dis-assembling ammo

[Scibaer]

ok, how do i go about dis-assmbling ammo ?
i see the hammer looking tool for that but is there another way ? so i can reuse the brass and bullets ?

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

Here's one you might take a look at.
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000449440


Bill

[stimpylu32]

I have been using the same Kenitic hammer style puller for over 25 years now , got the threads about wore out were you tighten it down to hold the case , on rounds with a heavy crimp you some times have to give it 5 or 6 good wacks on a concrete floor to get the bullet out .

With a little practice you will get to were you can jus it with out even flatting the point of a spitzer bullet . 

The simplest of tools but still hard to beat for the job it does , cheap to buy too . 

stimpy

[Tom W.]

You can still use the brass and bullets with the hammer looking thing.... I swat mine on a piece of 2X4, but you'll need to neck size your brass again.  Your accuracy comes from a good base, not necessarily a good tip. And it's a whole lot easier to use your shell holder in place of that rubber o-ringed collet thingy.

Hornady makes one that fits in your press, too.

[myronman3]

i have used the kinetic puller (hammer) and the bullet collet die.   the collet is by far faster, quieter,  does not deform the bullet tip, and a more controlled action.  but the hammer is cheaper and more versatle.   i broke my hammer,  so now i am sticking with the collet.

[quickdtoo]

I use the RCBS collet puller and a kinetic puller, depends on what I want to do. I put a cleaning patch in the tip of the kinetic puller to catch the bullet so it doesn't mess the tip up. As Tom said, using a shell holder works well, specially for the .500 S&W that's too big for the FA puller collet, it's also too short for 45-120 cases and big bullets.

The RCBS is the fastest and neatest way to pull bullets and leave the powder in the case for recovery, but the collets are $10 each unless you can catch em on sale somewhere.

Start with the kinetic puller, it works well as Stimpy said.

Tim

[dw06]

I use the kinetic puller,and to save the bullet tip I put a foam ear plug in to catch it,works most of the time.

[Scibaer]

ok, the kinetic puller it is. ..
thanks it sounds like a unanimous ( if not the only ) option anyhow, lol ..
 to bad you cant just put all the ammo parts in the hammer and whack it and get a loaded round..

[Cheesehead]

I disassembled almost 900 rounds of 8mm Mauser with the kinetic hammer, it worked, long process, I do not recommend it, unless you are very patient and determined.

Cheese

[myronman3]

i thought i had it bad with doing a box of 454 rounds.  i had about 18 270's to do, and let me tell ya,  the 454 was MUCH easier to do than the 270.  i snagged a collet die at a local gun shop for a few bucks.   the owner hadnt a clue what it was; but i did.   great tool.  i wont be without one ever again.

[Graybeard]

The kinetic hammer is a handy tool to have for those times when you don't have the right collet or only want to disassemble one or two rounds but it's a poor excuse for a proper bullet puller when more is involved. I use the Hornady collet bullet puller and would never ever be without it again. Cost is reasonable but higher than the hammer but it is oh so superior to the hammer.

With the hammer you'll mess up the tips of most soft nosed bullets so they are quite ugly to look at even if it has no effect on their performance. It mixes the powder with bullet and if you are using cast bullets with lube it really is a total mess.

With the collet puller from Hornady you mount it in the press like a die and use the same shell holders as when loading the ammo. Just run the round up into the collet and pull the lever to hold the bullet tightly and move the press handle to lower the ram and the bullet is pulled and held waiting for you to remove it with your fingers. Now remove the case from the shell holder and put the powder in a contain and you're done.

I first got this when I sold a 6 TCU and had many hundreds of rounds loaded and wanted to salvage the bullets and powder for use in other ammo later. It was the greatest thing since sliced bread for taking rounds apart and I did a review of it back then which is still available online via the Home Page and likely thru the All the Rest Link. Get one and you'll never look back and sure will be glad the hammer isn't your only tool to take rounds apart.

[Scibaer]

well, maybe thats the way i wanna go then. i want to reuse the components and dont need the mess or beat up bullets.
the cost difference isnt a big deal to me, and im sure its better to use the press then whack my floor with hammer style puller.
thanks for the input Bill ..
Glenn

[warrior1]

i got the rcbs collet puller that works ok on jacketed bullets,but lead i've never been successful trying pull with
the collet. i figure by the time i get the collet set up , i can pretty much pull what i need to pull with the
hammer type. dan

[quickdtoo]

I've used the RCBS collet puller on a bunch of .459" cast bullets, it works fine for them in the both 45-70 and .45-120.

Tim