This just happened to me. Scary reloading incident.

I just bought the same thing my dad had. Same press, same scale, same everything . I learned to reload with all his stuff. I've never even seen a collet puller before. Maybe it's time to go shopping...
 
emerson said:
Why are collet pullers not used more than hammers, considering how much other gear we reloaders collect? Lee hand loaders are often scorned, but hammer bullet pullers are a better idea? Sure, I know they have been used for years. I didn't used to use fall protection, seat belts, even eye pro at work.
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Mostly cost. For every caliber you want to pull you need a different collet, which financially only makes sense if you are pulling a fair bit of rounds. If it is just a small batch or some individual bullets, a kinetic hammer is a much better value for service item (as you don't need to buy multiple hammers for different calibers, and they are cheaper to begin with). Costing it out at roughly 20$ a collet after roughly 35$ for the puller itself, you are looking at least 55$ to get started in one caliber (keep adding 20's for each additional caliber), when a kinetic hammer will do pretty much all calibers (at least all normal ones) at a cost of roughly 20-30$.
 
I have used an RCBS hammer puller for at least 30 years, pulled maybe 1000 bullets, always wear safety glasses. Last fall I had the aluminum handle shaft shatter out of the hammer head. I needed to pull a few more bullets so I fashioned a replacement handle out of a 1" piece of dowel and attached the head to it (cable ties and gorilla tape), worked but was not pretty. Replaced the puller with the same hammer type, but I think this one is a Hornady. WK
 
emerson said:
Why are collet pullers not used more than hammers, considering how much other gear we reloaders collect? Lee hand loaders are often scorned, but hammer bullet pullers are a better idea? Sure, I know they have been used for years. I didn't used to use fall protection, seat belts, even eye pro at work.
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I have both, but am often using the inertia puller because I don't have collet for every calibre.
 
I've found hammering on the cut end of a 2x4 or 4x4 works the best vs anything else i've tried, one or 2 hits at the most.
 
I only have 1 collet so far, but it has been useful in a wider range than it is labeled for. I think it depends a lot on the shape of the bullet. The cost of the collets is a red herring though. Most of us have at least one, usually several, guns we don't need or even use much along with dies for that caliber. I asked for it as a gift, rather than the hammer because it seemed a bit more precise and controlled. Sometimes I get cautioned not to just hammer on things....
 
I know a fellow who had the same thing happen twice over the same 50 rounds. The primers were Berdan military type with a heavy crimp. I had been using a block of hard wood which worked well until I got to these. It would take a half dozen good whacks to dislodge the bullets which were also heavily crimped right where the ogive started and there was no way a collet would grip properly.

OP, I didn't get a powder ignition either. I suspect the powder was already well on its way when the primer ignited.

I use a different rim holder than you do but that isn't the problem.

I believe what happens is the primers start to separate from the added impacts and one thing leads to another until it detonates.

Hopefully this won't occur in a mag well or magazine but it's not likely the same amount of force will be generated during recoil to cause this.

There is a good fix for this and it's called a lead block. A block of wheel weight metal melted together will work as well. It works like a reverse dead fall hammer and you don't need as many hits to loosen the bullets.
 
I had read somewhere recently that when using a kinetic bullet puller you're supposed to tap it repeatedly against a solid object and not "hammer" it. I've never had a primer blow and I hammer it. I also had my RCBS kinetic bullet puller break about 3 weeks ago. I guess after 30+yrs and 100's of use's it just got tired. Just below where the cap screws on it broke and a large sharp piece hit me in the jugular vein. That was kind of scary. I thought they were supposed to be indestructible.
 
emerson said:
I only have 1 collet so far, but it has been useful in a wider range than it is labeled for. I think it depends a lot on the shape of the bullet. The cost of the collets is a red herring though. Most of us have at least one, usually several, guns we don't need or even use much along with dies for that caliber. I asked for it as a gift, rather than the hammer because it seemed a bit more precise and controlled. Sometimes I get cautioned not to just hammer on things....
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I am confused as to why you think it is a red herring? Personally when I looked at pullers I chose the hammer as it was cheaper and for the quantity I was doing it wasn't worth paying the extra for the collets (not to mention I deal with a fair bit of different calibers and would need at least 3 collets). Collets are a better way to do things, however cost is a factor, and most people (if they deal in many calibers) don't find it worthwhile to pay 100+$ (in my case) when I can spend 20-30$ and get a kinetic hammer which is more versatile.
 
silverfoxdj said:
I try to only use my Hornady bullet puller most times, glad you were not hurt but it gives a scare..
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Using a collet puller is good advice.

Many people only want to pull a few bullets and just cant be bothered to set up for the collet system.

I have broken a couple of RCBS kinetic pullers. Both were being used because the collet puller couldn't grasp the bullets because they were seat to deep.

One of the cartridges I had breakage with was the 8x63. The other was on 303Brit. The bullets on the 8x63 are heavily crimped and seated way to deep for a collet puller to be able to grasp them. The 303Brit were also heavily crimped and had some sort of lacquer on the bullets as well.

The lead block really does make a difference. I also use the kinetic puller when pulling 7.62x39. Usually I pull a whole case to salvage components at one go. The collet puller is a pain and as often as not can't grasp the bullets. The kinetic hammer method is much faster.
 
There's a fairly well documented history of these occurrences, so there's no point in being a denier. We can only speculate on what causes it and we can't predict when it might happen, but it can. I have always struck on cement, well away from my face and with eye protection. I've never had one go off and don't intend to stop the practice, even knowing that it could happen - the risk of injury is less than that of me burning myself casting and I'm not about to stop that.
 
Scary indeed. Glad you didn't lose an eye etc. Always wear safety glasses when handling live ammo and components on the reloading bench.
 
There is a good reason why every reloading publication and web article warns every reloader to wear "safety Glasses". Always know your DANGER ZONES.
 
mbogo3 said:
Were you hammering the concrete or a block of wood like you're supposed to? Not sure if that would be the cause ,but it saves breaking the hammer.......I stand a piece of birch firewood on end and use that........glad you didn't get hurt........Harold
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I hammer on cement and have done so for years. The issue is not breaking the hammer but breaking the cement.
 
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