21stcenturyshooting.com Benchrest SS primer tool review and comparison

[richness]

Those of you who caught my review of the 21st century primertool will know that I loved it for its depth adjustability and build quality.

 

Today I'm comparing it to the all-metal Benchrest Stainless Steel version:

 

The "normal" 21stcenturyshooting.com primer tool - nothing normal about it; I think it's awesome:

 

 

I really liked the way it uses the old round Lee trays not the silly new Lee square trays whose covers break at the corners.

 

 

Yet with that you are still using normal shellholders andplastic-dependant alignment ie. the priming rod comes up through the plastic tray and pushes the primer into the brass which is being held by the shellholder. If the plastic tray is wornor isn’t perfectly aligned and the shellholder is a bit sloppy, or either partflexes, then a tight primer can go in askew or to an inconsistent depth.

 

 

 

It’s way way better, stronger and more adjustable than normal but it still has these inherent issues.

 

 

I use to poo poo such thinking in that all my primers wentin just fine and I didn’t see it as a problem. Oddly enough, I have recently had a lot of troubles getting large rifleprimers to seat uniformly in 284. Eventhough the primer pockets were reamed out uniformly the preferred Federal 210s often needed checking to check they weren’t crushed or tilted or both. This is due to the shellholder allowing thebrass to tilt slightly under force. The plastic gives slightly under force and misalignment can occur.

 

 

The benchrest version of the primer tool from 21stcenturyshooting is completely metal and built like a Swiss watch. Indeed, like a Swiss watch, you might well pass this down to your grandchildren. It’s a beautiful thing

 

 

 

 

Essentially the topunscrews, allowing one to swap the precision shellholder for another. Directly below that is the priming rod assembly which you swap between small and large for small and large primers. The machining on all this is sublime. Then the top cap screws back on and is notched as it tightens so that each click is 2.5thou. One can therefore exactly standardise the depth of the primer seating.

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever depth you select, the shellholder turns to the angle you want for smooth insertion of the case. There is zero flex anywhere so it feels absolutely lovely and perfectly consistent. Where the priming rod pushes up into the case everything that aligns is metal and very tight – there can be no misalignment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was a huge surprise was single-feeding theprimers. I really thought this would beso slow and fiddly. It turns out it is actually probably faster overall than trays and is a pleasure to do, and you do not realise how much you were worrying about the whole tray of primers going off until you’re only handling one at a time and there’s no risk any more.

Yes, incredibly the placing of the primer into the little slot on the tool is a pleasure – it fits just so sweetly.

 

 

 

(Above picture - No slop or flex possible there!)

 

There is no worrying about the how many you need and counting them out, holding the angle of the tray just so, flipping the primersover, worrying about lids, getting them to feed….you just pop a single one in the slot in the top of the tool and squeeze it home. I never expected it but I’m not going back to trays.

What a masterpiece of a reloading product and a pleasure to use every time. It is one of those products that you think you could do without until you use it. Then you realise that it offers rather significant advantages and just as importantly, turns a chore into a pleasurable task.

 

Richard Utting

Video review to follow on my SharpshootingUK YouTube channel

[sitsinhedges]

Are you selling these

[richness]

No I'm just a reviewer. No financial interest in them at all!