An Easy Way To Load A Lee Primer Tray

The easiest way I've found to load a Lee primer tray is to place the box of primers face down in the tray, slide back the cover half way to dump the first 50 primers, slide those primers to one side of the tray, then repeat the process for the last 50 primers, shake the tray until they're all flipped over, replace the tray lid, and tilt the primers to the side away from the opening, then tip it back toward the opening so all the primers slide over and create a logjam at the opening. Too fast or too slow and a primer or two will slide out the opening. Once you get the hang of it, you can usually create the logjam of primers in one or two tries. Once the logjam is formed, the primers won't readily come out of the primer tray, so it's very easy to load the primer tray into the primer feed trough.

In the past, I used a tool similar to the end of a pencil to try to keep the primers in the tray while I reached back behind the press and tried to insert the primer tray into the trough. Sometimes, a primer would flip as I was removing the tool that was keeping them in the tray. The no-tool method is much faster and easier for me. Once the primer tray is in place, I tap it a few times to fill the trough, although the normal action of the press would do that just as well.

The only trick to forming the primer logjam is the angle the tray is tipped. It's the sort of thing you'll determine quickly by trial and error. Large primers logjam much easier than small primers. Keep your thumb over the outlet of the primer tray to catch any primers that try to escape and you can practice until you get the hang of it. It's actually a fun little game I can play every hundred primers! :^)