Best Bullet Puller suggestions wanted.

hunter64

hunter64

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I want to pull out the bullets from 7.62 X 39 and use them in my .303 for plinking rounds. What is the best bullet puller to get? I bought one of those rcbs kinetic things and following the instructions on the card I have yet to pull a bullet. It states that 2-3 hits will pull the bullet but I have smacked the darn thing on a wood surface upwards of 30 times and have yet to get a bullet to seperate. I tried a 30-06 round a 30-30 round a .45acp round and the 7.62 X 39 and nothing. What am I doing wrong? Should I just buy a collet type puller and be done with it?
 
Forget the hammer puller. You will destroy it and your nerves after only a few rounds. Get a Hornady cam-lock collet puller and use .308 or 309 collets as the exposed bearing surface is very short on the x39. I have a dedicated cheap Lee press for this very purpose.
 
I bought one of those hammer pullers today so that I could try making up a dummy round or two with my new reloading gear and then reuse the brass and bullets for live ammo later.

No such luck. If I whack the hammer on the table any harder, it's going to break the plastic hammer.... of course the first two bullets I tried to pull are seated rediculously deep, but the third should have popped.

*shrug* I'd look for something else.
 
The hammer puller works pretty good, especially with heavier bullet. I takes me a couple whack to pull 140 6.5 bullets but only one for 200gr+ .35 Whelen bullets. The trick is you need to hit a hard surface not something that will have any bounce (ie:not a table).
 
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phronq said:
I bought one of those hammer pullers today so that I could try making up a dummy round or two with my new reloading gear and then reuse the brass and bullets for live ammo later.

No such luck. If I whack the hammer on the table any harder, it's going to break the plastic hammer.... of course the first two bullets I tried to pull are seated rediculously deep, but the third should have popped.

*shrug* I'd look for something else.
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Put a cloth, or thin rug on the basement concrete floor. Quieter and less bounce than a table. This should work. Also put a wad of tissue or cotton in the puller to dampen the bullets forward motion. It is more messy with the powder, but keeps the nose of the bullet from smashing into the plastic puller.

NormB
 
I think there is glue or something on that cheap 7.62x39 stuff. I've heard that if you have dies, you can seat the bullet a little lower to break the seal. The kinetic hammer thing should work well then. Mine works well if I am hitting something solid with it.
 
Arlo_Dog said:
I think there is glue or something on that cheap 7.62x39 stuff. I've heard that if you have dies, you can seat the bullet a little lower to break the seal. The kinetic hammer thing should work well then. Mine works well if I am hitting something solid with it.
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IIRC a lot military rounds have a sealer keeps the ammo waterproof. so yes like Arlo says i would try seating them just enough to break the seal then try the hammer thing it shound only take 2 or 3 good raps.
 
john-brennan said:
Get a hornady camlock puller they are fast and no noise from hammering, i fine that irritating.
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X2 ........I've tried them all and the Hornady one works the best.

The hammer ones stink the worst!


sc
 
My expensive (relatively speaking) Lyman hammer bullet puller worked well for my .357bullet in .355 brass problem - no go on the table, ended up banging it on the cement floor...
 
I didn't have any dies for the 7.62 X 39 (because why would you want to reload for it). So I found that a .45ACP size shell holder fits perfect and I just put in the 45 ACP bullet seater die just to break the glue. THe front of the bullet got flattened a bit but no big deal, these are just squib loads anyway and if I can hit anything at 50 yards I will be happy. I put a cloth on the back part of my vise and it took about 10 hits to finally come apart. Now here is the wierd thing. In the same little box of ammo on one stripper clip the powder was a cylinder style (like IMR) and measured 25 grn, on the other stripper clip in the same box the powder was a ball type and slightly less weight. Weird huh? I can see if it was a different lot or something but from the same little green cardboard box. Thanks for the help guys. I am going to order the RCBS collet style puller with different collets for the calibers that I load for the future.
 
hunter64 said:
Thanks for the help guys. I am going to order the RCBS collet style puller with different collets for the calibers that I load for the future.
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Great choice. That is what I presently use after years of hammering. It is slick and no damage to bullets.
 
hunter64 said:
I am going to order the RCBS collet style puller with different collets for the calibers that I load for the future.
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As mentioned, I've used both the RCBS and the Hornady. The Hornady one works better and is easier to use.

sc

 
When you are pulling a large number of crimped - and sometimes tarred military bullets, commercial pullers just don't do it. Go to your toolbox and get out a pair of plier style wire crimpers and strippers. You know the ones, they are flat, and have notches between the handles for stripping various sizes of wire. These things are flat and rest well on the top of a press. Raise the cartridge on the ram, grip the bullet with the stripping notches between the handles, then lower the ram. Marks on the military bullets are minimal once you get the knack, and it is much less frustrating than the commercial pullers.
 
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