Let’s face it: sometimes we need to reload the shell casings that we’ve bought over the years. This can be a great way to save money, because pre-primed shells can be much more expensive than shells you prime and reload yourself. In any situation, reloading casings for your firearm can be made easy by using a dedicate hand primer.

What Exactly is a Hand Primer?

A hand priming tool is a device that you can use to reload shell casings. These tools prime a casing, which prepares it for firing by seating a small charge of gunpowder into the base of the projectile. For the most part, how you prime a casing will depend greatly on the casing’s caliber. If you have a larger caliber casing, you’ll need larger primers and the same can be said with smaller caliber casings. Larger primers tend to grant more velocity to the projectile as they tend to utilize a larger amount of gunpowder and have a stronger ignition on the powder charge.

Today, you’ll find two types of primers: Berdan and Boxer. Berdan primers have the anvil inside the casing, whereas Boxer types of primers have the anvil inside of the primer itself. Berdan type primers tend to cost less, so you’ll find that many foreign militaries utilize this type of primer. Because of this construction, Berdan cases cannot be reloaded without an extensive and dangerous conversion process.

Safety

Safety when working with any type of primer is of the utmost importance. Simply put, these items are loaded with deadly gunpowder, which can cause you injury if you’re not careful. First and foremost, when hand priming ammo, utilize eye protection; it can save your vision. Also, ignited primers can produce a truly deafening sound, so when hand priming, be sure to also utilize the appropriate level of hearing protection. Typically, you can use the same earplugs or headsets that you use on a trip to the range or while hunting. The need for safety cannot be overstated; take every precaution that’s possible, the convenience of reloading your ammo casings isn’t worth injuring yourself with exploding primers.

The Process

Reloading a primer can be a relatively easy process. You simply purchase your large or small rifle or pistol primers; these typically come in a small box of 200 or so primers. For some hand primer devices, you’ll have to simply toss the primers into the tray and shake them so that they land heavy side down on the tray. For these types, you might even have to manually move them so that all of the primers are properly oriented. On the other hand, some priming devices can be loaded by simply pressing the primer holders onto the square shaped tray of the hand primer, which ensures that all of the primers are positioned with the same orientation.

Once in the tray, you’ll need to place your shell casing in the holding mechanism. The type of shell holding mechanism will vary based on whether or not you are using a universal hand primer or a shell holder-type hand primer. Our next section will explain how these work and how to prime from this point on with each.

Universal vs. Shell Holder Types

Universal: As the name suggests, this type of hand primer is designed to work with multiple types of casing brass. At the very top of the device, you’ll notice two jaws that are spring loaded. These jaws are meant to hold the brass ends of your casing, so that you’ll not have to constantly replace the shell holding assembly when working with multiple calibers and shell sizes. You simply load the shell into the jaws and squeeze the handle to seat the primer. Unfortunately, many gun owners feel that this type also has a couple of drawbacks.

Firstly, the jaws are spring loaded, so you can accidentally knock the casing off center. When this happens, when you try and load the primer, the mechanism can accidentally send your casing flying across the room, which is not the best situation. In addition to this, these types tend to use a thumb grip, which most users feel is not easy to close with just the thumb. When using this type, many indicate that a second hand is needed and when you are priming hundreds of bullets, your hand can become fatigued at best, and at worst become blistered.

Shell Holder: This type of hand primer requires a bit of extra work if you plan on priming casings of multiple sizes and calibers. Typically, the shell holder section of this device will need to be changed out when you need a different casing caliber. This isn’t very fatiguing, and most shell holder types snap on with ease. Since the holder is designed for the casing, you will be far less likely to have the case become misaligned during the priming process. Also, rather than a thumb grip, many shell holder, manual types have a finger grip that you squeeze with four fingers. This tends to be something that can be done with one hand and isn’t nearly as fatiguing or blistering as thumb-type grips. Unfortunately, many models of this type have no separation between the primers in the tray and the one being loaded, so if one goes off by accident, the others can cascade dangerously as well.

Top Rated Hand Priming Tools

Now that we have an idea about the priming process as well as the type of primers on the market, let’s take a look at some of the top models of hand primer on the market today.

Hornady Handheld Priming Tool

Our first product is by Hornady, a company that specializes in muzzle loading, ammunition, and reloading products. For this product, you’ll have to assemble it before your first use, and it’s during this assembly process that you’ll choose between the two included reversible primer trays, load in the primer grip system, load in the large and small priming mechanisms, and finally attach the shell holder. As mentioned previously, this device comes with two trays, a black one that is great for Hornady shell holders and a green tray designed for older and non-Hornady shell holders. Once assembled, you’ll find that this device is easy to grip and prime, with a system that uses gravity to load the primers into the shell holder for priming. In addition to all this, it’s really easy to prime with this device as it uses a finger grip system.

