Best Investment Ever?

[silvertriple]

For the longest time, I've been whacking bullets out with the impact hammer. Just thought it was fine and didn't really see the need to invest in the collet puller. Well, after whacking hundreds and hundreds of rounds loose, I got fed up with it and finally decided to invest in a collet puller. Ended up with the Hornady collet puller and #4 (.264) collet. I have to say, all I could think of while pulling some grendel rounds were "why didn't I buy this thing sooner?" Best $50 investment ever that saves a lot of pain and noise. Now I have to get a #6, 7, 9, and 11 collet.

 

[joshb]

Yup. I did about the same thing. I hate to admit how many times I’ve used it.

 

[robert8904]

Same puller here. It doesn't damage bullets and is fast and easy. I've loaded pulled bullets with no noticeable loss of accuracy.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Bullet hammer story: So, a friend with a gun shot gave me 50 reloaded 44mag rounds. he obviously couldn't sell them, so passed them on for the brass(PMC). I had a Winchester AE at the time.

The reloads looked good. Clean shiny brass, no sign of wear. Pur the first one in the Hammer. and hit and hit and hit and hit, It would not budge. I bashed that thing until the friggin' thing almost broke.

Result - the lead core was moving forward, leaving the jacket stuck in the case! Now, crimping the 44 was a new thing for me. I eventually got it apart with a variety of tools. The load was right on the book max for 296. A detailed look showed all the rounds having the crimp from hell.

The Christmas break was fast approaching and a couple of us were heading out of town to a friendly farm for a goat hunt on neighbouring property. Friendly gun shop owner came along - with a Ruger Redhawk. Well, you have to have a go, right?

Well, the loads were a bit sudden!, he suggested. The remainder were taken apart with an RCBS collet. BTW, I have the Hornady, for all the calibres that I shoot.Great tool.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I have a hornady collet puller with all the collets. None of them work without gouging the bullet a bit more than vise grips would do. Thought i was upgrading but the old lyman collet puller is back in service. Btw all collet pullers ruin the top tier accuracy of your bullets- just the same as dropping them on the floor. You may not ever notice it but if you shoot itty bitty groups keep a collet pulled bullet to the side as fouling bullets.

 

[topclass2017]

I use an RCBS collet puller, and agree re miniscule marks. These become fouler or I load them for when I take family members to the range. Mainly I pull bullets to recover the primed case and powder

 

[cw308]

Hey Guys
Am I missing something , I have used the hammer maybe 8 times in 30 years. Are they only used for screw ups?
chris

 

[Downeast]

Hey Guys
Am I missing something , I have used the hammer maybe 8 times in 30 years. Are they only used for screw ups?
chris

Yes, nine times out of ten they are used for screwups. It's supposed to be a punishment, hence that is why you use the hammer.

 

[M-61]

Hey Guys
Am I missing something , I have used the hammer maybe 8 times in 30 years. Are they only used for screw ups?
chris

NO. Sometimes you decide to stop with a certain cartridge. I spent too much time on a 6.5x.284. Rebarreled to 6.5BR
Pulled all those 6.5 bullets from the cases. BTW using an RCBS collet puller that leaves no marks.

 

[Twicepop]

I've had the RCBS version for about 20-25 years, and YES I have made mistakes. Most of what I've pulled using this were to re-appropriate components, especially now since those components are few and far between. I've found that with some loads, I need to break the seal between the bullet and the brass with the kinetic puller, then extract the bullet with the collet type.

 

[K22]

Rarely need to pull bullets since I've been using the same loads for more years that I'd like to admit but the impact hammer works very well for me when I have to pull bullets but like I said, I rarely need it.

Pulling bullets, no matter which tool is used, is something best avoided. Perhaps more confirmation of load development should be employed before loading large batches.

 

[nakneker]

Pulled a few bullets, mostly because I sold the rifle or was given hand loads, hand loads always get pulled. Used a hammer bullet puller once, been Using the RCBS collet puller ever since. I always put pulled bullets off to the side because of what Dusty mentioned, its a Tool that doesn’t get used very often at all but when you need it your glad you have it.

 

[cw308]

So in a way I'm right . To be fair I only have one rifle I'm reloading for for benchrest shooting , hand gun 45 and 38/357 , less of a chance to screw up even though it happens T G not that often to invest into another puller.
Chris
PS: Didn't want to sound like a smart ass , just wanted to know if it was used for other purposes..

 

[JMayo]

About the only time I use my Hammer is when finding base to ogive in die setting. Little taps.

Never could hammer out store bought.

I padded the end so no damage to meplat when I rarely screw up a bullet ! Lol !

 

[silvertriple]

NO. Sometimes you decide to stop with a certain cartridge. I spent too much time on a 6.5x.284. Rebarreled to 6.5BR
Pulled all those 6.5 bullets from the cases. BTW using an RCBS collet puller that leaves no marks.

This is the main reason I have pulled so many bullets. Tried several cartridges throughout the years and no longer shoot 223, 243, 6.8, 7 mag, and 300 wsm (and some others I probably forgot), hence these rounds have to be broken down and components repurposed. I'm a recreational shooter and the bullets shoot fine for me, kids, family, and friends.

My point was that it was easier and quicker to pull using the collet.

Is the consensus that the RCBS puller leaves less mark than the Hornady? Doubt I'll switch but would be good to know.

 

[topclass2017]

Hey Guys
Am I missing something , I have used the hammer maybe 8 times in 30 years. Are they only used for screw ups?
chris

I'll pull when it becomes painfully obvious the bullet powder combo is a no go or too hot rather than waste components and barrel life

 

[justpassinthru]

This is the main reason I have pulled so many bullets. Tried several cartridges throughout the years and no longer shoot 223, 243, 6.8, 7 mag, and 300 wsm (and some others I probably forgot), hence these rounds have to be broken down and components repurposed. I'm a recreational shooter and the bullets shoot fine for me, kids, family, and friends.

My point was that it was easier and quicker to pull using the collet.

Is the consensus that the RCBS puller leaves less mark than the Hornady? Doubt I'll switch but would be good to know.

Never used a Hornady but use an RCBS quite a bit and I've never seen a mark left from the collet. I tighten just enough to hold the bullet but if I really cranked it down I'm sure there would be a visible imprint.

 

[Buzz]

I like the RCBS. I’ve found using the next size up collet works better and leaves practically zero marks (i.e. 6mm to pull 224). Much easier to salvage powder than the hammer style too.

 

[Richard Coody]

Loaded for load development on my 6mm grendel. Found max and had higher charges loaded. Pulled them with my pma bullet puller. First time using it. A little pricey but a nice tool. Beats a kinetic puller or my pliers type by a long shot. Don't even need a press.

 

[M-61]

No idea what the Hornady does or performs. (Don't have one)
My RCBS leaved NO marks and as stated above I also tighten it just enough to grab the bullet.

I Have no clue how I did this but I seated 50 rounds a few thousandths deeper than what it should have been. Seater should not have mover but it did. Totally my error and the length I wanted was a tried and proved length.
The RCBS tool got a different job. Just pulled the bullet UP enough so that I could reseat it to the correct depth.