How irresponsible is my buddy?

[TheSilverSlayer]

Hey all, swung by a friends shop today and suprized him doing something I consider rather risky.  His hand primer had broke and was priming cases with this method:  Place Lee shell holder upside down in vice, hang a shell in the shell holder, drop in a primer, and tap it in with a large drift roughly the size of a primer inserted through the hole in the bottom of the shell holder. 

Besides being unsafe, I told him that he would probably be getting very inconsistent seating depths, and the potential for a primer seated to shallow.  So, how risky is he really being?

[john keyes]

I don't think its all that risky, I would definitely wear some safety glasses......worst aspect of what you are describing to me is it sounds like a

MAJOR PITA

I think I would be online pretty quick ordering a lee autoprime for twenty bucks.....

[LaOtto222]

Most presses have a priming arm or some thing to prime cases with, why wouldn't he use that until he can get a replacement auto prime or what ever he is using? Through the mail you can get them in just a few days, over night if you want to pay for extra postage. I sounds like a real bother to me, his "new" method. As far as being risky, If you do not give it a sharp blow, it should be safe enough. He should be wearing safety glasses and I would put on shooting muffs or other hearing protection. Even a primer can be loud when in a confined space. As far a seating depth, I think you are correct, he will likely get inconsistent depths. Then there is the handling of the primer. I really do not like to touch primers if I can help it. Was he using tweezers or small tongs to load the primers?

[stimpylu32]

What he was doing is not that much diffrent form what the Lee Loader does to seat primers , and yes he should be using safety glasses and ear plugs , just in case .

stimpy

[Blowtorch53]

I agree.  Pretty much like the Lee Loader.  I have popped a few primers off with them way in the past.  Not such a big deal.  Without saftey glasses it is risky even with a modern priming tool.  I always point even hand tools away from me and never get them near my face.  Be safe!

BT

[Scibaer]

Well, i disagree with the majority here. i say that its risky and unsafe. there is no way his primers would uniformly seated at best, and he could be risking a punctured or popped primer. i'd not do it. i have a Lee auto prime, and i feel that its a bit risky at times. i use the priming arm on my press 50% of the time for small primers and 100% of the time for large primers. i cant imagine driving them in with a punch and hammer. how can you feel the resistance to them been seated ? can you be sure your not partially flattening them in the pocket ? way to risky in my way of thinking
glenn

[skb2706]

Since your first question was "how irresponsible" and not "will it work" my answer is not irresponsible at all as long as you're not there. If you are he should stop loading until he can give it his full attention. Anyone who has used a Lee Loader from the old days will tell you the system works. Safe, maybe not so much but it works.

[Graybeard]

Really that's kinda sorta the way it was done before modern reloading tools and about the same as it's still done by anyone with a Lee hand tool of the old sort using a hammer. While he might get uniform seating depth unless the tool used to seat the primers is a wee bit smaller than primer diameter he won't be seating them below flush as he should. I'd say the greatest danger would be from a primer that sticks up too high which could cause premature detonation especially in an auto loader or perhaps a pump gun.

[Siskiyou]

I started out loading 12-guage shells with a Lee Loader when I was in the eighth grade.  I graduated to handgun and the rifle Lee Loader.  The priming process was a little crude using a base, a Priming Rod, and a hammer to set the primer.  I used the Lee Loader for Dove, Pheasant, Duck, and Goose loads.  For four months a year I hunted on cases discard by others, and primers, powder, wads, and shot purchased from my haying and cow milking earnings.

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/RE1422.pdf

I wore safety goggles when priming.  I would set one off every once and while.  When I got married my wife was tolerant of me reloading at the kitchen table and the occasional bang.  It was about that time Lee came out with its first hand primer.  It worked great on handgun rounds but soon failed.

I credit the use of the Lee priming rod for my wife agreeing to the purchase of a Lyman Spar-T reloading kit.

I have three different priming options now, and I wear safety glasses while I reload.