Extremely difficult bullet removal using kinetic puller

[GWV]

After reloading some .223 bullets using PMP brass, I discovered that I had primed the brass with small pistol primers, so I decided to remove the bullets and start over.
Using an RCBS kinetic puller, I had to pound at least 15 to 20 times to dislodge each bullet from the case.
I checked the expander ball in the FL resizer, and it measured .223 thousands.
The bullets loaded were .224 Sierra HPBT's.
The brass had been fired 3 to 4 times.
Can someone give me an explanation for my problem ?

[Art Eatman]

Insufficient bullet mass for inertia to overcome friction.

I've occasionally had to hit four or five sharp raps on some 30-caliber ammo.

[chris in va]

You're not hitting it hard enough. Trust me, it won't break.

[overthere]

Did you by any chance crimp the bullets? Some time ago I had to pull some 223 Hornady bullets with cannelure that I had crimped and I had to channel Thor to get them out. Some 10 - 15 very hard whacks per each if I recall correctly.

On the flipside I recently pulled a handful of 308 match ammo I had loaded and they required just one or two medium whacks to dislodge.

[Sevens]

Trust me, it won't break.

Hahaha, oh yes it will!

But it takes a lot of hittin' and it does matter what you're hitting it on.

I've broken two of them. But if the point you were making is that these pullers are durable and you can really feel free to knock the hell out of them, I will agree.

But they will break. I really need to replace mine. And the one I replace it with... I'm gonna break that one too.

[Brotherbadger]

You're not hitting it hard enough. Trust me, it won't break.

It's really hard to, but you can break them.

[wogpotter]

The surface you hit is very important. wood, even thick planks, has too much "spring" to really jolt even when whacking hard. Try something like a concrete step & see if that helps.

[Panfisher]

I have had pretty good luck on dense wood like a block of oak, or a piece of leather on a concrete floor. Some loads take a lot of "whacking", light weight bullets with a cannelure are a pain to pull. If I am not planning to save the bullets I remove the dies from my old rock chucker press and run the case up through the hole and grab it with a pair of archer nock pliers, and then down stroke it and then start over with resizing etc.

[mikld]

I believe Art is correct. What do the bullets weigh? Kinda hard to dislodge a bullet that is as light as a .22 cal bullet...

I have a large ingot, 6"x2"x12" of some "hard" lead (not pure) that I use for an anvil, The lead is soft enough so the hammer doesn't bounce, but not too soft to dampen the blow. And it's much quieter than pounding on the bench...

[FrankenMauser]

The surface you hit is very important. wood, even thick planks, has too much "spring" to really jolt even when whacking hard. Try something like a concrete step & see if that helps.

Concrete is the best surface with which to completely shatter a kinetic puller.


Just use a block of wood. -With laminates or hardwood, end grand works best, in my opinion.
And pound that thing home like you're driving a rail spike. You don't want to be slowing the tool's speed, just before impact, by hesitating to save your knuckles. You want full force at impact (otherwise, you could just tappity-tap-tap all day long).
If not using a bench, barstool, or some other elevated surface, I prefer a chunk of wood that gets the impact surface about 10-12" off the ground. That gives me plenty of room to avoid smashing my knuckles, without compromising impact speed.



That being said.....
Sometimes .224" bullets just won't pull free in a kinetic puller. They don't weigh enough to overcome the neck tension (particularly in cartridges with thicker neck walls, like .223 Rem, .22-250, .220 Swift, etc.).
And, if it was factory-loaded, neck tension will be even greater; AND there may have also been some sealant used on the neck/mouth. So, the bullet can have even more resistance to overcome.

I rarely even try a kinetic puller for .22 caliber jobs. I usually go straight for a Hornady Cam-Lock bullet puller.....

[sawdustdad]

I've been in the OP's shoes, too. As many of us have, it seems. I hit the concrete floor of the shop. One hard whack is usually all it takes. Haven't broken mine...yet. Even my 3 inch thick woodworking bench (hard maple) doesn't work nearly as well as the floor. I pulled a couple dozen the other night where my excessive crimping zeal crushed the shoulders of the cases. So you know those bullets were well crimped.

[rg1]

Had the same problems pulling .223 and they would take 15-20 hits and that's on concrete. Wanted to pull 300 rounds so I finally broke down and bought a collet puller for my press. I kicked myself for waiting years. I bought a RCBS with collets for .223 and .308 but the Hornady puller is well liked. The collet pullers won't hurt the bullets and powder stays put in the case. A great investment.
http://ads.midwayusa.com/find?userSe...FahaMgod_ncAuA

[wogpotter]

Concrete is the best surface with which to completely shatter a kinetic puller.

Then I'm doing something wrong because the one I bought back in the 80's is still going strong & I ONLY use it on concrete.

[AKhog]

I switched to a RCBS collet puller a while back. Don't think I will ever use the kinetic one again!

[jepp2]

I broke one years ago. It was 20+ years old, but the reason it broke was that I was swinging it in an arc. Broke the head off the handle. I only use mine on the concrete basement floor, making sure the head is in a straight up and down motion. A few sharp hits on a very hard surface should pull any recently seated .224" bullet. Velocity is critical.

[Longshot4]

I purchased a RCBS hammer back in the 70s. I remember the 5 boxes of 150 gr. 300 H&H I had to pull. That was a bit of work. But when I tried 20 50 gr. 222s I avoided pulling at all. I had a mind set that was go by the tool. Then a few months ago this forum thought me to get rid of that tunnel vision with reloading. Just put the case in your case holder run it up to the top of the press less the die and grab it with a pliers. Then just lower the press. The bullet out. The Heck with the bullet.

[tangolima]

Or you can use a bullet puller die.

-TL

[Brian Pfleuger]

Art's right about the momentum. It's not how "hard" you swing the hammer, it's the sudden stop at the end. Not only do you want to impact at full speed but you wanted to "hold" the swing down so the hammer bounces as little as possible.

The lighter the bullet, the less momentum at a given swing speed. I have successfully pulled quite a few .204 and .22-250 bullets with a kinetic puller. It's all a matter of technique. Yes, it takes more whacks than it does with larger caliber and heavier bullets but it's not THAT bad if you're technique is good.

[Bart B.]

Seat the bullets 1/16" deeper, put 'em in the inertia tool right away then smack it. That deeper seating usually breaks the neck to bullet bond that sometimes happens.

[AKhog]

Using an RCBS or Hornady collet puller in a single station press is so much less hassle than the RCBS kinetic puller that I have, I will never use mine again!

[tobnpr]

Concrete (no "bounce" or give) and a long swing, like you're driving a 20d nail with one shot.

Just like hammers, I believe these would be more effective with a much longer handle- just like framing hammers designed to accomplish the aforementioned...

[CowTowner]

I have a 4x4 @ 20" high I use as an anvil for the puller. Stood on end and hammer hard into the end grain.

[bluestreakrem]

If you first seat the bullet a little deeper with a seating die BEFORE using the inertia puller, that generally helps to break it loose.

[hartcreek]

What ever hard surface you are swinging your puller against you have to hit it square. I have uses a chunk of railroad tie with a steel plate but the patio blocks in my reloading room work just as well.

[Wrangler5]

+1 for the collet puller with lightweight bullets. I keep one of the small Lee presses on the bench set up with a 223 collet puller whenever I load that caliber. Rarely need it, but when I do it's only a matter of seconds to pop a bullet out.

When I do use a kinetic puller, I pound it on a foot-long section of railroad rail that sits on the floor next to my bench. It makes a terrific anvil, and transmits no shock to the reloading bench (as would happen if I used the anvil area on the vise that's attached to the bench.)