RCBS Universal Hand Priming Tool

RCBS specializes in bullet reloading, gunpowder, and casings. This unit is one of the better hand primers on the market and RCBS included a great universal casing holder that works very well with a plethora of casing types. This universal holder has a range that will accept 32 ACP to .45-70 government issued casings. The device comes with two primer trays for larger and smaller primers. Intelligently, each tray is ribbed so that all you’ll need is a few shakes for the bottom heavy primers to orient themselves for loading. In addition to this, RCBS even has included a patented safety gate that suspends each primer before loading. This ensures that when the unfortunate occurs, you won’t have an exploding primer that causes a chain reaction among its brethren. Like the Hornady model, this is an easy to prime device that uses a finger grip for priming.

Lee Precision Auto-Prime XR

Lee Precision’s site says that they are the “innovative leader in reloading equipment”, and clearly reloading is at the center of their corporate mindset. The Auto-Prime XR has a bevy of great, innovative features that make priming your ammo a cinch. Firstly, the tray features a channel that allows you to feed your primers into the priming assembly with relative ease. Like the RCBS model, this hand priming tool has a ribbed surface on the tray so that orienting your primers is easily done with a few shakes. This is a shell holder-type, so you may have to make additional purchases in order to accommodate different shell types. Also, while this is an absolute great model of hand primer, you’ll have to use your thumb when priming; a process that can cause blisters and fatigue.

Lee Precision Ergo Prime

This time around, Lee designed this hand primer to be a bit more ergonomic and easy to prime than the Auto-Prime XR. Using a finger-type grip will allow you to prime several cases without a whole lot of hassle and hand pain, making it perfect for those gun owners with aging hands. The tray type is virtually the same as the Auto-Prime, which is great considering that that model has an excellent tray design.

Reloading your casings is great once they are deprimed and ready for the process, but we can’t express enough how important safety is when you are hand priming your ammo. In addition to the models of hand primers we’ve featured here, you should invest in a loading block for your casings, a shell holder set if you are intending to purchase a hand primer of that type, and some protective gear for your face and ears.

Reloading and trimming your bullet casings can save quite a bit of money. But, you really need to have the right tools in order to do it properly. The task can be highly tedious and is often remarked upon by gun enthusiasts as one of the most disdained of all gun maintenance tasks.

Without a proper understanding of all that trimming includes, one can quite easily find it to be time-consuming and tiresome. This buying guide is designed to help you find the best and right tools for case trimming.

Recommended Trimmers

Lyman Universal Trimmer with 9 Pilot (Multi-pack)

This is one of the best basic trimmers (lathe) on the market, and will trim any case up to .458 caliber. The product features a standard shell holder and a wide variety of pilots. It can manage nearly any rifle or pistol case. It also features course dial adjustments.

Frankford Arsenal Case Trim and Prep System

This trimming unit will do almost anything that you ask it to do. With many exchangeable and adjustable parts, there is almost nothing about it that will hinder any trimming project. Except for straight wall cases, this unit will trim every casing imaginable. Another nice feature of this trimmer is that it does not require any special shell holders.

Hornady Camlock Case Trimmer

If you are looking for a bolt-down unit, this is likely your best bet. The unit is highly intuitive and easy to use. It is also reliable and one of the best-priced trimmers on the market. Whether you need to trim one case or many, you will find this one of the easiest to use when in a hurry. The Hornady comes with a cam-lock case. If you’re trimming a rare caliber of bullet, no other trimmer in this price range can handle such fine-tuned measurements.

Why a Trimmer?

Your cases, which out of the factory are usually designed towards as easy reloading as possible, will over time need modification and regular maintenance. Every time that you fire a round your stretching and expanding the case—this is especially true of brass cases. This occurs because of the pressure that firing puts on the shell, which usually elongates it.

At the outset, it should be said that low-pressure rounds hardly ever need to be re-trimmed. Normally It is high-pressure rounds that will need regular maintenance. It should also be said that trimming only works up to a point—eventually your cases will elongate to such a degree that they will not be able to be able to be trimmed down to size. This is especially true of brass cases formed for parent casings, and as such these are the cases that will need regular length trimming.

Otherwise, when considering whether or not to trim at all, it should be said that straight wall cases will rarely need trimming. However, precision handgun shooters will almost always appreciate the benefits from trimming on their rimless and rebated cases. But, on bottleneck cases trimming should not be skimped on, as over time and repeated uses the casing will almost always grow and elongate over repeated uses.

