Can you nice folks advise on a bullet puller

D

Dano4734

New member
I have a rock crusher single stage. All i have now is some hammer thing that will probably blow up this grandpa. I see they make a lot of different press pullers. What works best to buy. Thank you
 
This granddad has used the hammer type puller for around 40 years and hasn’t blown up one thing. All kinds of cartridges have been done except shot gun.
 
If you don't need something that does a higher volume, the hammer thing will work fine and safely. Nothing is going to hit the primer if you use it correctly, so no reason to worry.

I'm a grampa, too. Gives you something to live for again, doesn't it?
 
For sure it does, I told my daughter that if I knew grandbabies were so much fun. I would have skipped her and went straight to them. Lol thank you will try the hammer thingy
 
Three daughters all doctors. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be poor from college bills most of my adult life:-)
 
Two years ago I pulled over 3500 bullets with a "hammer thing" and prior to that for around forty years I used a "hammer thing". Still have all my fingers and both eyes. I don't know of one single person "blowing up" anything with one. The collet pullers on the press can work OK depending on bullet and ogive, but sometimes they just don't work well at all. The "hammer thing" is very cost effective and will work with any caliber. It's called a kinetic bullet puller in case you want to know.
 
I have used the hammer puller since they first came out and a friend at an LGS demonstrated one for me.

Sometimes when I pull cast bullets, I just use the press and a pair of pliers cause I will just put the bullet in the pile to be recast.

I also have a couple of collet pullers (RCBS and Hornady) but have never used them for pulling.

I use one of them for swaging the base of a bullet to make a gas check groove. Works for me.
 
For small volumes and low cost, a hammer/inertial/impact puller is fine. However, I bought a Hornady collet puller a little while back and its certainly worth the money to have in common calibers; fast, less messy, and much less noise. I'm pretty smitten with it.
 
I bought my RCBS kinetic bullet puller (the "hammer") when I first started loading in 1984.

I've pulled more bullets with it than I care to admit.

Exactly zero kabooms.
 
There have been blow-ups by folks substituting a shell holder for the collet that hangs onto the case. I won't get into the photos and mechanism of the damage. Just be aware it can happen. Use the collet that comes with the puller.

I use the Hornady Cam-lock for its speed and ease of operation. If you have old rounds that have bullets bonded to the necks of their cases or military rounds with bullets glued into their necks by asphaltum, you may need to first seat the bullets slightly deeper to break the seal before you use a collet style puller. This helps the inertial pullers, too.
 
There's absolutely no way to blow anybody up with a kinetic puller. Nothing ever comes anywhere near the primers. Best to whack the thing on an igneous rock over anything else, including concrete.
No damage of any kind is done to the bullet vs a collet puller that mars the jacket.
 
A long time ago I got the RCBS collet pullet that screws into the press. Some bullets pulled fine with just slight marks on them.

Others required the collet to be tightened well past "hand tight" mashing and distorting the bullets, and STILL sometimes they slipped out requiring the process to be repeated. Was NEVER able to pull a lead bullet and have it survive. Real pain in the butt.

A few years ago, just for snits and giggles, I bought the Lyman "Orange Hammer" inertia type puller. Works WONDERFULLY!!! Pulls everything, doesn't damage anything!! I pulled 400 7.62NATO without any problems, and without needing to seat the bullets any deeper to break the seal. Most only took 3-4 wacks a few took 6.
Big fan of the hammer over the collet, here!!!

A couple points, never, NEVER, NEVER use the hammer with RIMFIRE ammo!!!!

The other point is you need a hard surface for the hammer to work best. Wood is not hard, and despite how it feels when we fall on it, concrete isn't that hard, either. The hammer doesn't need to be swung hard, it needs to be swung fast, and stop suddenly, for best results. Wood nd concrete slightly cushion, that sudden stop. It will still work, but not as easily.

I found the cast iron top of my COLD wood stove to be ideal. I suppose an old skillet would work just as well.

Forget the press mounted stuff, just use the hammer according to the instructions (DO NOT substitute any components of the hammer!!), and you'll get the job done well, and be totally safe. AND, the bullets can be reused! (Soft lead pointed bullets can have the tips slightly flattened, you can put a small piece of foam or even paper towel in the bottom to prevent this, if needed. Jacketed bullets don't care...)
 
This granddad has used the hammer type puller for around 40 years and hasn’t blown up one thing. All kinds of cartridges have been done except shot gun.
Click to expand...

35 years for this grandpa with the same results. For shotgun I have a shell dismantler that works with everything from 410 to 12 handmade out of scrap stock blank walnut that is fantastic. Guy makes them in Montana.
 
While I am not a big fan of Hornady reloading products, I found their collet bullet puller that goes into a press looked very usable.

I bought it and it is very good. It has a flip0 lever so no screwing around to clamp the bullet, just flip it down, put some tension on it and you can pull bullet.


As I have reloaded more I have found some batches did not work for various reasons and needed to pull more than just one or two.

This works nicely, I will use the Kinetic for the random single, but anymore than that its the Hornady .
 
When using an inertia puller, don't use it like you are hammering nails. Instead, let it rebound freely on its own (of course while still having hold of it) which adds to the inertia effect. A good choice for a pounding object is a short piece of 4x4 standing in the direction of the grain alignment upward (rather than sideways).

The inertia/kinetic/hammer puller is more versatile than the collet type but can be difficult with light bullets.
 
Last edited:
Your using a Kinetic Bullet Puller. Tip: Buy a rubber nosed mallet. {The kind used to put Spinner hub caps on with. } Best investment a home reloader can buy when having to beat on when removing bullet and charge.
 
Th kinetic pullers work and I’ll second 44 amp on the surfaces. If the bullets are lightly seated a wood surface will work. Concrete isn’t that much better strangely as I had one ancient corroded 257 Roberts my great grandfather loaded in The 1930s that I couldn’t pull until we moved to our current home. Hit it on the tile twice and it was free to be reloaded and fly another day. Concrete must have a more forgiving crystalline structure than our patio tile.
 
I buggerd the points on a couple of collector bullets using the hammer puller. I was then told to put a foam earplug in the puller so the bullet didnt get damaged when it came loose. That made all of the difference. Grant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top