Thread: Made a start

Originally Posted by Phil_H

Have a look at this video then @grandpamac at about 07 min 47 secs in. It even made the hairs on the back of my neck go up......and yet the lucky bugger got away with it.

Just the way that he is hammering the rod to prime it is an indication that he has something seriously wrong. I would suggest that the primer pocket should have been reamed out first.I personally use a resin hammer and they seat with just the lightest of taps on the end of the rod.

That all said, I share your thoughts in terms of setting a primer off. Reading on forums from the states there is plenty of stories of primers being set off.....and yet is such a litigious country where the sue mentality is so prevalent it is hard to believe that Lee have been producing this tool for 60 years and are still manufacturing it if indeed it poses any real risk to the user.

I'm not in denial as to the risks but just trying to make a risk assessment with horror stories in forums on one hand balanced against a company that still manufactures the loader when one would expect if the stories were half true, they would have been sued out of existence.

I still use it with caution.....as I do a standard press.....but each must make their own assessment.

Cheers
Phil

Greetings Phil,
I agree that there is minimal danger if a primer goes off, especially if you keep your head out of the line of fire. I wrote up my use of a Lee Loader in our NZDA Branch magazine a few years back under the Title "Reloading on the cheap". One of our branch members told me later that he had had a few go off without injury while hammering away. My experience was much like yours in that only light strokes of the hammer were required. The difficulty is with crimped cases. These often resist primer seating a little even after reaming. I have found a little waggling gets over the problem. Easy to do in a hand primer. My use of the hand primer is based on choice rather than any real advantage over any other method.
Happy Hammering,
Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Phil_H

Not wanting to labour the subject of primers going off,
here is another video of a chap deliberately trying to get one to fire using the Lee Loader and was unsuccessful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmJA_ssBATI

I think one would have to be really abusing the tool or have the primer mis-aligned for one to go off......or just bloody unlucky.

Safety glasses though.....at the very least.....should be worn, possibly with a press as well if it comes to that.


And just talking about abusing the tool. I have a Lee Loader that was picked up at a garage sale by another member who never got around to using it before passing it on to me.
It is quite unbelievable the dents made in the top of the tool, obviously made by striking it with a steel hammer. Whoever uses that sort of force is just asking for primers to go off.

Cheers
Phil

Nowadays I always wear safety glasses when doing the primer stage. Didn't way back

And the issue should one go of with the Lee hammer kit (yeah I know, as pointed out 99.9999999% impossible) is not worth considering. If the rifle kit is the same as the shotgun kit the plastic thingee that you insert into the case and then hammer is a very neat fit into the shotgun cases. Any primer detonation is therefore initially not able to easily expel its force, ie it is restricted by the plastic thingee. This is what would make it dangerous.

Not quite the same, but an example of the power of primers - Many years ago in our rifle club we had an incident where a guy attempted to fire a shot. There was a muffled bang. He was able to open the bolt with a bit of jiggling and found the extractor blown off the bolt. The round was unfired. He was lucky in the bolt opening aspect because I am aware of another incident where the handloader put a primer in a case back the front. In that incident the extractor was also blown off but he couldn't open the bolt. The services of a gunsmith was needed. Not a great situation as there was still an unfired round in the chamber.
Back to the first incident, the cartridge was found to not have a flash hole (it was brand new brass). The force of the primer had also reduced the cartridge headspace.

Originally Posted by Phil_H

Have a look at this video then @grandpamac at about 07 min 47 secs in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvr5R14OCfg

It even made the hairs on the back of my neck go up......and yet the lucky bugger got away with it.

Just the way that he is hammering the rod to prime it is an indication that he has something seriously wrong. I would suggest that the primer pocket should have been reamed out first.I personally use a resin hammer and they seat with just the lightest of taps on the end of the rod.

That all said, I share your thoughts in terms of setting a primer off. Reading on forums from the states there is plenty of stories of primers being set off.....and yet is such a litigious country where the sue mentality is so prevalent it is hard to believe that Lee have been producing this tool for 60 years and are still manufacturing it if indeed it poses any real risk to the user.

I'm not in denial as to the risks but just trying to make a risk assessment with horror stories in forums on one hand balanced against a company that still manufactures the loader when one would expect if the stories were half true, they would have been sued out of existence.

I still use it with caution.....as I do a standard press.....but each must make their own assessment.

Cheers
Phil

Just watched the video. That set of instructions looks like the 1978 ones that came with one of my kits. One thing he did that did not follow the instructions was to reprime the case outside the decapping chamber. This would increase the risk of injury in the unlikely event of one going off. It also means that the rod, case and base are not that well aligned. Perhaps this was the reason he was having trouble seating the primer. Still, he was working in metric, something I have always done since the mid 1970's. Still work in grains for powder due to my old scales and the chronograph is set up for fps. Something I will change when enthusiasm triumphs over lethargy one day. I have probably betrayed my OCD tendencies in these posts but that is just the way I am.
Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by zimmer

Ha ha, somewhere I've still got a Lee 12g shotgun loader. Same deal, hammer used to seat the primers. Although shotgun primers didn't seem to need much force to seat. It made good rounds but of course was as slow as.

Progressed then to a flash harry Lee press with optional auto prime attachment. I didnt know myself. Speed thrills

I had two of those...gave one to kiwi sapper and kept the other...got one in .410 too thats out on loan. they slow but work great....

Phil......I THINK I know where you will be getting into trouble......having used the LEE hand primer for years myself......
try this wee trick and see how you go....before trying to prime...use your case deburring tool and give primer pocket mouth a whizz...only need to remove a little bit of material...eg less than 1mm in total.... it will allow primer to start seating properly....this is ESSENTIAL with hornady 2nd use brass as it seems they crimp primers as is most milserp brass,I shake single primer into place,THEN slide shell into place and squeaze handle...remove primed case and repeat....the newer diamond tray works even better and the way it picks up and holds next primer stops the double up posibility....

No apology needed @Phil_H I am always learning so something new here for me that might help me in the future.

Big thanks to @Phil_H for delivering the Hornady scale and trickle to my place today. Very much appreciate the loan.