Suggestions for bullet pulling

[mstreddy]

Hello all, I have to take apart several hundred 9mm of questionable loading. I got them from a friend who bought a case of reloads. Unknown loading info. He's had a couple of issues firing them, very stiff recoil, powerful blast, and actually one round blew the mag out of the gun. He didn't keep the cases in question, no apparent harm to the gun or him. But, of course he doesn't want to risk shooting any more of them. I want to pull them apart and salvage the brass and bullets.
I have a kinetic bullet puller (hammer style). Was looking at the RCBS bullet pulling die set with appropriate collets.
Do you folks think it would be worth it and would it be easier than whacking the hammer 300-400 or more times?

Thanks,
EM

 

[rcmodel]

It depends on the type of bullet you are dealing with.

Collets need a little full dia bullet shank sticking out of the case in order to have something to get a hold off.

Many FMJ-RN and TC shape pistol bullets have the rounded or tapered ogive beginning right at the case mouth and are very hard to grip with a collet. As are lead cast bullets.

I hate to say it, but your hammer-bammer puller might be the best way to do it.

I use collet pullers with rifle ammo, but very seldom find pistol bullets that they can come to grips with.

rc

 

[beatledog7]

I use both a kinetic and a collet type. If I had to pull a few hundred I'd use a collet, which not only makes the work easier and faster but is potentially a lot less messy. With handgun rounds this is not always easy since there can be only a little bit of bullet to get hold of. I've had very good luck pulling .40 S&W with the RCBS system by visually checking full bullet insertion, bringing the case mouth into contact with but not into the collet mouth, and cranking the fixture down pretty hard to ensure a very firm grip on the bullet. Once you get the hang of it, a rate of 3 pulls per minute can be achieved in this way. YMMV, but that is easily twice as fast as I could achieve with a kinetic puller. And for any bullet you can't get hold of, you still have the hammer option.

 

[beatledog7]

An additional point: Bullets pulled via collet may be "marked" by the collet and thus may not be suitable for defensive or competition use but should be fine for practice.

 

[billybob44]

Bullet pulling..

I have a good friend that is a Licensed Re loader. Long story short-his new "Helper" was going at it, with a Dillon 1050 when they found out that some of the .40 S&W's were not getting the proper amount of TiteGroup.
He had 1600 rounds-give or take-in the 5 gal. bucket+was unsure of the charge in some of them.
I made a trade with my friend==I would take all 1670, and give him 1/2 of the 180gr. Berry's TC bullets back.
It took me 3 to 4, two hour sittings, but I pulled all of those with my RCBS Collet type puller.
I ended up with: 1670 CCI primed cases, around 1 1/2 lb. of TiteGroup,and 835 Berry's .40 cal. 180gr. bullets.
I was happy with the deal..Did NOT have to use my RCBS "Whack-a-deloader" on any of the loads.
I pulled the decap pin off of my Dillon sizer die+loaded all of my 1/2 of the bullets, in the normal manner, less having to prime the cases.
That's another reason that I prefer my Dillon 550 over an auto-indexing press!! I DO NOT mess up that many cases, before I notice it..HA HA...Bill.

 

[BYJO4]

I have both types of bullet pullers. I have found it is easier to use the kinetic puller when dealing with pistol bullets plus I don't have to worry about messing up the bullets I pull. 9MM should pop out fairly easy.

 

[dbarnhart]

I've used the RCBS collet puller to pull many 45 acp FMJRN so i suspect it should work just fine for 9mm. If I have a half-dozen or so to pull then I'll use the kinetic puller. More than that and I'll use the collet puller.

 

[mstreddy]

All, thanks for the replies. I guess I'll order the RCBS collet puller. Midway has it in their recent flyer for ~16 plus 9 per collet. Those that have other brands or have compared -- any thoughts on Hornady vs RCBS, etc?
Based on the various responses -- I won't necessarily lose anything by trying and if I encounter any stubborn ones, then I can give it a whack with the kinetic.
Beatledog, thanks for the tips. Will try it.
Billybob, yeah, this ammo will yield me all the primed cases, and bullets. The powder is an unknown variable, so off to the garden with it.
Again, thanks all for the replies.
EM

 

[mikeadams]

I have the Hornady puller, and oddly enough I broke it today - snapped the handle right off. A buddy of mine has ~1500 steel case Wolf .45 ammo that he wanted to pull the bullets out of. Since he only has a kinetic puller, being the nice guy I am (and hoping for a favor later) I offered to pull them for him. Needless to say, these bullets are crimped in tight! Or there's some kind of sealant gluing them in place. Either way, it is taking a far greater effort to pull these than any brass I've ever done. At ~250 bullets I cranked the handle over and it snapped right off at the base. Hornday support was superb as usual and there's a new one in the mail already.

I will say that I think when it comes to press-mounted bullet pullers, I think a Rockchucker or something would be better to use. The Hornady quick-release setup is great for changing out calibers for normal loading, but unfortunately sucks for pulling, as the amount of effort I was using kept torqing the puller out of the press when I pulled up on the handle. Some press where the puller threads in and locks wouldn't have done this. That's my only complaint. Under normal circumstances the puller works just fine.

And yes, the collets will put a ring around the bullet if you grip it too tightly. Pulling something like a Ranier you have to be a little more careful.

MIke

 

[1SOW]

With the kinetic hammer, 3 hits is pitiful, two hits is average and one hit pulls are outstanding. If you can do the last 50 with 1-hit each, you qualify as "Master" hammer blaster.

Making GM will require a lot more practice and dedication. I've heard some GM Hammer Blasters can remove a 9mm bullet without using a wooden anvil. They just "stop" the hammer in mid-air, and the bullet pops out.

 

[Fishslayer]

Depends on your level of committment.

I unloaded 300 rds of roll crimped .357 magnums. Took awhile, but gotter done. I did 30 or 40 at a time till I got tired. Wasn't in a hurry.

So it can be done with the inertial puller. I would guess 9mm would be easier.

 

[jja327]

I found a rubber mallet is great for whacking the impact puller against. No more pounding on a 2x4 on the garage floor.

 

[1SOW]

jja327, cut off about 4-6" of a 4x4 post Set it it on end and the end grain makes a great anvil. You can keep it on your bench easily. I added a "hammer holster" to mine.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KUHn8NlYGAg/TaDHAYWYQ8I/AAAAAAAAAfs/ExOqJrIj2h8/s512/S4300059.JPG

 

[gamestalker]

I smack hard with well palced impacts on a 1/2" steal plate. 3 whacks and it's out. The right way to use them is to smack hard enough on either concrete or steel hard enough that 3 smacks free's any bullet. Today I pulled some heavy roll crimped jacketed .357, 1, 2, 3 and it's free! Wood and rubber absorb to much of the inertia needed to get em out.

 

[mstreddy]

All, thanks for the replies. I went ahead and ordered the RCBS collet puller system. So, by next week I should start.
1SOW, I will try a few to see if I can make "Master" class on the Hammer Blaster.
Fishslayer -- committed -- Yeah, I've been called that...

 

[dbarnhart]

>>I will say that I think when it comes to press-mounted bullet pullers, I think a Rockchucker or something would be better to use<<

I have the Hornady LnL at one end of the bench, and at the other end is the Rock Chucker, usually set up with the collet puller for the caliber I'm loading in the LnL. That way I can Disassenble and fix my screwups as they occur ;-)