"What was that?!?"

[Ysabel Kid]

Yelled SWMBO (a.k.a., "Mrs. YK").

"Nothing, honey" I yelled back from the basement.

That was embarrassing. Recently I picked up an old "Lee Loader" for the .45 Colt off ebay. Decided to give it a whirl over the holidays. Read the instructions, questioning them a bit when it came to setting the new primer. The instructions called for "lightly tapping" the case onto the primer while it was in the holder.

Tapping a primer into place? That sounds like a problem waiting to happen.

Like most of you, I've reloaded for decades, mostly on a bench-mounted press, but also on a Lee hand press. Never have I tapped a primer into place. Pressed one? All the time.

Well, those are the instructions. So, putting on safety glasses, I started the process. Got to setting the fresh primer and... "pop!", it went off.

Apparently loud enough for the Mrs. to hear upstairs.

Oh well, that was interesting, but I won't do that again.

So I come up and my wife is sitting in her chair with the "what did you just do" look on her face. I just put up my hands and said "I still have all my digits". She just rolled her eyes and signed.

[JimT]

I loaded a lot of ammo on the old Lee Loader. The only one that I set off primers consistently were the 30 Carbine rounds. I probably popped 1 every 10 or 15 until I read about reaming primer pockets.

[TedH]

I had a similar response the first time I shot primer powered hot glue bullets in my 38 down in the basement.

[Griff]

I have had a Lee Loader for the .30-30 since about 1973. Someone gave it to me, and the "who that was" is lost in the excess of information stored in the ol' noggin' and a poor filing system. But, suffice to say, before I ever accumulated enough brass (and the courage), to use it, someone else, (wife's little brother), gave me a little used RCBS Jr press to hold while he left the State the day before a warrant was issued. Yea, the little stuff gave the police my address as his... Thus began my reloading, and appreciation of things RCBS.

[GunnyMack]

I was gifted with a12ga loading hand set up by a neighbor many years ago. He was well into his 90s at the time, still cut and split firewood by hand. He still chewed Redman.
Anyhow he gave me a very brief tutorial on how to use it all. First time I tried it out the priming tool set off the primer. A 209 primer is quite loud in the basement! Being a teenager I caught a lot of flak for scaring mom!

[RIHMFIRE]

ever whack em with a hammer?

[Walt]

Yep, that'll ring yer ears!

[bmtshooter]

I used them a lot when I was younger .........never had a primer go off.

They were a great introduction to reloading for a youngster; and were affordable.

[BenT]

That sounds about right to the response I would get at my house. After 35 years she is used to it. :

[gcs]

We had one of those whack a mole kits in 3006 when we were still kids, the loading was easy enough and we never popped a primer. One time I noticed a just finished round that the primer was sticking up a little, no problem I'll just tap it down.....after the second tap it dawned on me what the heck was I doing!?!.... just a mind fanny burp, and it didn't go off, but it sure wakes you up...

[AmBraCol]

I've gotten that look often enough to have it memorized! That and the dogs giving me the "How COULD you?" look for disturbing their nap.

Way back in the 20th Century I loaded a BUNCH of 38 spl as well as some 44-40 on the Lee Loader system. But it was a piece of cake after learning to reload 32 gauge full brass shells with nothing but a pointed knife and a dowel. Those 32 gage were Berdan primed, with a large CBC primer that one would poke at the center (approximately) and penetrate close to the edge then flip the old primer out. Seating was straight forward. Lay a new primer over the pocket and use the flat of the knife to tap it in. Easy does it and keep going until it's flush with the surface. Never set off a primer THAT way. We did singe our fingers a time or more removing the priming compound from the CBC primers in order to reload 22 LR though.

Back to the Lee Loader. Setting the primer in the old 38's was straight forward, just place the new primer in the center of the seating tool and gently tap the rod 'til the primer seats. However, that's the way it SHOULD work. Since I'd swap one live round for six empties I ended up with a plethora of headstamps (over 50 of CBC alone, IIRC) and even primer pocket sizes. With brass being difficult to source I didn't give up easily on any of them, to include switching Berdan primed brass to low power target level only Boxer primed. Take a tiny drill bit and carefully drill the Berdan anvil pin from the case mouth side until it's cut free. Use the Lee Loader (later Lee Speed Die) decapping system to pop the pin and primer out as usual. You've now got a three flash hole primer pocket. Gently seat a new primer in place, a tiny bit of Bullseye or Especial de Caça and a wadcutter bullet. I think it was with one of these that didn't get the Berdan anvil removed evenly that I got my first "loud reaction to gentle seating". When I finally got a primer seating mechanism that allowed for leverage instead of impact, things really looked up!

I've got one of those old Lee Loaders in the cache. One of these years I ought to dust it off and give it a run for a box or so of amo "for old times sake"!

Thanks for the memories!

[Old No7]

Yelled SWMBO (a.k.a., "Mrs. YK").
"Nothing, honey" I yelled back from the basement.

Gee, I don't know Jay -- maybe she was hoping you "wouldn't answer"... You might have "too much" insurance coverage on yourself!

Glad you can still count to 10 -- or is it "up to 21" without clothes on!?!?

Old No7

[2ndovc]

I have one of the Loaders for the .44 Magnum. Used it a couple of times thinking it would be a useful kit to take to our cabin to experiment with. I ended up thinking that it was an odd way to set primers. I bought a Lee hand press an an extra set of dies for the .44 and .303 Brit. Packed it all in a plastic ammo can. Not as compact as the loader but still easy to tote around.

I've gotten that look for other unexpected "basement noises" though.

jb

[Ysabel Kid]

Yep, that'll ring yer ears!

It sure did!

Probably didn't help my poor hearing one lil' bit!