Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Bullet Puller---Good, Better, Best

Looking to buy a bullet puller, (suggestions)

inertia is the cheapest. The RCBS collet puller works good and I'm sure others do as well.

The cheapest you probably already own. Your reloading press with the die removed. Put the cartridge in the shell holder, raise the ram so the bullet protrudes above the press, lightly grasp the bullet with a side cutter and lower the ram, remove the bullet from the case.

I am always thankful whenever I use my Hornady cam-lok.
Silent, no mess, and indoors.

I never liked using the inertia puller but now absolutely loathe the thing.

I use the RCBS collet puller for rifle cartridges. I use the inertia puller for pistol bullets. I typically reuse the rifle bullets for the range. The collet puller does very little damage to the bullet as long as they are not crimped in.

kwg

I have been using a Forster collet puller since the nineties and it hasn't missed a beat.

Depending on your neck tension & how deep the bullet is seated, I prefer these:

https://www.creedmoorsports.com/product/davidson-bullet-puller/gunsmithing-tools

I've had the RCBS inertia bullet puller for several decades, which has the rough shape of a hammer. Of course it's been in storage for 25 years. That said, I retrieved it and used it to pull out fifty rounds of .45 Colt just a few weeks ago (because I had seated all of them too deep to crimp into the cannelure), and it worked like a champ.

You just unscrew the cap, put the cartridge into the universal shell holder, screw the cap back on with the cartridge installed, and hammer onto a piece of wood till the bullet comes out. It only takes a couple of firm whacks.

this

That unit is for rifle bullets only.

Those are not universal. You need to have several of them, depending on caliber.

You can use your press and grab the bullet with pliers, channel locks, etc but the bullet is ruined. The only safe way is with the inertia puller to save the bullet for reuse.

Use a chainsaw sharpening burr in a Dremel tool to grind the jaws of a pair of pliers or vise grips to bullet-specific diameter divots. A couple of different bullet sizes can be formed on each pair of pliers. No bullet damage that way, and they're faster than setting up any kind of dedicated puller.

I use the inertia hammer type, a couple hits and its out, after you use it for awhile you will try harder to not have to pull bullets, but it works.
Frankfurd arsenal.

Lose the hammer pullers and get a collet puller. Very quick easy and no mess.

This. Rcbs hammer style. Fast, cheap and easy

RCBS collet puller; I keep most of mine set up in 4 hole Lee plates along with trim dies. The only bullet I use hammer style pullers on is 45/70.

Grip-N-Pull. I have used all of those mentioned above (except the Forster) and way prefer the Grip-N-Pull, best bullet puller I've tried, though pliers and press without a die is good. Quick, easy, doesn't damage the bullet so you can load it again.

I still use a hammer type puller once in a while but a collet type is faster, easier and works on lightweight bullets that don't pop out with a hammer type puller.

Get a collet for each of the calibers you are loading for.

I've used the hammer, RCBS collet and the Hornady collet puller.

The hammer sucked and broke. The Hornady is a good bit better than the RCBS collet puller. The Hornady very seldom leaves a mark on the bullet in question.