Can I reload my pulled bullets, or will they fly all over the place?

Tomas · December 20, 2006, 01:36 AM

I was playing around with some Barnes 200 XFBs for my .308 and loading them up with some Varget. The loads compressed but I thought I'd see what happens at the range. Well, my Weatherby sprayed them all over the place, normally a very accurate rifle, elevation was OK, but was getting 12 in groups at 100 yards. Compression ruined the lot.

So, I pulled the bullets, but there are streaks on them from pulling them out of the cases. Are these bullets pretty much worthless now, in terms of accuracy?

I don't care if I toss them, just want to know if I'm wasting time and material loading them up again.

Tom

T. O'Heir · December 20, 2006, 02:06 AM

How did you pull them? The best way to pull bullets is with a kinetic puller. The hammer type. A few scratches won't matter though. The accuracy of a bullet is determined by the base, not the sides.
"...The loads compressed..." What compressed?
"...getting 12 in groups..." Chances are that your rifle just doesn't like that load.

HSMITH · December 20, 2006, 09:31 AM

They should be OK, but that will depend on how deep the scratches are.

Chamfer the necks inside and out. Spin a brush on a cordless drill to clean the necks out. Those two things will make the scratches a thing of the past should you ever need to pull bullets and re-use them again. At a buck each for some of the premium bullets I think the brass prep is well worth it.

dgc940 · December 20, 2006, 11:29 AM

I shoot pulled bullets all the time no problems. they still shoot under or at MOA.
Now if I was good enough and shooting in a competition I probably wouldn't do it! Another thing If they were say varmint bullets and I paid 12,00 for a 100 of them I would chunk a bullet if I had any worries at all. The other day I pulled some partitions with a kinetic puller and noticed it was lightly deforming the soft tip so I put a small piece of the foam that comes in bullet packs in the bottom of the puller for a cushion.

Shoney · December 20, 2006, 01:41 PM

Don't toss em. I load pulled bullets all the time and with sub MOA.

In a worst-case scenario, if you have doubts, use them as fowling shots after a good bore cleaning.

T-Mac · December 20, 2006, 02:13 PM

If you pulled them with a vice grips

I haven't had any trouble with pulled bullets.
Hornady cam lock, is what I use.

Cheese · December 20, 2006, 02:44 PM

As to the noses, an ear-plug in the end (of the puller) works swell as I read somewhere else.

The deformation likely will not matter much. I read an article (I believe in Shooting Times) where someone snipped the tips on Nosler Ballistic Tips (some at 45 degree angles, some removed all together!) They still grouped the same or close enough.

The article was in reference to observations that the tips deform or come off under recoil in the magazine well before firing.

December 20, 2006, 01:36 AM	#1
Tomas Senior Member Join Date: May 9, 1999 Location: Blue State Posts: 441	Can I reload my pulled bullets, or will they fly all over the place? I was playing around with some Barnes 200 XFBs for my .308 and loading them up with some Varget. The loads compressed but I thought I'd see what happens at the range. Well, my Weatherby sprayed them all over the place, normally a very accurate rifle, elevation was OK, but was getting 12 in groups at 100 yards. Compression ruined the lot. So, I pulled the bullets, but there are streaks on them from pulling them out of the cases. Are these bullets pretty much worthless now, in terms of accuracy? I don't care if I toss them, just want to know if I'm wasting time and material loading them up again. Tom

December 20, 2006, 11:29 AM	#4
dgc940 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: Graham Texas Posts: 258	I shoot pulled bullets all the time no problems. they still shoot under or at MOA. Now if I was good enough and shooting in a competition I probably wouldn't do it! Another thing If they were say varmint bullets and I paid 12,00 for a 100 of them I would chunk a bullet if I had any worries at all. The other day I pulled some partitions with a kinetic puller and noticed it was lightly deforming the soft tip so I put a small piece of the foam that comes in bullet packs in the bottom of the puller for a cushion. __________________ Some people say what they think! Some say what they know! Then there's those that think they know what they are saying!

December 20, 2006, 01:41 PM	#5
Shoney Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2002 Location: Transplanted from Montana Posts: 2,311	Don't toss em. I load pulled bullets all the time and with sub MOA. In a worst-case scenario, if you have doubts, use them as fowling shots after a good bore cleaning. __________________ I pledge allegiance to the Flag - - -, and to the Republic for which it stands….Our Forefathers were brilliant for giving us a Republic, not a democracy! Do you know the difference??? and WHY?http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissue...les.asp?id=111

December 20, 2006, 02:06 AM	#2
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	How did you pull them? The best way to pull bullets is with a kinetic puller. The hammer type. A few scratches won't matter though. The accuracy of a bullet is determined by the base, not the sides. "...The loads compressed..." What compressed? "...getting 12 in groups..." Chances are that your rifle just doesn't like that load.

December 20, 2006, 09:31 AM	#3
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2002 Posts: 2,019	They should be OK, but that will depend on how deep the scratches are. Chamfer the necks inside and out. Spin a brush on a cordless drill to clean the necks out. Those two things will make the scratches a thing of the past should you ever need to pull bullets and re-use them again. At a buck each for some of the premium bullets I think the brass prep is well worth it.

December 20, 2006, 02:13 PM	#6
T-Mac Member Join Date: January 18, 2006 Location: Townsend, MT Posts: 99	If you pulled them with a vice grips I haven't had any trouble with pulled bullets. Hornady cam lock, is what I use.

December 20, 2006, 02:44 PM	#7
Cheese Member Join Date: December 6, 2006 Posts: 64	As to the noses, an ear-plug in the end (of the puller) works swell as I read somewhere else. The deformation likely will not matter much. I read an article (I believe in Shooting Times) where someone snipped the tips on Nosler Ballistic Tips (some at 45 degree angles, some removed all together!) They still grouped the same or close enough. The article was in reference to observations that the tips deform or come off under recoil in the magazine well before firing.