Bullet Puller (inertia hammer style)

[Dead-Nuts-Zero]

Has anyone broken an inertia type bullet puller due excessive hammering?

I had a batch of 22 hornet that I really had to hammer hard to pull the bullets. I have 3 left but probably not worth breaking the hammer for them.
I'm guessing it's due to such a light bullet (40 gr.) causing the problem.

How durable are these hard plastic tools?
Used mine for about 30 years, still undamaged but often thinking it will break from hard hits.

 

[44 AMP]

The key is not hard hits, it is "quick hits" or "snap hits" something easy for me to do, but not so easy to describe.

It is not the power of the blow, but the speed and the sudden stop which lets the inertia puller work.

I have found that hard wood and even regular concrete flooring are not the ideal impact surfaces. Stone, or best, iron or steel seems to give better results.

After many years of generally unsatisfactory results with press mounted collet pullers (RCBS) I finally bought the Lyman "Orange Hammer" puller and it has been a good tool, even pulling .22 cal bullets from CF cases, though the lightest ones often take a few more wacks. (Not HARDER wacks).

I strike it on the top of a COLD wood stove, or the anvil part of a bench vice, and the few hundred times I've used it, it has done fine and suffered no visiable damage.

You are not chopping wood, or driving nails with one of those pullers, the best technique is the kind of blow that rings the bell at the carnival sideshow game. A heavy hard smash doesn't do it, a fast "snap" does.

 

[FITASC]

I use an oak block; too many hit it on concrete or similar; the key is wrist motion to really get the inertia movement.

 

[Dead-Nuts-Zero]

I agree, I always hold loosely allowing it to easily rebound off the end grain of a hard maple log. Usually 3 whacks and done.
I have an old wood stove, will give that a try sometime.

 

[eflyguy]

I just use my deck. I prefer to do it outside anyway.

 

[tangolima]

It is because of the light weight bullet. F=ma. Smaller mass, acceleration needs to be higher to produce the same force. Acceleration is rate of change of speed (direction counts), so hitting harder helps. Allowing the hammer to bounce is smart. I broken mine, after using it for more than 20 years, trying to pull bullet from fn 5.7 cartridge.

I would invest on a puller die and collet if I have to pull anyhow more than rare occasions. Hammer pullers are not expensive, but small numbers add up fast.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[44 AMP]

The hammers are not indestructible, but they are hell for stout when used properly. I originally went the way of the press mounted die, and collets and had a lot of frustration with them. Can't pull lead bullets without damage..either

got a hammer and while its more manipulation installing each round and then removing it after, it seemed less work that using the press system. And, you can pull about anything (NO RIMFIRES!!!!) size wise without a collet for each caliber, and it all comes apart undamaged! Even cast bullets.

(place a small cut portion of a foam earplug in the hammer nose, if its doesn't have a pad there, and you won't even distort soft points)

I broke down 400 rnds of bad 7.62 NATO to get the bullets and while a bit tedious, it wasn't hard work.

actually kinda fun in a way, you do a job that needs doing, AND you get to HIT something doing it!

 

[hounddawg]

I picked up piece of Ipe, which is one of the hardest woods in the world, cut it down to a 4x4 piece and mounted on one end of my bench. All of the above posters describe the technique perfectly. One other tip is instead of using the supplied collets, use a shell holder from the press. Much faster and easier than the three piece collets and oring setups that came with my Frankford Arsenal

 

[jetinteriorguy]

Not trying to sway you from the inertia type puller, but if you’re considering a collet style the Hornady version works real well. I’ve been using mine for around five years and due to mistakes in volume it’s had substantial use and has never failed to work. That being said I also use a hammer occasionally for that low volume oops as well. My Frankford version took a pretty good beating but eventually broke, so I replaced it with the RCBS all plastic version and it works much better. There’s something about their design it takes a lighter whack to loosen up bullets and is much easier on the hammer, plus it has their great warranty service.

 

[stinkeypete]

I broke mine. The trick is to get the hammer to really bounce, not really hit hard.

So it’s kind of a loosely held wrist snap… and almost let go of it on the rebound. Hitting an anvil would be ideal… the harder the rebound surface the better.

I broke the collet that held the bullet in place from excessive use… not excessive pounding.

