Bullet puller recommendations

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  • Last Post 13 December 2020
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max503 posted this 03 December 2020

I'm in the market for a bullet puller.  My green hammer-type puller broke after many years use.  It will be used mostly for handgun rounds.  What do you guys favor?

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ALYMAN#1 posted this 03 December 2020

Hammer type works best with least damage- have old RCBS green, also RCBS collet styles in several calibers.  Mostly use hammer unless volume, which I try hard to avoid.  Also have a 30 cal collet type (Bonanza style) Which worked well for pulling Military bullets, could just push last one out with the next point of round.

FWIW

 

al

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Bud Hyett posted this 03 December 2020

Hammer type - I often must use the hammer type to start a bullet out far enough to get a good grip with the collet type when trying to save the bullets.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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max503 posted this 04 December 2020

OK.  I had a hammer type but it wore out and broke.  Just thought I'd check before getting another.  Thanks.

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RicinYakima posted this 04 December 2020

On most you can use RCBS shell holders rather than the factory parts to hold the case.

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Dale53 posted this 04 December 2020

This sounds "elementary" but you can prolong the life of a hammer type by using a short block of 2x4 as a hammer block. The wood is hard enough to enable the hammer type to work well, but cushions the blow enough to prolong the life of a hammer type puller.

FWIW

Dale53

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GP Idaho posted this 04 December 2020

That's a great tip Ric. I've never broken the handle on a RCBS hammer type but, I've gone through a lot of those phony little holders. Gp

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Eutectic posted this 04 December 2020

I have a Quinetics which I have used for years. I whack it on the vise platform or a lead ingot.

I picked up a Midway at a garage sale for a buck. It came with 3 different sizes of collets.

This is nice since the Quinetecs will not do 32 auto and the smallest Midway collet will.

I will have to try the shell holder idea, Thanks Ric.

Steve

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Qc Pistolero posted this 04 December 2020

I also have a Quinetics.I use it with the shellholder exept for the 45-70 for which I rigged something else.I also have the bullet puller from RCBS that you mount on the press.

I use the hammer type 100% of the time;faster to put into use and works perfectly.

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SkinnerD posted this 05 December 2020

I started with a Kinetic hammer and a wood block which is just a cutoff from a 12x4" laminated beam. Works for everything but it is somewhat tedious. Then I got a used RCBS press based collet die puller and it is great for jacketed but not for cast which it just crushes. Then with some other stuff I acquired one of the latest Hornady Cam pullers which is also press based. Fastest and nicest to use but still only for jacketed. For cast bullets, kinetic hammer pullers are about the only option - certainly so if you want to re-use the pill. And the RCBS and Hornady collets per calibre are close to the cost of a kinetic. A least down thisaway....

John - New Zealand

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Brodie posted this 06 December 2020

I have only used two types of bullet pullers: 1. The normal inertia puller.  Just be sure to hit on a piece of wood not the concrete floor of the garage.  2. Put the round in the shell holder in your RCBS press (or any other) and run it up through the hole where the die would be screwed in.  Grasp the bullet with a pair of diagonal cutters and holding the bullet tightly run the ram of the press down.  The dykes will hit against the top of the press and if you have held on tightly the bullet will be pulled out.  Works with both jacketed and cast bullets.  Leaves a little pair of marks on them, but they shoot fine if reloaded again.

B.E.Brickey

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JimmyDee posted this 06 December 2020

I use a collet puller for jacketed and kinetic for cast.

The collet puller leaves virtually no marks on the bullets and the only cartridges that gave me any difficulty (very hard to pull) were surplus 30-06 armor piercing rounds that are asphalt sealed.

I hammered the kinetic puller on hard wood until the aluminum bits holding the cases wore out.  I used shell holders for a while but that was a bit awkward -- so I simply bought a new hammer.

The collet puller is the way to go if you're tearing-down lots of cartridges; the kinetic puller is fine for the mistakes I make when loading cast.

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Ed in North Texas posted this 06 December 2020

I bought an extra set of the case holders, I think from Midway but it has been some years ago.  So they were/are available as a separate purchase.  The way things go these days they might be about the price of a new complete puller though.

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Bud Hyett posted this 06 December 2020

Taking this tread on a slightly different tack, can you use a kinetic puller on Black Powder cartridges?

I have a fear of using this for the sharp impact setting off the Black Powder. I simply shoot any black powder mistakes out of my Siamese Mauser since it is easiest to clean. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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mashburn posted this 09 December 2020

Some things that are useful for using kinetic bullet pullers. If you will take a little piece of foam rubber or a wadded up piece of paper towel or etc., and stick down in the bottom of the puller, the nose of soft point jacketed bullets or cast bullets will not be damaged. I started using shell holders instead of the little rinky dinky holders that come with the kinetic pullers. I noticed that a couple of other responders suggested this also. I have a lot of collet pullers that I quit using years ago. Everyone that I have ever used would mark the bullet as it was pulled. If I pull a bullet that I don't intend to reuse i use a fast method. Take the die out of the press and put the proper shell holder in, run the cartridge all the way up and grab it with a pair of pliers and lower the ram. I prefer not to damage a bullet because I always re-use them. I went away from the wood handled kinetic pullers, because eventually the wood handle will break. I think the one I have now is a RCBS, I'd have to go look to make sure, is a all plastic one with a very large diameter handle. I think it is in- distructable (so far for many many yaars)

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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ray h posted this 09 December 2020

For anyone that likes the collet puller, place a thrust bearing between the head of the draw bar and top of die. Mine is about 3/16 thick. Reduces the effort to tighten the draw bar and release it a lot.  Polishing the outside of rough collets also help. 

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JimmyDee posted this 10 December 2020

I use the Hornady "Cam Lock" bullet puller.  It features a lever rather than a drawbar you would find on a lathe or mill.  I like it.

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Rum River posted this 10 December 2020

Taking this tread on a slightly different tack, can you use a kinetic puller on Black Powder cartridges?

I have a fear of using this for the sharp impact setting off the Black Powder. I simply shoot any black powder mistakes out of my Siamese Mauser since it is easiest to clean. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

 

I checked on another site where folks shoot a lot of black powder cartridge. Those there claim they haven't had any problem using a kinetic puller with black powder.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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Rum River posted this 13 December 2020

Lol, I shouldn't have read this thread.

Last night my decades-old and disassembled-thousands-of-rounds RCBS bullet puller broke.

Location of the break surprised me though, the hammer end did not fail, nor did whole plastic assembly snap off the metal handle. Instead the 1 1/2" or so portion actually holding the cartridge broke off above the handle. The torque eventually wore it down I guess.

I was never kind to this thing, a concrete surface always worked best. This latest batch of tear-down-stuff I was watching TV so tried a pine 2x12. Eventually split that thing into three pieces. Didn't want to move all the paraphernalia to another room so got a clean 10" AR500 gong I hadn't shot yet.

By the way, if you're wondering "Good grief, how bad a reloader is this guy? He's had to disassemble thousands?" I'm that guy that takes in whatever ammunition someone wants to get rid of - and then tears it down for whatever I can make use of. Plus the grandchildren enjoy watching me burn off the powder with an open burn on a plowed field.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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