Pulling semi-wadcutter bullets

[charlesr]

Does anyone know a good way to pull .45 cal. semi-wad-cutter bullets?  I have an inertia puller but it doesn't work very well-after 30 strokes I quit with the bullet still in the case.  None of my collets for my RCBS puller fit the bullet nose.

[LaOtto222]

You must have a heavy crimp. Is the nose of the bullet tapered or fairly straight? If it is some what straight, measure it and then buy an appropriate collet for it. If you have very many to pull down, the money you save in bullets will pay for a collet. I assume that the collar of the bullet, just above the crimp, is too small to "grab". Buying another collet is the only way I can think of short of destroying the bullet. If you do not want to save the bullet, put it in you press and run it all the way up with out a die. Get a pair of channel locks, adjust it so you can get a good grip on the bullet with one hand and stroke the press back down. I have pulled bullets like that before. It depends on the press you have and how long the bullet is if it will reach through the top of the press. If it does not reach through, reach into the thread area, just do not bang it around in there to mess up your threads.

[Graybeard]

If several sharp raps on a solid surface (I find a concrete floor best) don't pull the bullets then honestly it's really NOT worth the trouble. I can't imagine a collet puller working on a full wadcutter bullet and not on very many semi wadcutter types as there just isn't enough parallel surface to work with. I'd dig a hole and bury them if they were mine. Some things just aren't worth the effort it takes to salvage them.

[millwright]

Try standing a 4x4 or a 6x6 block on its end and give it one sharp rap, works for me.  Sometime's with a heavy crimp I have to hit three or four times.

[corbanzo]

I just use vise-grips.  They might do a little bit to the bullet... but they work.  Just run the cartridge up through the hole in your press, lock the bullet down in the vice grips, and lower the ram.  Works smooth every time on every kind of bullet.