anyone ever make a bullet puller or recommend a good cheapish one?

i no longer have a job, money is kinda tight. tonight i scored 300 loaded rounds of 45ACP plus 500 sized and primed cases for 30 bucks total:D.... the 300 loaded rounds are reloads, except for 35, they are factory winchester 230g FMJ... as for the other 265... i need to pull them since i have no idea of a powder charge any ideas how to make a puller on the cheap? i do have the #2 shellholder, just a way to secure and slam the cases?\

am quite happy, there are 100 cast rn 230g loads, about 20 hollowpoints i suspect are factory also that are in speer cases, many 230g FMJ and about a hundred or so truncated cone design jacketed loads, along with quite a few 200g swc loads.:neener:

Buy a hammer. They really aren't that expensive and would be the only cheap safe way to do it.

A collet puller would be easier but thats going to be a bit more mone.

Buy a hammer.


kinetic puller? how do they hold the shell in place when you use it? special shellholders or the normal type for presses and handprimers?

Pulling bullets can be a fine art. I would like to reprint this from July 7, 2007. It is a classic way to pull bullets at home.

"There are a few annoying people on this forum I would like to rename Ed, because they are "special". I would recommend the following method of bullet removal to them (not you xxxxx, do not attempt this at home). For those unnamed special Eds in the audience, grasp the cartridge with your teeth at the rim with the bullet inside your mouth. Now! Bang the back of your head with large mallet until the bullet comes out.

Enertia (error eraser) hammer. Cheap and come with shell holder. At least mine did...

Shoney...You shouldn't post something like that. "Special Ed" just might try that. Then where will you be...:neener:

We will be nominated as primary instigators when Ed receives his Darwin Award.:evil:

I much prefer the Hornandy Cam Lock bullet puller and it's not that much doe.

Frankford Arsenal hammer-type puller (available @ Midway ++) is inexpensive and works fine. Follow the instructions and use the end grain of a piece of wood for the anvil. I use a cut-off pice of 4X4.

Oh yeah, put a piece of leather or foam in the bottom of the hammer to protect the bullet nose.

I recently had to pull over 300 9mm due to a bad chrono.
I'm a 'C' shooter but a 'Master' working toward Grand Master with this bullet puller. I still have to hit about 5% of the cartridges twice.

I much prefer the Hornandy Cam Lock bullet puller and it's not that much doe.

+1 - Unless you plan on pulling lots of different sized bullets.

The kinetic bullet pullers are the cheapest way to go and possible the better option due to cast bullets. The Hornady option is by far the fastest way to go and the easiest for doing that many un-loadings, but will most likely damage many of the lead bullets if they were casted soft.

IF you go the hammer route, I would suggest putting a piece of foam or stuff some cotton inside the bullet hammer so when you strike and knock out the bullet it will hit something soft and not deform the cast bullets. If you can find out what powder was used for the rounds, you could also recover and re-use all of the components (bullets and powder)!! I have luckily NEVER had to pull more than 50 rounds with the inertia method. Just don't hit the hammer on concrete or steel -- Strike it on a piece of wood a couple of times and your done.

Most impact bullet pullers use a 3 piece expandable collar which holds the case while you remove the bullet. A few good whacks on a solid surface and the bullet + powder is caught in the base of the puller. You unscrew the top and dump the powder/bullet into a tray. Also, one will cost you only ~$15.00... Try and find a used one at a flee market for $5 like I did.

I much prefer the Hornandy Cam Lock bullet puller and it's not that much doe.

Another +1

This one doesn't use all those collets that everyone hates, it just has a one size fits all cam lock type holder. It's only a few bucks more than the Franklin Arsenal one with the collets and well worth the extra change. It looks fragile, but Hornady built it to take a beating.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=810810

-MW

[/QUOTE]kinetic puller? how do they hold the shell in place when you use it? special shellholders or the normal type for presses and handprimers? [/QUOTE]

I have a RCBS kinetic hammer puller. It has 3 metal jaws held together by a small ruber O-ring. They adjust to fit any case that has a 5/16" rim or larger.

The regular shell holder from your press should work just fine, and will hold the shell far more securely.

+1 on kinetic puller. I used RCBS AND Frankford. I believe both have lifetime warranty. I did end up breaking RCBS hammer in two pieces. They replace it without question. RCBS' hammer is a little better and will have less vibration then the Frankford. I think that is due to the middle material. RCBS uses plastic to absorb shock, which is more effective than what Frankford with their aluminum rod. But RCBS is about $10 more.

Instead of cotton or some other padding in your "error eraser". Use a used (or new) foam ear plug...

