Bullet Puller break even

bds said:

The hammer type bullet puller allows me to do certain QC checks:

- Measure post seat/crimp bullet diameter to see if I am reducing the bullet diameter which is significant for lead bullets in reducing/eliminating leading

- Check if I am cutting into the plating which is important for plated bullets

and to pull apart dummy rounds (no powder/primer) I used to determine max/working OAL/COL and out-of-spec finished rounds that won't fully chamber in my barrels (due to out-of-round bullets, inconsistent case wall thickness, etc. that I don't want to use FCD to fix)

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I though it was me but I see I'm not alone here. Whenever I start a new round and load I also use an empty non primed cartridge and fool with the depth as well as the crimp. It usually takes me several tries.
So do those who don't pull have dozens or hundreds of the empty cases just laying around or do they toss them? Just wondering because I use mine all the time. Heck some of the 356 or 45-70 brass is a dollar a case I wouldn't just throw so many away.

The Hornady puller is quite handy for breaking down rifle mil-surp that has gone bad. I was able to save a couple hundred bullets that way for plinking duty.

cfullgraf said:

(For the tool junkies out there, an anvil fits the category of a tool that you cannot justify before you have one but cannot live without it after getting one.)

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That's true of many tools. I wish I could justify an anvil. I've always wanted one. As it is, I get by with 4" piece of steel round stock that I turned on a lathe to square up and chamfer the edges.

And I would not use an anvil for anvil shooting - absolutely no temptation to try it or even watch from a "safe" distance.

For $12, this Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-Ez Impact Bullet Puller https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B7ZB4Q/ does the trick all day long. Its not something I want to be doing all day long, but it works.

Hello Iragvet1982, welcome to THR.
Missed posts 1,2 and 3 but will say this after post 4.

I have the Lyman inertia puller and it works very well, however, if I had a lot of rounds to pull, I'd opt for something else. I use my RCBS shell holders in the Lyman and they do a much better job than the shell holders that came with the puller. I choose the Lyman because it seem to be the strongest of the inertia pullers via customer's feedback. Even though it was fairly cheap, I may never reap the benefit of a cost savings with it. I look at it like this, it's just another level of knowledge in dealing with reloading and I guess I'd rather have it than not.

I have had the RCBS collet puller for 30+ years, love it. I pull handgun and rifle bullets with it - many different calibers. I leave it in an old press on a portable mount, just have to change out the collets for the particular one I am loading at the time...

May Need Multiple Collets

Back in post #19 I disputed an earlier statement that collet pullers did not work well with pistol bullets, but I did not provide any specifics about why/how they worked well for me. I apologize for being short sighted and now offer this info:

If you want to pull a pistol SWC bullet with a collet puller, you will find that the correct caliber size collet will NOT work, since the slope of the SWC nose is considerably smaller than the caliber. The same is also true of truncated cone type bullets. The solution to this is to have multiple sized collets, maybe even some for calibers you did not intend to use (which of course drives up the cost of the tool). For example, if I want to pull a .40 caliber SWC bullet, I need to use the .38 caliber collet.

I also suggest you do not try to crank down hard on a collet beyond the "normal" rest setting in an attempt to grab onto a smaller bullet - doing that can cause the collet to not easily let go of a full-sized bullet. In normal use, I only have to turn the handle of my RCBS collet puller about 1/2" ( less than 1/8th of a turn) to grab and pull a bullet - even one that is crimped tight. Then when I slip my hand under the collet and turn the handle back 1/2", the bullet drops right out. BUT, if I ever try to crank down hard on the collet to squeeze the four "fingers" tighter to grab a smaller bullet, then that collet never drops the normal bullets again until I get out a small screwdriver and wiggle it in the slits to re-expand the fingers back to their normal resting position. First time I did this taught me quick to check for the right sized collet for any specific bullet rather than just trying to make do!

I haven't had any issues pulling .40 with a .40 collet. I fubared several dozen rounds by either no primer or messed up primer. These were also 2 different HP not flat nose, or round nose. The adjustment is really easy on my Hornady collet puller if needing adjustment. But if I run into the issue that mouser talks about I will just get another collet.

I have that blue Frankford Arsenal Impact Bullet Puller and rather than use them collets with the O rings, I just put my case in the shellholder from the press and it holds better than the collets.
I also have a steel plate that is screwed right to my bench that works just fine to give them a whack. Always handy.
If I am not 100% sure that I put powder in a case and seated a bullet, I will pull it. I usually just lost my concentration and it was loaded up but rather safe than sorry.
Also if I seated a bullet too deep, I can whack it out some and seat at the right OAL with a die adjustment.

Forgot to add I have the hammer type puller as well. I ended up with the RCBS because it was on sale ($14?) at the time I purchased one. I t came with three different size rings to hold the cartridge. Works fine. I just whack it on the concrete slab outside my reloading shed.

Throw away where? I'm just not keen on putting live ammunition in the trash bin or any other "throw away" destination. I built it; it's my responsibility to take care of it and economics has nothing to do with it. Of course that's just me.

ku4hx said:

Throw away where? I'm just not keen on putting live ammunition in the trash bin or any other "throw away" destination. I built it; it's my responsibility to take care of it and economics has nothing to do with it. Of course that's just me.

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I think this best describes my opinion on the subject. I will add that I pick up dozens of unfired mystery rounds at ranges. I pull them and reuse the brass. I think of it as a public service.

ku4hx said:

Throw away where? I'm just not keen on putting live ammunition in the trash bin or any other "throw away" destination. I built it; it's my responsibility to take care of it and economics has nothing to do with it. Of course that's just me.

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This was my thought too. I was reluctant to reply but wondered what one does with a live round that it isn't worth pulling? Throwing it away seems quite dangerous to others. It's not about economics for me.