kinetic bullet pulling hammer

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tikka

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I had a friend that had a bullet blow up in his face.
Not sure of all the technicle issues although he blamed it on the
Kenetic bullet pulling hammer. I hope Shawn gets all his sight back.


Tikka
 
sorry to hear, hopefully he recovers fully.

do you know what brand of primer or what he was hitting the hammer on?
 
I would like the hear the details on this as well. I have pull a few hundred rounds over the years using a kinetic bullet puller and have never had a problem. In fact I have a couple hundred to pull this weekend.
 
I've had mine for over 30 years. Not one issue. It has been used so much the metal shaft is sway backed now. I heard of the same thing happening on another forum. The guy said he was using a shell holder instead of the supplied "collet" and thinks that there was enough play in the shell holder that the high primer (reason he was pulling the round) just caught a corner on the shell holder and set it off.

Auggie D.
 
I typically use a collet puller, it's far less work if I have multiple rounds. I use a kinetic puller when I don't have the right calibre collet on hand. I typically use a standard shell holder as the spring one went south years ago.
In over 30 years of using one I've never popped a primer.
Anything is possible however, I'd like more details too.
 
Possible, I guess, but so far down the Likely List that I'm not going to worry. I routinely use a kinetic puller for small batches and generally use a shell holder as that's more convenient and thus faster.

Nah, to be honest, this just doesn't ring right. The base of the cartridge is pretty well protected in a kinetic puller. Using the supplied collet, the primer is several millimeters below the face of the cap and there's nothing flopping around which could hit it. Using a shell holder, more so - the primer is just about invisible. And shell holders are engineered to hold cases in proper alignment.

So... Maybe the primer was super-sensitive or something? That's an ammo defect and one which would have ammo going off in boxes, pockets, magazines and pouches - not utterly impossible, but not precisely common. And the jarring a round is subjected to when the hammer hits the floor or workbench is about on par with what it gets being fed by a semi-auto firearm.

Not challenging what the OP was told, but this just makes no sense.

In any case, if there's a lesson, it's the oft-repeated, usually-ignored wear safety glasses when reloading, dummy!
 
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I've used an RCBS for awhile now with no issues. But because of your buddy's story (and I hope he recovers well!) I always use safety glasses when doing so.
 
Like Ken I have used a kinetic puller for over 40 yrs ( I'm on the second one and it is bent at the handle as well) without ever having an "incident" but having said that I can see how it would happen with a high primer in a case that has a "not-so-snug" primer pocket, the inertia could drive the primer onto the case webb with enough force to move the anvil.
 
fingers284 said:
Like Ken I have used a kinetic puller for over 40 yrs ( I'm on the second one and it is bent at the handle as well) without ever having an "incident" but having said that I can see how it would happen with a high primer in a case that has a "not-so-snug" primer pocket, the inertia could drive the primer onto the case webb with enough force to move the anvil.
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Interesting concept. Not arguing, would like to discuss.

It strikes me that primers are designed to be relatively safe under normal conditions. One design consideration is that the primer must inevitably be forced into the primer pocket. In other words, a fair bit of force will be applied to the base of the cup, normally until it is flush with or even just a bit recessed into the case. Were the primer so loosely assembled, would there not be a lot more going off accidentally during reloading/commercial assembly?

Secondly, if the primer is not so loosely made, even if the whole thing does shift when hammer hits floor or bench, it's only going to seat itself in the pocket.

Lastly, it often takes a fair bit of force, repeated hits for the bullet to move out of the case (I am also a member of the 2nd Hammer Club). Yet the bullet is heavy. It strikes me that the primer cup is less likely to move as its mass is much less. Moreover, we've almost all of us seen the (dud) results of a light strike by hammer or firing pin. Yet that light strike is going to have considerbly more force than that of a moving cup.

Thoughts?
 
There have been probably 6 people talk about having this happen since I joined CGN. At first I doubted it but there is clearly something to it. I will not use one nor recommend them.
 
I did read in a reloading document somewhere and quite some time ago, not to use a kinetic bullet puller. Despite this, I am using both types of puller. I only use the kinetic puller for my match cartridges that have low neck tension in the range of .0025 - .003 and in calibers 6.5 mm and under. This unfortunate incident causes me to recall an incident that happened to me a few years back. I had purchased a new auto priming tool that was designed to fit onto a press and held a flat tray of 100 or so primers. The first time I used it to prime some 38 spec cases, after about 10 -15 successful primes the whole tray exploded in my face. I was wearing a face shield so I only incurred a few light shrapnel wounds, I think primarily from the plastic. Not nearly so bad as my wife screaming from upstairs "What in the hell was that?" Turns out the tool periodically allowed a primer to flip 90 Degrees. I should have thoroughly tested the tool before I started to prime the cases.
 
No i dont.
Although i have his cell # if you want to ask him questions.
PM me your Cell# if you want to chat with Shawn .
 
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I've used the kinetic puller for years without issues but recently bought the RCBS collets puller, I like it better.
No more having to separate the bullets from the powder.


If anyone is interested, I have two "as new" kinetic pullers for sale 1 Frankford Arsenal and the RCBS, both have the collets, $20.00 plus shipping for both.
 
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tikka said:
I had a friend that had a bullet blow up in his face.
Not sure of all the technicle issues although he blamed it on the
Kenetic bullet pulling hammer. I hope Shawn gets all his sight back.


Tikka
Click to expand...
I have Shawns Cell if you want to chat. I dont know all the details and i dont reload.

PM me your cell. I will pass it on.
 
When your buddy's up to it, a very detailed account of the event would be greatly appreciated by those of us who use these things.
 
It seems to me that in one of the other threads about an incident like this it was speculated that hitting the hammer on something with no give at all like cement may have been the issue. Some hit wood on the side or end grain and that may be better.
 
Purple shoulder said:
It seems to me that in one of the other threads about an incident like this it was speculated that hitting the hammer on something with no give at all like cement may have been the issue. Some hit wood on the side or end grain and that may be better.
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I've found that with light weight bullets, you really have no choice. The concrete basement floor is the only thing with sudden enough stoppage to pull them.
 
I've found the best results is with a 4x4 or larger (less chance of a miss) block of wood on it's end works the best. with 45acp it's usually one hit and the bullet drops out.
 
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