I use the Hornady Camlock and like it, but if you're on a budget, a kinetic puller will do the job especially with some hard to grip round nose pistol loads.


NCsmitty

25 plus years and I still don't own one. The occasional bullet gets pulled with pliers, like the two I did some crimp testing with the other day.

The inertia hammers are pretty cheap, and will save those valuable components.

+1 on the frankford arsenal and +1 on using the shell holder in place of the collet

I would recommend the kinetic "hammer" type pullers as they will more than likely pull any caliber you happen to encounter without having to buy any extra collects. I have an RCBS Std. bullet puller that uses a differend size collect depending on the dia. of the bullet. The Hornady Cam-Loc workes the same way using different collects.

Something else to consider regarding the collect type pullers is that they work great for rifle bullets where one can grip behind the ogee on the straight portion of the bullet. This is fine for rifles but may propose a problem with pistol rounds when it may be next to impossible to grip the bullet because of the ogee.

Another thing to consider, I read somewhere that it was dangerous using a shell holder when using the inertia hammer instead of the 3 pc. collet provided. Have no idea where I read it or the reasoning for it. But I would imagine I read it on the internet so it must be true. hehehehe

Another tip: If you try to pull sealed bullets ie; military, its a good idea to use your seating die and seat the bullet further into the case just enough to break the seal. Will make pulling much easier.

In the "Clever things you've invented" thread, #296

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4813977&postcount=296

Not my design.

Come to think of it, I need to make one of these.

Q

seating die to break the seal is a good idea and i plan to go try and make the homemade puller in the next few min.... thanks guys. now i will have a variety of boolits including 230g LRN, 230gFMJ, 230g TC, hollowpoints, 200g SWC(lyman style) and plenty of primed/sized brass to load!

Another tip: If you try to pull sealed bullets ie; military, its a good idea to use your seating die and seat the bullet further into the case just enough to break the seal. Will make pulling much easier.

+1 Some surplus is unpullable without breaking the casemouth seal.

The Frankford hammer has a very short handle, and it is hard to remove some bullets that have a long bearing surface, with just one or two swings. The RCBS handle is longer and gives better "leverage".

My Frankford, and I think the RCBS have the advantage of not having to remove the case, powder, and bullet,with you fingers, via the 3 peice "chuck". All you have to do is give the top a 1/4 to 1/2 turn invert the hammer then tap the handle on the rim of a large can and the case, bullet and powder will come out into the can to be seperated later.
The bullets with soft lead or ballistic tips can be damaged , so the "tip" of padding the bottom of the hammer is a valid one.

the typical inertial bullet puller from Quinetics, (who makes those hammer-types for everyone) is cheap enough

+1 Kinetic. I have one from Cabelas, works great.

To make your kinetic bullet puller work more easily strike it against that big rubber mallet that everybody has laying around. I do not know why, but it just makes it work better.

Cabelas has a reasonably priced hammer type puller. I have used mine for years and it is still working great. Highly recommended!

Try this: Using your press and case holder, place case holder in press, insert bullet case into case holder. Raise bullet up through the hole so the top of bullet is well above the top of the press. Use a small piece of wood resting on the top of the press. Rest a small pair of vice grip pliers adjusted just enough to get a bite on the bullet to be pulled. Rest the pliers on the wood, grip the bullet, then lower press handle. Pops then right off, does much less scarring of the bullet than you'd think. I built a jig that fits in the press that will raise pistol bullets up high enough. Much faster than the hammer, powder is still in the case, can pull about twenty, set in case holder, resize, then reload with another bullet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/bulletpuller.jpg

I found this on eBay. I love it. It's simple to use and doesn't ruin the bullets.

Hey Flashhole, neat looking pliers. Who makes it? I'd like to know its name so I can google it.
Thanks,

ST

I never discovered who made it. But others may know who does.

could ya put up a few pics on how to use those pliers looking things? i have scrap steel and a welder.....ill try that one too. the wooden 2X4 worked for about 30 bullets but i quit because it took about 5-8 good whacks to pull some bullets..... and something about smacking a 2x4 on a concrete block 200 times in a half hour made my hands ring a bit more than i cared for lol :what:

You can get pliers somewhat like those at Wal-Mart in the fall to put arrow heads and nocks on arrows. Gotta wait til archery season tho.

When its all said and done, why not just buy a hammer type puller from Hornady. It'll pull any caliber and is quaranted forever, and only costs about $14.00 thru the discount mail order houses. Just how can one beat that?

See the next post. There you go, what more could anyone want.

natchez has the rcbs hammer on sale right now 14.99