.

I use the press mounted ram primer as well as the bench mounted tool and like both very much. Precision is more important to me than speed.

Arthritis in my hands forced me to give up the hand priming tool.

Thanks everybody! Sounds as though the only complaint is speed of loading.That doesn't matter to me as I load slow anyway.I too have arthritis and I am needing something other that the Lee hand tool.

Its really not all that slow after you get used to it you will have both hands going one setting a primer the other putting a case in shell holder, I also do a half turn of case and seat again outside of initial set no thought need to be given to amount of pressure or feeling primer bottom out. The press handle gets short stroked, you get used to bringing down just enough for seater to clear primer pocket I have a shortened handle on my press.

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Len

Much better to prime on the upstroke with the Ram Prime than on the downstroke with the press priming system. Better feel. However I long ago switched to the RCBS Automatic Bench Mounted Priming tool. Better than either press mounting system and much better for me than some squeeze your hands priming tool. Take a look at the RCBS bench mounted tool.

The point is on the up stroke the depth is controlled by the press you adjust it at the die so that when the handle stops against the press, the primer is set, feel has nothing to do with it. It is totally a mechanical process.

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Len

Feel is everything using a RCBS Automatic bench mounted tool. There are no positive stops. Don't think hand priming tools have positive stops and they say in their manuals to feel the primer bottom out in the pocket. Set a press to bottom out seating a primer is a good method used by many but feel is used by many priming tools. I have seen reloads where something varied, either primer pockets or primers themselves, that resulted in smashed or slightly flattened primers with the positive stop method. Your press has a lot of leverage at the end of the stroke and can distort primers if not adjusted correctly. Try adjusting your ram prime where the press handle stops before bottoming out just to feel the primer bottom out in the pocket and make your choices. More reloading tools use feel than positive stops.

That is what I use, have primed many thousands of cases that way.

I prime like rg1, by feel, with any method or system I prime with. Like he said, I don't trust any mechanical type stop method because of variation on primer pockets, rim width, etc. With my CH/4D ram priming tool, which is like the RCBS tool we started talking about here, I have it set to seat a primer well before the ram tops out and handle bottoms out on my single stage press. And like he said, with my RCBS bench priming tool, it is all about feel when seating primers as there is no mechanical stop at all. As to which system is easiest on arthritic hands, the ram type system is defenitely way above all the rest as the handle and ram weight pretty much do all the work.

Use one of the Sinclair SS hand primers. As well as the primer station on my Bonanza Co-Ax press.

I had a few primers fail to go off when using my press mounted arm. The RCBS ram prime eliminated those and gives great feel when seating primers.
I still use the press arm for plinking ammo, but I use the ram prime for ammo that must work.

Guess I've been living under a rock for decades as I'd never heard of this type of priming.

I've been gleefully using my RCBS JR3 press with it frame-mounted univeral primer arm & feeding tube since the mid 70's for my priming needs & didn't know it was outdated.

I seat them until they bottom out in the pocket, by feel, then wipe my finger across the seated primer as I remove it from the shell holder to make sure it's below flush. So far so good.

...but thanks for shining some light under the rock for me.

.

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Waiting for the break of day

One thing you DON'T want is for the firing pin or hammer to finish seating the primer as the round is fired. Setting a "stop" is useless unless all of the pockets are exactly the same depth, and the press is "tight". I "gently firmly" seat all primers to the bottom of the pocket, that is all you need to do and the ram primer does this very well, you don't need to lean on it to seat a primer.

It is easy to develop a rhythm and you can actually run a batch fairly fast, but it is the slowest priming method. Seat the primer and run your thumb over it to be sure it's below flush and you're good to go.

I uniform all primer pockets for rifle ammo that will be fired in my gas guns, don't want a high primer in a semi-auto. Good thing you only have to do it once, it's a pita.

With the RCBS unit, if you drop the ram too far, you sometimes have to "finagle" the priming rod back into alignment with the body, the cheap ***** lee doesn't have that problem, but it has others.

All primers need to bottom in the pocket, but you're not swaging bullets here, gentle pressure here is all that is needed when ram priming.

Oh yeah, I like mine, for batches of 50 or less.

It's not outdated if it works for you, and I am sure you have developed a perfect feel and technique for using it.

Keep in mind on setting up the ram priming tool you can use the (not sure of term) but the rod that extends out the back on opening micrometer to set primer depth I set it at .005 and the variations in pocket depth primer height fall within an acceptable range.

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Len

With the old arthritis getting worse I have been looking at the RCBS auto primer tool also. Been using a hand primer for years, this seems more user friendly for us older codgers. Thanks for the thread.

Just ordered the RCBS automatic primer tool from Brownell, they have it on sale for $80 plus shipping. May save the old paws.