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Best Bullet Puller for Lead Bullets


bgavin

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Collet style pullers do not work on lead.   Look at the inertia (hammer) style  pullers.   If you only have a few, you can try running the round thru your sizing die with the decapping pin removed. Then you can usually pull with a plier.  The die squeezes the brass and lead bullet to the smaller diameter,  then the brass springs back a little but the lead does not          GW

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The Grip-n-Pull looked to be very interesting.
I was surprised at the high number of negative ratings it got.
Was also surprised at the price.

I use a single stage press, so my needs will most likely be for a single "oops".
Vice grips and then discarding a single $0.06 bullet sounds like the solution for an infrequent "oops."

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When I bought my kinetic puller, I was advised not to buy one with a metal shaft and a plastic head, as they come loose or break easily. I went with the all-plastic RCBS, and it's worked well for a LOT of years. I did manage to shatter the screw-on cap somehow - maybe it wasn't completely tight when I started pounding. RCBS sent me another cap, free of charge.

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I ave pulled hundreds of lead LARGE(38, 40, 45) rifle bullets with a Hornady cam lock puller.  For little short pistol bullets I have only had good luck with a hammer type.  Using the same RCBS one for years.

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I use the “hammer style” bullet puller for all bullets.

It works great for solid lead bullets.

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59 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Tip for the kinetic bullet pullers.

 

Throw the universal collet in the trash. Use the shell holder from your single stage press.

You stole my reply. I've used an RCBS hammer style for decades. Bgavin, how many do you have to pull and why? Pulling bullets and saving the stuff is a royal PITA.  If it will chamber and fire safely that's the best way. Or throw it away if there's not a pile of stuff you want to save. Yeah, I know how we reloaders are, been doing it for 40 plus years. You'll go thru all of Hell and half of Texas to save a .38 case!

JHC

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59 minutes ago, Fence Cutter said:

 

Same here.......

+me

 

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9 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

For the occasional “oops” I have one of these:

https://www.dillonprecision.com/berry-s-kinetic-bullet-puller_8_3_23998.html

 

You can find cheaper ones but I haven’t broken mine and have had it for 20 years.

I had an identical one 'cept it was green. Might have been Cabella's branded or RCBS, but it broke after a few years. Replaced it with a Lyman brand with metal shaft. Works like a charm.  I'm sure it's offered under different brands. I'm guessing they all come from the same factory but with different labels.

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Just use your wire stripper and press.

 

This guy reamed out a hole in the stripper; I've never had to do that - just take it outta the toolbox, make sure you have the proper shell holder in the single stage press and yank them galena pills.    ^_^

 

 

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, Capt. James H. Callahan said:

Bgavin, how many do you have to pull and why? Pulling bullets and saving the stuff is a royal PITA.  If it will chamber and fire safely that's the best way.


I have none at this time.
For me to chamber and fire safely, that is 90 minutes of driving time and $12 in range fees.
My only reason for pulling a bullet would be suspicion of a double charge.. which I would not attempt to fire anyway.

So far, it is looking like wire strippers + my press is the best option for the very occasional "oops".

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Here's a Youtube video I made about 4 years ago.....still the best way I know to pull bullets.  With cast bullets for cowboy shooting I reuse pulled bullets.

 

Kajun

 

 

 

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Tip when using a kinetic bullet puller. You are not hammering a nail. So don't hold it tightly like you would a hammer.

 

Let me see if I can explain. 

When you hit something with a hammer you want to transfer all the energy of the swing into the object you are striking. You don't want any energy wasted so you grip the hammer tightly so that non of the energy is lost by the hammer rebounding.

 

When pulling a bullet the idea is to stop the case suddenly while allowing the bullet to keep going. The sudden stop is what is doing the work. The rebounding of the head complements the effort, as it is not directly transferred to the bullet but to the case which is what you want. The case reverses direction while the bullet continues on the original trajectory.

 

So grip the handle of a kinetic bullet puller in such a way so that when it strikes a hard surface it can rebound but you don't loose control of it. This will keep the handle from breaking away from the head. Let the momentum do the work.

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I use the hammer style. Got it from Midway years ago. I do use LEE shell holders instead of the "o" ring collets that came with it however. Much easier and less of a PITA. If you hit too hard on the last swing the bullet gets lines in it from the plastic reinforcing in the bottom of the hammer. So, watch the progress and just tap the last hit or so.

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RCBS Inertia "Hammer" for me.

One plastic screw-on piece replaced free of charge.

(I'm a cheapskate and I like to salvage the components, if I can.)

I tried the Hornady puller with the metal shaft, but I couldn't get the collet holding the case to work right and taking .45 ACP's apart for testing at a Wild Bunch match became a real PITA.

I've used the RCBS for everything from 9mm to .338 and 45-70

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1 hour ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

RCBS Inertia "Hammer" for me.

One plastic screw-on piece replaced free of charge.

(I'm a cheapskate and I like to salvage the components, if I can.)

I tried the Hornady puller with the metal shaft, but I couldn't get the collet holding the case to work right and taking .45 ACP's apart for testing at a Wild Bunch match became a real PITA.

I've used the RCBS for everything from 9mm to .338 and 45-70

 

Use the shell holder from your single stage press in place of those stupid universal collets

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Thanks.

I never considered doing that.

I'll try it next time.

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