What can happen on July 26th 2023 when the bottom primer in a feed tube for primers goes off? What happens when the bottom-most primer in a primer feed tube goes off? Some or all primers in the vertical tube can detonate in a chain. Dustin Ellermann was the Top Shot Season 3 champion when this happened. It was a scary experience, but Dustin was thankfully not injured. He writes: “Super grateful that I was wearing Wiley X Eye Protection this weekend when I reloaded some.223 Rounds. My press detonated almost 100 small rifle primers. Here is the magazine feeding tube. It was not fun, but it could have gone much worse. Stay safe! Wear eye protection when working with progressive reloading press. Dustin’s experience with chain detonation proves this — without a shadow of a doubt. Remember, you only have one pair of eyes! RCBS APS strips — Alternative to Primer TubesYou’re asking for trouble when you stack a whole column of primers into a single metal tube. Dustin Ellermann discovered that when one primer ignites, the entire row can follow suit, resulting in a chain explosion. You have a few options when it comes time to feed primers into a progressive press. RCBS has developed a smart, innovative system that stores primers in horizontal plastic stripes. Instead of being stored vertically, primers are placed into flat plastic “APS” stripes, with a plastic ring separating each primer. As primers are always moved horizontally, the risk of a chain explosion is greatly reduced. The re-usable APS strip is color-coded to indicate the type of primer. You can purchase CCI primer strips that are “pre-loaded”, or you can use an RCBS tool to insert any primer brand into strips. AccurateShooter.com Editor Uses Strip Primers
This editor owns a RCBS Pro 2000 progressive press. The RCBS strip-priming was one of the main reasons I chose the RCBS Pro-2000 progressive press over similar-priced progressives by Dillon and Hornady. The strip primer system I believe is safer, more positive and easier to use. Before I bought my RCBS progressive I “road-tested’ the competition. I loaded hundreds of rounds onto each of four progressives: Dillon 550B (Dillon 650), Hornady Lock n Load and RCBS 2000. I was worried about the primer tubes on the Dillons. I found that the RCBS rotary measure was more precise (and easy to adjust) than sliding bar system used on the Dillon machines. The RCBS primer system was much more foolproof than the Hornady system (a first-generation L.N.L. that had problems with primer feeding). After “test-driving”, blue, red, green, and other progressives, I chose the RCBS Pro-2000. Even a decade later, I’m still convinced that I made the right decision. I use the APS strips to prime large jobs and I can also put them in the RCBS Hand-Priming Tool (shown below). The strips make it easy to prime up to 40 cases at a go, then switch to a different primer type for comparison testing. The tools and strips can still be found on eBay and in many reloading forums, some of which are “new in box”. This Editor’s APS Hand Priming Tool is still working well after 15 years. The APS priming system works with press mounted priming tool and bench mounted tool. EdLongRange prefers the press-mounted tool. “I like the APS method but use the unit that is mounted on the press (it saves your hands/wrists and I haven’t needed a progressive presses in over 20 years). The primers are loaded in strips, which is a little tedious but manageable. “As with any tool, there is a learning process.” Click HERE to view a video of the strip-loading and press-mounted APS tools. The RCBS press mounted tool is no longer produced by RCBS but it can still be found in some stores and on eBay. Similar PostsTags: APS Strip Accident, Primer Feed, Primer Tube, Vertical Primer feed, Primer Tube Detonation
