I recently had to dismantle a bunch of .257 Roberts ammo, loaded by me. I tried the old standard inertia type bullet puller, but it was taking way too long and requiring too many whacks. I have an RCBS collet puller, but no .25 caliber collet for it. So, I tried a .243 or .24 caliber collet I had on hand and it worked! It did leave a slight ring near the ogive, but, it did not look bad and the bullets still seat ok. Anyone else ever use a collet one size smaller to pull bullets? What was your results?
joe

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Anyone else ever use a collet one size smaller to pull bullets

I have done it. Like you it often leaves a mark. Depends on the bullet shape if it will work.

I use very sharp side cutters to pull all calibers

put a foam ear plug in the inertia so as to not damage your bullets and hold a hammer in one hand and strike it with the puller. best way i have found.

Ted Thorn does the sharp side cutters leave marks in the bullets? If so do yourself a favor and buy an RCBS collet bullet puller and reuse your bullets. Saves $$$$

Yes it leaves marks....and I re-use them....the marks have no effects on accuracy

I had a .25 collet for my RCBS puller which would pull 6.5 bullets provided they were not held too tightly by the case neck tension. The .25 collet would also pull 243 cal bullets but they are now sizes I no longer have an interest in so decided to open up the .25 collet to properly fit 6.5 bullets.
Used a bolt instead of the handle to tighten the collet into the puller die body, spun in a lathe and opened out the collet using wet and dry paper on a dowel. Works real good now on 6.5 bullets.

Also use a 44 cal collet to pull .423 (404) bullets when I need to.

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Originally posted by ted thorn:
Yes it leaves marks....and I re-use them....the marks have no effects on accuracy

So you would be quite happy purchasing bullets from the various manufacturers with marks or cuts in the jackets?

I think not

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Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
Yes it leaves marks....and I re-use them....the marks have no effects on accuracy

So you would be quite happy purchasing bullets from the various manufacturers with marks or cuts in the jackets?

I think not

If the price is right.....all day long!!!

Done it for years, doesn't hurt a thing.

Bonanza used to make a bullet puller (they may still, for all I know) which used a piece of spring steel with a cross cut in it and a hole slightly smaller than the caliber bullet to be pulled in the middle. The bullet is simply pushed up into it using a loading press, and the case lowered, leaving the bullet stuck in the hole. The bullet would be pushed out by the succeeding cartridge.

It is very fast, but leaves a significant gouge on the side of the bullet. We used to use it to make "Mexican Match" ammunition, by which I mean LC match ammunition from which the M118 FMJ bullet was pulled and a 168 grain Sierra Match King substituted. We then used the M118 bullets for practice.

There was no significant difference between the accuracy of the original LC ammunition and the reloads using the damaged bullets. Damage to the base of the bullet or the tip is usually what has an effect on accuracy.

I'm with Ted on this one. I used to use the inertia type, and still do on lead pistol rounds, but not for jacketed rifle rounds. Think about marks or cuts on a bullet.....no worse than a cannelure, in my opinion. It is just a rolled cut in a jacket. I buy them all day long.

I read a interesting article quite a while back where the writer mis-shaped the bullets. The range was restricted to 100 yards but his findings were that if the damage was forward of the ogive. it had little effect on the accuracy. Only when there was damage to the shank of the bullet did accuracy suffer.

If anyone wishes to use pliers to pull bullets then the pliers you can get cheaply for crimping automotive wiring ferrules and fittings, the ones with 2 or 3 different sized crimping holes in the jaws, work quite well provided neck tension is not too much and they leave no mark on the pulled bullets. Being of a flat design they also sit nicely on the top of your reloading press when extracting bullets.

Then again we mostly invest in good quality dies, scales, and other reloading equipment, why scrimp on a few bucks when there are excellent collet type bullet pullers available that leave bullets perfectly round and unmarked just as they came from the factory.

Bullets marked by side cutters may well shoot no different than factory, so to would a brand new car from the factory with paint chips over the bonnet perform but who would take one from a dealer in that condition

If the price was right....I would

All day long

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Originally posted by ted thorn:
Yes it leaves marks....and I re-use them....the marks have no effects on accuracy

I'm 100% with Ted on this....those slight marks are insignificant to the use of bullets pulled with a wire cutter....

I use a pinchers tool used in fencing as nothing extends into the threads of the press and can then damage the first thread impeding the entrance of dies etc.....

I've posted photos of this here several times in past history.....but Ted is "right on" here....the slight marks are meaningless.....simply emotional.

When one buys "blems" it is extremely likely that these bullets are the ones that failed the accuracy tests.....and BTW.....that isn't all bad as accuracy tests are quite restrictive..... It's possible and even likely that 1/16" will cause a small number of bullets produced to fail the tests.....and at a bullet per minute the number can become fairly large. Ever buy a batch of "blems" and actually see a blemish?.....

Saw a few notes on people using this one, seems to be working well. If I didn't already have the RCBS one with a pile of collars, I'd take a hard look at it;

http://grip-n-pull.com/

$35 for a fancy pair of pliers.

I might add that in some cases where the bullet has been seated for decades and has a healthy crimp such as military ammo, it's good to use a standard seating die to seat the bullet about 1/8" deeper. This breaks the crimp hold and also breaks any bonding of the bullet and case that may have occurred over time. It's now a helluva lot easier to pull the bullet.

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Originally posted by vapodog:
I might add that in some cases where the bullet has been seated for decades and has a healthy crimp such as military ammo, it's good to use a standard seating die to seat the bullet about 1/8" deeper. This breaks the crimp hold and also breaks any bonding of the bullet and case that may have occurred over time. It's now a helluva lot easier to pull the bullet.

+1

Vapo beat me to it.

While I use the Hornady collet puller when I need to pull a bullet I am trying to save, any way that works works.

About any of them can leave a ring to at times. The Hornady is an ok tool after I replaced the pot metal puller handle with a milled steel one.

I agree with Tex
Of all the collet type bullet pullers, the Hornady is the best.
Its the best tool to use is you have to pull too many