Hopefully, it is obvious that it really depends on your needs, guns preferences, and the sort of shooting that you regularly engage in as to whether or not you will need to do any trimming at all.

A few things to consider before purchasing a trimmer are your budget, the quality of trimming that you prefer, and the amount of casings that you need to trim. Otherwise, other things to consider are how accurate the trimmer is, how square the cut made to the case mouth in regards to the axis is, the speed of the trimmer, the ease of loading and unloading cases, the caliber pilots that the manufacturer offers, the size of cartridges that the trimmer will accept, and the other functions the trimmer is able to perform.

To add, the most important thing to consider while trimming your cases is making sure that the case mouth is square and the length is set properly. It is especially important to make sure that the case length is less than the maximum specification or else the case mouth will jam against your chamber. Also, your bullet will likely create a great amount of pressure as it is holding the bullet too tightly. Squaring the mouth appropriately and keeping to a consistent length will improve your overall accuracy.

For most purposes—like casual competition, plinking, and hunting—, nearly any trimmer will suit your purposes. But, for other trimming situations, more precision and consistency will be required. Trimmers come in all different shapes, sizes, and variations. Trimmer types include Low volume precision trimmers, high-volume precision trimmers, raw speed trimmers, simple trimmers, and lathe-type trimmers (the main choice for most gun consumers).

Low-volume Precision Trimmers

The phrase “low-volume” may be a bit of misnomer, as many of these trimmers are just as fast as the average (lathe) trimmer—that, of course, depends on the brand that you purchase. But, “precision” is not a misnomer. So, if you are seeking accuracy and consistency in trimming than these trimmers could be a great option for you. These systems are generally designed for those who need to change the caliber of the casing quite regularly, and therefore can be slightly slower to set up than other trimmers.

Many low-volume systems use a micrometer head to examine the caliber of the casing and then instantly dial in on those specifications. In using these sorts of trimmers, it is remarkably easy to simply grab a new case holder, reset the trim length, and change the caliber. When that process is over, simply use a chamfering tool and a regular old deburring tool to finish off your trimming.

High-volume Precision Trimmers

If your trimming project requires hundreds or even thousands of cases, say in preparation for a competition, you’ll likely want a high-volume precision trimmer. It would be highly tedious to accomplish this task with a normal or lathe-type trimmer. You’ll want to use these sorts of trimmers in conjunction with bushing dies and VLD-type changer—especially for your boat tail bullets.

When looking for a high-volume trimmer it is highly suggested that you look for an “indexing trim system.” Also, look for products that are generally easy to adjust, provide great chip management, and are easy to insert. Otherwise, simply pick your casing, put it in, and you’ll get a consistent trim length at high speeds.

Raw Speed Trimmers

As far as speed goes, Raw Speed Trimmers are by far and away the best choice. These trimmers use a process called “on-press trimming,” and it literally takes less than a second to handle, chamber, and trim your casing. These trimmers are able to cut down on time by making the sizing die the same as the trimming die. By the time you’ve measured your length, you’ve already trimmed.

Most raw speed trimmers cut a four-degree angle with a carbide blade, creating a very fine and clean cut. After your casing is cut, simply tumble your case and it’ll come out looking like it was factory made. The trick with these trimmers is just making sure that a uniform amount of lube is on all of your cases.

The downside to these trimmers, however, is that if you want a neck-size system, shoulder bump system, or a generic bumping system you won’t be able to use a raw speed trimmer. Even though you can’t beat a raw speed trimmer in regard to speed, they also happen to be rather bulky and loud. So, you’ll want to wear hearing protection as you use one of these trimmers.

Simple Trimmers

These are the best trimmers for average trimming needs. If you are not doing any competitive shooting and only have a limited number of casings to trim, this is the product that you want. They are usually inexpensive and fairly fast if you have a small trimming project.

The downside is that they tend to leave a rougher edge that other trimmers, but this is usually made innocuous by the chamfering and deburring anyways. For the most part, you’ll only want to stick to a simple trimmer if you are only trimming one caliber, as exchanging heads for each bullet can be rather tedious and time-consuming. Also, the more calibers that you are attempting to trim, the more expensive your trimming will become.

Lathe Trimmers

The lathe system of trimming uses a clamp to hold the rim of your casing in a holder, then extends a cutter from the side to the rim. These lathe trimmers come in many varieties, some more expensive than others and some faster than others.

It is highly recommended that when purchasing a lathe trimmer that you buy a universal caliber holder and a comprehensive pilot. This will ensure that your trimmer can handle all of your varying caliber needs for a lifetime. The only item that is likely to wear out is the steel cutter on the device but these are relatively inexpensive.