DIY inertia bullet puller build

[bertn]

Still waiting for my Rpal so time to work on some more equipment

On a budget to save money for my first handgun so build my second
DIY reloading tool; a $3.00 bullet puller.
(actually spend only $ 1.51 + tax at TSC for the 3 fittings as I had the pipe and glue already)

Pulled a few 223 bullets and can say that it works great.

Sorry for the poor picture quality.

It's made out of 1/2 inch pvc and uses standard shell holders, so no fiddling around
with 3 piece collets. Fits easily 308 or 270 win.

Simply slide round into shell holder and stick into hammer, push cap on and start whacking.
Only downside is that its not clear plastic, but when the bullet comes out you can hear it bouncing in the hammer.

I put a few pieces of rubber into the bottom cap before gluing it on so when the bullet
hits the bottom the bullet won't get damaged.

Hope it is helpful to others who like to make stuff and like to keep the cost down.

By the way; if you are building one then don't forget to hotglue the end of the handle
(where it is glued into the tee) shut so your powder is not going to escape through the handle.

 

[Juster]

I'm impressed! How sturdy is this? I suppose it is easy to fix if it breaks.

 

[bertn]

I'm impressed! How sturdy is this? I suppose it is easy to fix if it breaks.

I think it's very sturdy. Was not too impressed when holding a plastic factory one in the store so think this one is as strong as those.
Would'nt whack it on concrete though, just a block of wood.

 

[Magellann]

Very nice, if it does the job, what more can you ask of it. Could you provide a little more detail on how the shell holder fits into the Tee fitting?

 

[bertn]

Very nice, if it does the job, what more can you ask of it. Could you provide a little more detail on how the shell holder fits into the Tee fitting?

See second pic.
It sits on top of a short piece (about an inch long) of 1/2 pipe that is glued into the top of the tee.
So it's just sitting loose on there and then the cap goes over top.
Cap does not come off since the force is downwards when whacking.

 

[Magellann]

Ok, it makes sense now. Thanks.

 

[bertn]

Ok, it makes sense now. Thanks.

It's really fast to "reload" with the shell holder instead of collets and pushing the cap on goes a lot easier then a screw cap.
Also if you reload you most likely have the shell holders already

 

[Rod B]

Not to detract from the skills of the OP but I have given up on inertia bullet pullers.

I discovered an interesting post on another site whereby using the clamp from a tubing flaring tool an excellent improvised bullet puller can be made. The clamp is placed on top of the press & the bullet placed in the shell holder & elevated through the die opening. Select the appropriate size tubing position & carefully clamp the bullet into this location. Lower the ram & the bullet is easily removed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yWy0E_wLWoo#t=2

 

[156821]

Not to detract from the skills of the OP but I have given up on inertia bullet pullers.

I discovered an interesting post on another site whereby using the clamp from a tubing flaring tool an excellent improvised bullet puller can be made. The clamp is placed on top of the press & the bullet placed in the shell holder & elevated through the die opening. Select the appropriate size tubing position & carefully clamp the bullet into this location. Lower the ram & the bullet is easily removed.

That is interesting. I'm going to look into it more. I have used the inertia method for a long time but it is by no means my favorite thing to do. Good work to the OP btw!

 

[flange]

Cautionary tale about using shell holders.

https://ww w.shootersforum.com/warning-notices-recalls/50347-inertial-bullet-puller-warning.html

 

[nowarningshot]

Well i just pulled 99 338 Rum reloads. Had always used a inertia puller, but this time used a RCBS collet style. Bullet pulling is still a PITA. Inertia is the worst. Best/fun solution is to pull with your gun.

Some of the reloads were moly coated. What a PITA. At 50cents each, the curse words filling up the cuss jar could have sponsored a terr-rist for Justin.

 

[Zedbra]

Cautionary tale about using shell holders.

https://ww w.shootersforum.com/warning-notices-recalls/50347-inertial-bullet-puller-warning.html

Well, I learned something new today. Why couldn't you just drill out the bottom of case holder to enable more primer clearance?

OP - let us know how your puller holds up.

 

[bdft]

I just use a pair of pliers. Bring the bullet up through the press, grab it with the plies and pull up on the handle. Nothing to it and the powder stays in the case. I am going to check out the flaring tool clamp though. Might work better.

 

[bsand]

Cautionary tale about using shell holders.

https://ww w.shootersforum.com/warning-notices-recalls/50347-inertial-bullet-puller-warning.html

EEK... That is some scary ####. I'd spend the 60$ on a collet type bullet puller, preferably the hornady version. Much safer/easier than using your homemade one.

 

[bertn]

Cautionary tale about using shell holders.

https://ww w.shootersforum.com/warning-notices-recalls/50347-inertial-bullet-puller-warning.html

I checked out the warning/link. Interesting..

Honestly it will not deter me from using my hammer style puller with shell holder, unless I have a primer sticking out.
Everybody should use whatever he feels comfortable with. I'll just pull when my kids are not around LOL.

