I have a Lee Auto prime that I have used for more than a decade but when I replace it I will go with another brand. Lee specifies that you should only use CCI and Winchester primers as other primers may denonate en masse.
This from the Lee website.
Quote:
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Users have reported that the primers in the tray of an Auto Prime can explode for various reasons, some of which include: a cocked primer, or an attempt to prime a case which has a primer already in place, or more than one primer on the punch, or priming a military case with the crimp not completely removed. Should an explosion occur, our tests have demonstrated that safety glasses will normally prevent serious injury to the user if CCI or Winchester primers are used, because the explosion is minimal. Other primers, however, can explode with sufficient force to seriously injure the user, or persons nearby. We do not take any position with respect to the quality or performance of primers available on the market. However, only those primers manufactured by CCI or Winchester are recommended for use in the Lee Auto Prime, and when loading those primers, safety glasses should always be used. No other primers should be used with the Lee Auto Prime.
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The manager of my local reloading store told me he reloads Rem and Federal primers in a Lee and he has had about 10 primers go off in his hand with the auto-prime but wasn't enough to cause him any serious injury. He says he never puts more than about 10 primers into the tool.
I have 2k of Federal primers I got from a friend and I am going to buy a new tool for one of these days.