I recently mis assembled 5 rounds of 22-250. Was very glas I caught mistake before shooting the load, and decided to try and pull bullets to save.

I have a cheap bullet puller, (less than $15), and after 25 full swings, cartridge had not lengthened at all. Eventually pulled bullets with pliers, which at least allowed me to save the cases.

Is this typical of "hammer" type pullers, or just cheap ones?

You have to hit a heavy piece of stone or steel with a sharp whipping motion, but mine works fine from 223 up to 458.

Don

Kinetic or impact pullers scare the doodoo out of me. Especially with smaller calibers. Less bullet mass and tighter necks. While I have never heard of any mishaps with one, they still make me nervous.

I use RCBS collets. I have had to used them several times. While it will leave marks on the bullets, it is not so bad that you cannot use them for foulers.

Z

I like kinetic bullet pullers. Had one for years. Nice thing is that the pulled bullets have little to no distortion. When there is distortion, it is the bullet nose which sometimes gets hammered in the magazine anyway.
There are several tricks to using them. One is to insert the case holder convex side down. This allows you to just loosen up the cap and push a cartridge in, and loosen it up to remove the empty case. The rim catches right where it is supposed to.
The second trick is to only hammer it on wood objects. A hardwood log works great, but be imaginative. Hammering it on any other object such as concrete will damage the puller.
Oh, OK, a third: Follow through on the hammer blows. Don't let it bounce.
Yes, the lighter the bullet the less inertia it has therefore the harder it is to pull. But you don't have to worry about the primer going off. The primer must be crushed or heated to ignite.

I use a block of steel and let the puller bounce. It does scuff the end slightly, but I have used the same puller for 20 years.

For soft pointed bullets, I have a cushion that I put inside the puller. (I cut it from an old mouse pad.)

The only thing I find bad about the Kenetic pullers is they don't make one that will handle the big Nitro Express cartridges made for double rifles. Most of those cartridges were made on the 500 NE case, and are a minimum of 3.5" in OAL. I would say why they do not work so well with very light bullets is, the more weight in the bullet the more "KENETIC ENERGY". The same reason heavy bullets pennetrate better than light bullets, HELLO!!!!!!!!! they are harder to stop!

The bullet deformation can be minimumized by putting a thin wafer of closecell plastic, like the material that comes in the box with the things like cameras, and sterio equipment, in the bottom of the catch basin. These things are very handy, and usually only used to pull three, or four bullets at a time, and are a great invetion, that I wish someone would make a bigger version of!
I guess you can tell I like them!

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..Mac >>>===(x)===>
DUGABOY DESIGNS
Collector/trader of fine double rifles, and African wildlife art

Penrod 72,

I would like to suggest that you purchase one of the new RCBS kinetic bullet pullers. They have the closed cell foam insert in the bottom of the barrel.

As some of the other gentlemen have suggest you need to use a piece of steel or iron as the object you strike. Wood will not work well.

Good Hunting !

Hello,
I bought a Winchester kinetic bullet puller. Spent one night trying to salvage some 22-250 and 30-06 cases. Did everything right, thumping it on a real solid piece of wood. It worked, but went back to the store the next day for a refund toward and RCBS collet type puller. Will never buy one again. In any brand.

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Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M