 

[olduser]

Hammer pullers do not work well with .22 bullets. You are better off with a good collet puller for small calibers. I know, I have broke two hammer style.

 

[Paul B.]

I use both types depending on the cartridge I'm working with. The base for my hammer type is a 5 pound lead ingot. It has worked quite well for many years.

Paul B.

 

[FITASC]

(place a small cut portion of a foam earplug in the hammer nose, if its doesn't have a pad there, and you won't even distort soft points)

THAT is a major plus to do; put one in mine a few decades ago; those expensive Sierras come out perfect

 

[FlyFish]

I broke mine just last month after about 45 years of use. I wonder if RCBS would make good on it? Nah, I'm not even going to ask - I got more than my money's worth out of it.

 

[Unclenick]

Basically, a hard, inelastic surface is best. I have an inch-thick steel plate from a scrapped injection mold die I use. You want the suddenness of deceleration which, if you had a slow-motion camera, you would see causes the plastic head to deform outward and then snap back elastically, which assists in the inertial pull. Simply put, take your hammer handle between your thumb and index finger and just tap it on different candidate surfaces. The one that produces the most bounce is the one you will have to strike the least hard against to achieve bullet pull. I would avoid concrete or other textured surfaces, as you don't want a sharp point to penetrate the plastic surface and start a crack in the head.

Like 44AMP, I have a couple of the old press-mount screw-in collet closing pullers from before I knew any better, and they wear your wrists out and work slowly and often distort bullets some. But like Jetinteriorguy, I eventually picked up a Hornady Cam-Lock puller (twenty years ago, now) and found it plows through pulling surplus ammo really fast and easily. The Cam-Lock closes the collet the way a lathe drawbar collet closer works, with one easy 90° turn of the handle that takes little force. It eliminates all the screwing-downs involved and keeps the closing force consistent. Properly set up, it doesn't damage jacketed bullets.

But still, for odd calibers and one-offs, the hammer puller is quick to grab and has no setup involved. Mine is a Quinetics puller. I got it long ago, so others may be making good ones now, too. I think the Quinetics puller was the original and that they were the OEM supplier for RCBS, at least at one point in time.

This Quinetics video shows the use of the standard puller and uses a stone for the anvil. It's a good demonstration of the hammering technique.

This Quinetics video shows their chuck upgrade gadget that reduces the number of times you have to smack the hammer. They say it fits all inertial pullers on the market, so it may be an add-on you are interested in.

 

[Butzbach]

I’ve been working on the railroad

I inherited an 8” piece of railroad tie from my Dad. Works like a charm as an anvil for bullet pulling.

 

[gwpercle]

Has anyone broken an inertia type bullet puller due excessive hammering?

I had a batch of 22 hornet that I really had to hammer hard to pull the bullets. I have 3 left but probably not worth breaking the hammer for them.
I'm guessing it's due to such a light bullet (40 gr.) causing the problem.

How durable are these hard plastic tools?
Used mine for about 30 years, still undamaged but often thinking it will break from hard hits.

Important Tip ... Break the case crimp on the bullet before you try to pull them.
Seat the bullet deeper ...Yes deeper , just enough to break the cases grip (crimp) on the bullet . Light 22 cal. bullets are the hardest to pull ... no inertia ... break the crimp and several fast hits ... not slams but moderately hard, fast moving , solid hits ... AP Milatary 30-06 will come out in three hits if the crimp is broken ... 22 Hornet may take 5-6 medium hits because the bullet is so light .
You should use the "hammer" like you are driving a medium sized nail into a 2X4 .
Gary

 

[hikingman]

Posts #2 and#3 nailed it. (Mine is a Lyman Magnum Inertia model.)

Since I lean toward making gear last forever, I chose lighter strikes, and obviously not on concrete. Most of my place is carpet over a slab, hmm- that might work!

 

[Average Joe]

Never had one break, but I imagine over time they will wear out..

 

[dahermit]

Never had one break, but I imagine over time they will wear out..

I find that one of the big problems with inertia pullers is that the rubber 0-rings on the collets deteriorate after awhile letting the three lobes of the collet to fall away. I keep an assortment of O-rings on hand from Harbor Freight just for that purpose.