If you are like me and load a lot of precision rifle ammunition, you probably run a single stage press. Progressive presses are fantastic for blasting ammo, but tend to lack the control and tolerances precision rifle shooters prefer.
When reloading, I’m always trying to balance the bench time with the rest of the obligations I have in life. Plus, I am acutely aware that rushing any point of the process can lead to accidents and/or injury. Over the decades of making rifle ammo, I’ve found the priming process to be a choke point.
Twenty-something years ago, I used an RCBS hand priming tool with a feed tray. It worked well and provided tactile feedback on how the primer was seated, but fell out of favor to a bench primer.
Years later I upgraded to a Forster Co-Ax bench priming tool. The Forster worked well, but wouldn’t always seat the primers at a consistent depth, required shell holder jaws to be adjusted for each case head size and had an odd system to load the primer tubes.
The Co-Ax gave way to a Sinclair hand priming tool. The Sinclair tool was easy to use and adjust but held only one primer at a time. It worked and worked well, but I would dread having to load more than 50 rounds at a time.
I guess I wasn’t alone looking for a faster precision primer seating system. Primal Rights, a precision shooting specialty outfitter, developed the Competition Primer Seater (CPS) system.
The CPS is a fast, bench mounted, ambidextrous, priming system that allows for setting the absolute seating depth. I was immediately impressed with the bulk, machine work and care in manufacturing process. You simply mount the CPS to your bench, install a shell holder, adjust the seating depth, load a universal primer tube and start priming away. It is fast, it is precise, and it is easy to use.
The CPS uses a rotational drive system to seat primers. Unlike the lever systems you’ll normally encounter, this allows you better feel as the primer seats.
Primal Rights produced the following video showcasing how the machine is set up and run.
In my experience, it is even faster and easier to use than it looks in the video. I’ve had the machine nearly three months and it is the ONLY priming system I use now.
The CPS is:
- Easy to set up. Shell holder changes are easily accomplished by removing two screws.
- Easy to precisely adjust. Simply turn a wheel.
- Fast to use. The user moves the seating arm and primer shuttle, that is it.
- Provides great results.
- Saves you time. This is my favorite part.
The CPS is expensive, however, it is a solid tool. Amortize it over the time you’ll be reloading and it’ll be worth every cent. If you load a lot of precision ammunition and have the budget to support it, take a look at the CPS, I found it is a game changer. I wish I had one twenty years ago!
To learn more about the CPS, check out Primal Rights!
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