Sounds to me he did not have it in the shell holder correctly.
Once it's in correctly it can't move out.
I drilled a hole (see third picture) in the cap so I can see the round with primer being in the right spot before I start tapping.
I think I will build another one with a plastic ring glued in to center smaller rounds like 222/223, 9mm etc. so they have less room to wiggle.
Having two hammer pullers is not a problem at $2.00 a piece

Not planning on pulling a lot of bullets anyways.

 

[Dogleg]

I used to use shell-holders in inertia pullers but don't anymore. Its a bit of a long story so feel free to skip it.

Like a lot of people I got annoyed with the little aluminum three piece collets stripping out. When I heard about using shellholders I was sure it was the coolest, savviest trick that ever came down the pike. About the same time brass and component prices had started their long climb and a guy couldn't be as cavalier about tossing little used brass, or blamming off expensive designer bullets in loads that didn't work out. Some batches of expensive brass got used til they puked for load development and practice, and many individual cases got pulled down multiple times.

Around the same time I started getting strange failures to extract, with no real firm pattern about when they would occur. It was never on new brass, usually on well used brass and never on CRF actions but that was about all I could swear to. It got to where I wouldn't go to the range without a cleaning rod or had to quickly befriend SKS shooters so I could borrow their ramrod. Usually I could take the offending case, reload it again and it would work fine the next time. Some extractors got changed for nothing, and sometimes it improved things.

Eventually one day when I was pulling down some loads and the shell-holder broke. I've been accused of being a slow learner, but even I could connect the dots between hammering the shell holder to pieces and damaging the brass. The damage is quite subtle and who really stares at their extractor grooves that hard? Edges got little divits straight across from each other and tended to round off a bit all the way around. Rifles with tiny extractors (Mark Vs are particularly bad, they only grab a sliver on a good day) would eventually place a damaged portion of a rim and it would jump. Oriented a different way it might work perfectly. The damage is sometimes so slight that a jewelers lupe (All hunters should have one, but not necessarily for reloading) would be needed some of the time and others it is pretty obvious if you're looking for it. Lots of brass got tossed and that was the end of that.

An inertia puller is 20 bucks. Replacement collets are maybe 6. Most brass that is even beginning to get interesting is 100 dollars a bag. Its not the first time someone has lost hundreds trying to save nickels, but its something I prefer to avoid.

 

[Suputin]

Well i just pulled 99 338 Rum reloads. Had always used a inertia puller, but this time used a RCBS collet style. Bullet pulling is still a PITA. Inertia is the worst. Best/fun solution is to pull with your gun.

Some of the reloads were moly coated. What a PITA. At 50cents each, the curse words filling up the cuss jar could have sponsored a terr-rist for Justin.

Inertial pullers are "the worst" yet you cursed yourself blue using a collet puller? Not sure I get the logic behind your argument. I've never had an issue using a kinetic puller. Pulled thousands of rounds and never swore once.

 

[Suputin]

Still waiting for my Rpal so time to work on some more equipment

On a budget to save money for my first handgun so build my second
DIY reloading tool; a $3.00 bullet puller.
(actually spend only $ 1.51 + tax at TSC for the 3 fittings as I had the pipe and glue already)

Pulled a few 223 bullets and can say that it works great.

Sorry for the poor picture quality.

It's made out of 1/2 inch pvc and uses standard shell holders, so no fiddling around
with 3 piece collets. Fits easily 308 or 270 win.

Simply slide round into shell holder and stick into hammer, push cap on and start whacking.
Only downside is that its not clear plastic, but when the bullet comes out you can hear it bouncing in the hammer.

I put a few pieces of rubber into the bottom cap before gluing it on so when the bullet
hits the bottom the bullet won't get damaged.

Hope it is helpful to others who like to make stuff and like to keep the cost down.

By the way; if you are building one then don't forget to hotglue the end of the handle
(where it is glued into the tee) shut so your powder is not going to escape through the handle.

When your contraption has pulled a few thousand bullets without shattering or falling apart, THEN come back and tell us how good it is. A commercial puller costs $20 - $30 and will last for years and thousands upon thousands of rounds. I suspect your $3 model won't last a few hundred. With the time you spent screwing around with this, how has that saved any money?

 

[flange]

I think the op's idea of modifying his puller to so that the primer has adequate clearance is a good one.
Speaking of good ideas check this out ht tp://grip-n-pull.com/
Looks like it would be a lot easier/offer better results than any other method I've seen.
Not to high-jack the thread or condone theft of intellectual property but something like this should be in the scope of DIY

 

[Ian Robertson]

The primer probably went when the case rebounded after the blow. The other way to fix the problem may be to make some sort of bushing to keep the round centered to the shell holder. I think this is a really great idea for a puller, we just need to use our brains to prevent injury. The best, fastest puller if you don't care about the bullets is the Forster Universal puller, not sure if they have one that will work in a non Co-Ax press however.

Woops, got the name wrong and it looks like they don't sell the one I was thinking of any more. It was a spring steel gizmo that the bullet would go through but not come back and the next bullet would push out the first. The fact that they don't make it any more may tell about the popularity of it.

Shell holders can be very hard steel, check with a file before you commit a drill bit.