Put a "PORT" in your Bullet Puller!

[rbertalotto]

I use a Quinetics "impact" hammer type bullet puller and I hate having to screw the cap off every time I want to empty the powder and removed bullet.

http://www.rvbprecision.com

Once the bullet comes out of the case, don't you have to unscrew it to retrieve the brass anyway?

[Griff]

Great idea Roy!

I usually end up pulling just more'n ONE tho'! I bought my knietic puller more'n 35 years ago... I expect it to break almost every time I have to use it! I finally ordered a collet type puller for the press, just in case...

[Mac in Mo]

I have the same type that is blue. Midway brand,I think. I too expect it to break, but that plastic is tough. How do you keep the powder from flying everywhere, or do you?

Kevin

[Chris83716]

Okay, I have broken 3 of those in less than 5 years. What am I doing wrong? I'm not trying to drive the bullet to china and I am hitting them on a scrap of 2x4. How are you guys making them last?

Chris

[Sixgun]

Okay, I have broken 3 of those in less than 5 years. What am I doing wrong? I'm not trying to drive the bullet to china and I am hitting them on a scrap of 2x4. How are you guys making them last?

Chris

I have broke at least 5.......I think it all comes down to how much you use it. I use it a lot saving components from crappy loads, factory ammo to get the brass.....that's OLD factory ammo and will usually split on the first firing.....I do this to anneal.......

Yea, cut the port and put a piece of duct tape over it. You can pull it off about 100 times before it needs to be replaced.

ALWAYS put a few pieces of cotton down in the hole so the bullet will not be damaged.

I have found the best thing to whack it on is some weak minded liberal's head.....eeeerrrrrrr. A short piece of a 6x6 about 6" high. I guess a 4x4 will work also but the 6x tends to stay in place because of the weight.--------6

[rbertalotto]

I have smacked my puller thousands of times on the anvil on the back of my vise. Never had a Quinetics break. I used it a few years ago pulling apart military ammo to sell the components. The handle does bend after a while and needs to be straightened out, but that is some hard plastic!

I think hitting a softer than steel piece of wood might be some cause. Maybe the wood springs back and causes some weird harmonic?

[abcollector]

Just thinking here Roy, might be a right handy idea but don't you still have to remove the screw top and aluminum collet to remove the brass and "reload" it? Seems like you have to and then wouldn't you loose some powder on the whack that dislodged the bullet? Haven't used one modified in such a way so these are just my question/concerns. Maybe a video?

[Tycer]

I use either the concrete floor or my vise. Not broken one yet. I like the port idea but usually just dump the bullet and powder into a sieve when I remove the brass and shell holder.

[Tycer]

Double post.

[AJMD429]

I did the same thing with my Lee Hand Press, which I use mostly for de-priming, so I didn't have to keep shaking out the old primers through the shell-holder hole.

[Mac in Mo]

I whack mine against the face of an old Estwing hammer. Never could get it to work on wood, it seemed to absorb the blow too much. I doubt if I have used mine as much as some of the other guys. I usually use it when I am taking down reloads that I occasionally get from other people. I've got some .221 Fireball right now that will not pull. I guess the bullets are crimped too much and are too light.

Kevin

[hayabusa]

I have a press mounted to a steel plate welded to a length of pipe which is welded to a axle flange which is bolted to a brake drum by the lug bolts. Several years ago I pulled the bullets from 1,000 S & W 45 ACP by hitting on the brake drum. It is a very solid platform and the RCBS ? green puller has a port that can be cut out if you want to. It looks about the size of the port posted by rbertalotto. My puller has taken quite a lot of hits over the years & still going strong.

hayabusa

[2571]

smack it on the flat anvil of a ball peen hammer, held in the other hand. I've done 2-3 K though they years with no damage to the k puller.

[Griff]

Okay, I have broken 3 of those in less than 5 years. What am I doing wrong? I'm not trying to drive the bullet to china and I am hitting them on a scrap of 2x4. How are you guys making them last?
Chris

Yep, I've probably pulled slightly more than a couple thousand bullets with my RCBS kinetic puller also... I always use the concrete floor as the surface to whack it on... Maybe you're using too soft a surface to bang 'em on!

And if you question the number of rounds pulled... I bought it to pull down 4 cans of WWII .30-06 I bought in a garage sale. Between me and my partner on that deal... we pulled down 2,000 rounds. Both of us bought bullet pullers the same day and pulled the bullets and powder over the next week. Neither puller broke... I figure we each did half... and over the past 36 years since then... Yep, I've probably had to pull another thousand... but none in that large a quantity at once!

[mikld]

Okay, I have broken 3 of those in less than 5 years. What am I doing wrong? I'm not trying to drive the bullet to china and I am hitting them on a scrap of 2x4. How are you guys making them last?

Chris

I have only used mine 8 or 10 times in the last 5 years. Perhaps an improvement in the quality control of your ammo? I have a lead ingot about 1"x4"x6" that I pound on (does not soften blow), mebbe that's easier on the tool, and it's much quieter.

BTW, OP. Nice modification, but don't you still have to take the cap off to remove the case?

[piller]

Mine is an RCBS and I use a log of black walnut that I have sitting in my garage to hit the bullet puller against. I have not broken it yet. I have had to replace the O-ring that holds the 3 sections of the collet together.

[2ndovc]

Okay, I have broken 3 of those in less than 5 years. What am I doing wrong? I'm not trying to drive the bullet to china and I am hitting them on a scrap of 2x4. How are you guys making them last?
Chris

Yep, I've probably pulled slightly more than a couple thousand bullets with my RCBS kinetic puller also... I always use the concrete floor as the surface to whack it on... Maybe you're using too soft a surface to bang 'em on!

And if you question the number of rounds pulled... I bought it to pull down 4 cans of WWII .30-06 I bought in a garage sale. Between me and my partner on that deal... we pulled down 2,000 rounds. Both of us bought bullet pullers the same day and pulled the bullets and powder over the next week. Neither puller broke... I figure we each did half... and over the past 36 years since then... Yep, I've probably had to pull another thousand... but none in that large a quantity at once!

I've pulled thousands of bullets with the same RCBS puller, so much that I wore out two collets. I put up a post some time ago about it and Professor Joe suggested replacing the collet with the appropriate shell holder. Brilliant!!
Still using the same one. I hit mine against the great big Hollywood Gun Shop Press (30# chunk of steel) that I inherited from my Grandfather along with a couple thousand hand loads that would be 40-50 years old now. The powder and brass were corroded on many of them but the bullets were fine after running them through the tumbler.
My puller has some cracks but it's still whacking away!



jb