Lyman 55 and Lee Auto Prime (The Round One)

[Utahar15]

Ok I Picked up the Lyman 55 Powder measure as well as a Lee Auto Prime from a friend that was clearing out his reloading closet.

He wanted to clear some space some stuff in there not used he needed to sell.

I go the auto prime with shell holders for $15 and the Lyman for $40.


I came home and spent some time cleaning the Lyman as the directions tells you to and after getting it to fit on the only powder stand I had (RCBS) I started thronging chargers . For what I can tell with HB-38 is was dead one. I ran about 3 ponds through it to help lube it up and then started measuring. I’m very pleased with it, better then the RCBS Uniflow. I also how Lee’s and for the most part it’s pretty good, but with the uniflow (only have the large drum) no matter what powder I have tried I can get below 4.4 grains with out major grinding of the powder.

Well of the 3 powder through I’ve used I would give the Lyman a 9 out of 10 (would have been 10 but the Reservoir is smaller than I’d prefer). I’d give the lee a 7 out of 10, it does the job and the price is right, but not a fan of plastic parts. I’d give the uniflow (granted it’s 30 years old) a 6 out of 10, It worked ok with larger grains of powder being throued, but not good for pistol rounds.


Well this morning I set up the auto prime and primed 500 cases and it went much faster and very easy to use.. I’d give this a 9/10 after a hundred or so primers being seated my thumbs started to hurt, might have to put something on it to help with this issue or maybe wear something on my thumb.

One question I’d like to ask with the new Auto Prime (the square one) is it any better any reason to upgrade to this one?

Anyhow I know most of the users on here know about all this just wanted to go a quick review so maybe the new members could get something from this.


Robb

[PawPaw]

I've heard mixed reviews on the square Auto-Prime. The poor reviews were based on the new design of the feed tray. Evidently there's some sort of loading gate that the primers have to go through to get to the seating ram. Some like it, some hate it.

The downside to the old Auto-Prime was that the loading lever sometimes broke. I've had mine for twenty years with nary a problem, but maybe I'm not as ham-fisted as others.

I also use a Lyman 55 and I agree that the powder hopper could be larger. Otherwise I like it just fine. It's my go-to measure for rifle cartridges. I've often wondered if the larger hopper on the Lyman Blackpowder measure would fit the Lyman 55? The added capacity would help tremendously.

[Utahar15]

Just found this. Might be worth added to the next midway order. I did not this was available.

[jmortimer]

Make sure you grease the contact/wear points in your Auto Prime. Mine are over 10 years old and no problems.

[Utahar15]

Make sure you grease the contact/wear points in your Auto Prime. Mine are over 10 years old and no problems.

Thats for the info. I remember ready about that now that you jogged my memory.

[Mk VII]

I've broken just about every component of that Autoprime over the years. It's like Granddad's Axe with three new heads and two new handles.

[johnjohn]

I have the old Auto Prime and the Lyman 55 and both of 'em work just fine.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I have 2 of the old autoprimes and one of the new ones. I like both types. The older one I broke the handle on one. Lee sent me a replacement for it. The new one the handle is much more solid, and has a better feel. There is a bit more to using the new one that takes a few times of using it to get the hang of. They work just fine for everything I have used them on.

[chasep255]

The auto prime is an ok tool. I used it for a while but then I went to using my reloading press to do the priming. You don't get too much leverage with the auto prime which hurts the thumbs and sometimes dosen't seat the primer deeply enough. This too also jams up every now and then. Its one advantage I would say is speed.

[Sevens]

I agree that the Lyman 55's hopper seems to be smaller than most.

I try to deal with that by filling it after each tray that I charge, no matter how many in the tray or the charge weight.

I figure (and I'm more than willing to learn here if my thought process is faulty) is that because I'm not using a powder baffle, I want the powder weight on top of the measure to be as consistent as possible.

Obviously, the taller and larger the hopper, the more consistent the weight on the measuring chamber should be.

The reason I do not use a baffle? I've never taken the time to make one... Uncle Nick has often posted great templates for baffles, but I've not bothered with making one. Further, I believe a baffle in my measure will make it more annoying work to empty the measure when I'm done with a session or done with a particular powder.

Couple that with the fact that I'm thrilled with the consistency and performance I get from my Lyman 55 without a baffle, and there you have it.

Bottom line -- while I too agree that the hopper could & should be larger, I simply top it off EVERY time I charge one whole tray of brass, no matter the caliber or charge weight. Seems to be quite consistent.

Not too much hassle to pour powder between each tray.

[Smaug]

If so, I have one of the older style round ones, and it is great.

When priming 500 cases, I think you're going to suffer some fatique no matter what you do.

I actually prefer the plastic so far, especially in a hand-held tool.

I have to admit though, I rarely use it any more, unless I'm using my hand press. It is so much more efficient to prime on the down stroke of my Lee Challenger press. The feel and seating depth is not quite as precise as on the hand priming tool, but for pistol ammo, it doesn't seem to matter.

You mentioned something about a Lee powder measure. Are you talking about the Perfect Powder Measure? I've never used one. I had the RCBS Uniflow, and was not impressed. It didn't meter well at all with the extruded rifle powders like IMR 4350. IMO, the Lee Pro Auto Disk is much, much nicer. Again, I like the efficiency of charging in the same step as case mouth flaring. The Auto Disk Pro screws into the top of the flaring die.

[Smaug]

[Sevens]

Whoa, had no idea. Thanks for the congrats.

That's a lot.