Lee Loader

I have a couple old Lee hand primers, the kind that requires screw in shell holders. Great primers, for small volume reloading, as you have to place one primmer in the tool at a time. I keep mine in my bug out bag along with my lead loaders, my Lee hand press, and my Lyman 310 tools. Well I was going through my stuff today and it seems I have lost missed placed or never had( I can’t remember) The one to load 9 mm, the one marked M . My question is anybody have one of these or know where I might be able to purchase one? It’s not like I can ask Lee they haven’t made these in years. I appreciate any help suggestions anybody has.
Thanks,
Poppy42

I've seen them and others around but not listed as hand primers stand alones . My next batch will get primed with a new ram prime press tool .

Here they are

This is what the shell holders look like.

Those I haven't seen before , that made any sort of an impression anyway .
They look pretty indestructible and easily repaired if they do break .

Yep they work great, for small amounts. Now I’m not gonna sit there when I’m set up to do 509 mm at a time and trying prime them with that little hand primer I prefer a bench prime method. But like I said in my original post great little primers to keep it a bug out bag, or for those occasional primers they don’t get seated deep enough and you need a little extra. Anyway I can’t believe I lost the shell holder for 9 mm. It’s been a while since I had them out I’m sure I had one( I think) but I sure can’t find it now. Like I said in my op, I keep all my on the go reloading equipmentI in a couple range bags so I don’t know what could’ve happened to it. Anyway i won’t even bother calling Lee I don’t know how long ago they stopped making these!

Yes, the old Lee screw-in, manually fed, hand primers were the ones I started out with back in the day (mid-70's). They worked fine. However, their achilles heel was the handle. It was cast made of what looked to be some type of pot metal. The handles tended to break.

I later went to ram priming on the RCBS RC press using the universal ram priming attachment. That generally worked well but it didn't have the "feel" of a hand primer.

I then moved to my favorite hand primer which, sadly, has been out of production for 25-30 or so years. That's the RCBS Posi-Prime. This hand primer, unlike the Lee, uses standard shell holders and is also manually fed which is what I prefer. Unfortunately, the Posi-Prime had the same achilles heel as the old Lee screw-in hand primers, that being, the handle is likewise cast with some type of pot metal. After years of use, the handles break. When that happens, RCBS will replace the old Posi-Prime with a new model hand primer since they no longer have any parts available for the Posi-Prime.

I've got several Posi-Primes left, so I figure I'm good for the foreseeable years to come. Thankfully!

There are a few of us Posi-Prime enthusiasts on the various forums, and it's good to hear their stories, too!


Bayou

If I’m priming pistol or revolver cases anywhere besides with a progressive press, I’m very likely to use one of these tools. I find it nearly as quick to place the primer in the holder before the next case as it is to shake down another one in the tray arrangement of the later versions (“Auto-Prime”). I don’t need any more speed than this give me, but YMMV. I even have been known to use this tool as an adjunct to performing the other steps on a L**** 310 Tool. BTW, I’m building up my 5 entries so I have access to the trading section... I have a few duplicate shell holders to swap and a short list of needs. Stay tuned.

Froggie

Bayou, I just noticed your comment about breaking handles... I have bought a couple of tools that were broken or incomplete just so I could rebuild others. The handle is probably the greatest weakness in the tool, but I try to keep the bearing surface lubed and to not be too heavy handed (as well as keeping spares.)

Froggie

Froggie -

I do the same thing with the Posi-Prime hand primer. That is, buy broken units just for the parts. There’s still quite a bit of those older tools out there to buy and “scavange”. It is a good way to build up some extra insurance against future failures which will surely happen.

Bayou