For what it’s worth:
When I started reloading several years ago I used an RCBS hand primer and have used it ever since.
Being new then and overcautious, as I guess it is good to be, I was uneasy about seating primers too deep (actually about adding pressure after the primer had traveled as far as it could). I don’t know if it could happen or not, but I had this fear of one exploding.
What I did was seat a primer properly and then I measured the travel the handle had remaining before it stopped against the body of the hand primer. I converted this measurement into an equal number of ¼†flat washers. Then I placed the stack of flat washers on the safety blade between the handle and the body. Now I just squeeze the handle until it will go no further and “presto†they are all seated uniformly. Given the existence of un-uniform primer pockets it seems like it shouldn’t work 100% of the time but so far it has.
Good idea or not?
When I started reloading several years ago I used an RCBS hand primer and have used it ever since.
Being new then and overcautious, as I guess it is good to be, I was uneasy about seating primers too deep (actually about adding pressure after the primer had traveled as far as it could). I don’t know if it could happen or not, but I had this fear of one exploding.
What I did was seat a primer properly and then I measured the travel the handle had remaining before it stopped against the body of the hand primer. I converted this measurement into an equal number of ¼†flat washers. Then I placed the stack of flat washers on the safety blade between the handle and the body. Now I just squeeze the handle until it will go no further and “presto†they are all seated uniformly. Given the existence of un-uniform primer pockets it seems like it shouldn’t work 100% of the time but so far it has.
Good idea or not?