Forster Bullet Puller Die - problems

[Bigdog57]

I recently got the Forster Bullet Puller Die, and am trying to use it to pull down some old Turkish and Yugo 8mm Mauser loads. I had hoped to use these bullets to do some handloading.
The Forster instructions don't really tell much on adjustment. The die body is too short to allow the cartridge to come up all the way on my Lee Turret Press. I was having the internal collett (.323 size) scraping the case neck. Keeping the cartridge lower, I got it to grab and pull one bullet, but it was seriously scraped. I also had to diassemble the die to remove the pulled bullet. I had hoped this would be faster than using my 'Whack-hammer" bullet puller.
Tried another cartridge, but could not get the bullet pulled - just scraping the bullet.
Maybe I am doing it wrong......?
Anybody have any suggestions, or just a thump upside my noggin?

 

[rcmodel]

Try seating the bullets just a frog-hair deeper with you seating die before you try to pull them.

About all military ammo has the bullet sealed in place by asphalt sealant, and when it really gets old and dried, it's like Gorilla Glue or solder.

Seating it just a little breaks the sealer, and then they will come out much easier.


As for the collet not releasing?

I have on occasion had to "spring" RCBS bullet puller collet fingers open slightly with an old knife blade to get them to open far enough to drop bullets.

rc

 

[Peter_S]

I have a Hornady version puller and I think the principal is the same.

Personally I believe instructions are supplied as a general guide for people that don't know any better, and should only be used as a very general guide, or preferably ignored altogether.

In the case of the Hornady puller, the instructions would have been more useful for setting up a pole barn than the product they were supplied with.

What I ended up doing was to screw the die down far enough in the press so that I could see the bottom of the die and I could see the bullet enter the collet. This way you can see the collet and avoid grabbing the case. Once you have the case backed slightly away from the collet, tighten down on the bullet. Again, my experience was that it takes quite a lot of pressure on the collet to even leave a mark on the bullet...but if you are timid with grabbing the pressure the collet is more likely to slip and then you WILL leave scrapes on the bullet.

THe other advantage of the die being screwed all the way down is that, after you have pulled the bullet, you can grab the bullet with your fingers and jiggle it loose from the collet. I find that most bullets don't drop out of the collet on their own.

Once you get a rythm going you can pull a bunch of bullets pretty quickly. It is a WHOLE lot quicker than an impact puller, even using this visual method.