This just happened to me. Scary reloading incident.
- Thread starter Slooshark1
- Start date
If you have occasion to pull military bullets,first run them through a bullet seater with it set up to push the projectile into the case a tad before trying to beat them out . This will break the seal/tar some ammo has for waterproofing making extraction much less labor intensive.I have collet pullers but they mark up the bullets.Harold
Every day I learn something new.
Do I really need to post a picture? Does water and wind erode rock over time? Why can't a plastic hammer break up cement over enough impacts?
Purple shoulder
Regular
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
There have been 3 threads on CGN in the last year or so of this very thing happening. I've also read of several other accounts of the same thing. So it's definitely real. The part I don't get is that in every case the powder doesn't ignite. If the primer was in the pocket when it flashes, how does it not ignite the powder? I get that the powder isn't contained in a way that will allow the pressure to rise enough to have proper ignition, but it should at least light and burp enough to split the case. Hmmm... I feel like doing some sketchy testing.
After I had a grudge match with some surplus ammo this tidbit was shared with me. I now do it for any ammo I'm putting in the hammer! What a difference.
Total guess here... The primer starts to move a bit, which then frees anvil to move a bit. As opposed to the touch off firing into tiny flash hole, the space made by primer's movement allows the pressure to push the unsupported primer out. I suspect that in some cases the powder is already out of the case by the time this happens, or packed down and away from flash hole. I have lit little batches of powder with a match, and it doesn't go off as easily as I though it would; maybe that has something to do with it too?
It's much more fun to speculate why than to experience I'm guessing.
- Location
- Lower Mainland
close call...glad you are ok...have heard of it before but it is really rare
Just for chits and giggles, any one take that brass and fit a new primer back in the hole?
How tight was the effort to put the primer back in?
I wonder if loose primer pockets allows the primer to move out slightly, then
gets the full impact when being thrust against el cheemento?
Could this result in the ker-pow effect?
How tight was the effort to put the primer back in?
I wonder if loose primer pockets allows the primer to move out slightly, then
gets the full impact when being thrust against el cheemento?
Could this result in the ker-pow effect?
Be careful with the 8x63 you have, that's the stuff that did it to me twice over 50 rounds.
As mentioned, this is not a rare occurrence by any means. If you do enough bullet pulling with a kinetic method it isn't of matter of if but when it will happen.
I read an article about a decade ago stating it only happens with Berdan primers. I don't agree. I suspect the author of that article had only tried pulling Berdan primed bullets.
I have not heard of a catastrophic failure YET.
There was a theory put out by a fellow on one of the US sites, if memory serves it was Gunboards. His theory is that after a couple of hard hits the primer components become loose and as the bullet finally leaves the case the low pressure created just as it exits the mouth causes the primer components to ignite. There is no ignition of the powder because it is already forced to the front of the case and is well on its way out when the primer ignites. He feels it may actually work like a hangfire and not produce a flame as long as it would under normal conditions.
Who knows. All I can say is that it certainly makes your heart stop for a second when it occurs. Again, wear proper safety apparel. I wear glasses because I have to but that doesn't mean I like digging bits of carbon and metal out of the rest of my face or body. I have worn a full face shield of the type you should use when operating a grinder etc. ever since the first big pop.
Yes, collet pullers are better, but they also require setup. I find that both types have their place: kinetic if you only have one or two rounds to pull; collet if you have lots.
I definitely concur with this. The combination of crimp and sealant on some ammo will make it just about impossible to pull otherwise. Once you have "broken the seal," so to speak, the pullets should pull with minimal marking form the collet.
RCBS bullet puller with collet. I do a lot of loading for competitions and if the neck tension feels off then I set them aside after bullet seating. When I get 10 or more then I use the RCBS on them. Once you get used to it, they are fast to setup and I can pull 10 rounds in a couple minutes without damaging the components. Once you use one you would never try anything else.
The collet puller is one of the main reasons I keep my RCBS Rockchucker press.
99% of my loading/seating is done on one of my 2 CO-AX presses, but they do not
work well with collet pullers.
I have an inertia puller, but it very seldom gets any use. Dave.
99% of my loading/seating is done on one of my 2 CO-AX presses, but they do not
work well with collet pullers.
I have an inertia puller, but it very seldom gets any use. Dave.
I had the same thing happen to me a month ago when I was dismantling some old .22 Hornet rounds. Of course, many came out saying it wasn't possible, etc. Polite discussion overall, but some were pretty adamant. The difference in my case was I couldn't locate the cartridge case to see if the primer was still in place; the case shot out of the back of my puller at very high speed and I've since been unable to locate it. Am going to share your post with the individual on mine who was most adamant it couldn't happen.
Here's my account, by the way.
Here's my account, by the way.
Just as a general update, I have used my kinetic puller again as recently as this week, despite having experienced the same thing last month. I just am being more "judicious" with how I impact the floor. And I'm psychologically ready for it if it happens again 
Aha, another 8X63 Alum!
I have pulled a couple of thousand of those for the bullets and powder, but have done it "destructively" using neither an impact hammer nor puller. I described how here on CGN a few years back. Drill a bullet diameter hole in a thick piece of metal, insert cartridge bullet first, wiggle back and forth until the bullet is loose in the now distorted neck, remove bullet from neck, dump bullet and powder and repeat. The fastest method is you intend to scrap the brass.
