Inertia hammer

Can't comment on which one will last longer, but I have the Franklin and it is over 8 years old now. I don't use it that often, though.
 
I have a Frankford and it's holding up. The Lyman looks like it has a nice handle. At the price, does it matter much? I figure they're going to wear out and break eventually anyway.
 
I have beat the ever loving snot out of the franklin and it's still going strong!
 
I do know that the RCBS is tough. I have no experience with the other two.
 
Except the RCBS collets are unobtainium. And I hear the Honady collets are weak.
 
Broke an RCBS maybe a year ago. Got the Lyman and of all tne parts that broke it was the screw on cap. Got the Franklin, it was missing one part of a collet and I don’t like the handle.

I do have the RCBS collet puller and many collets, it is great, just keep a little oil on the threads.
 
I have the RCBS collet but I’m trying to pull down some of my cast bullets and was hoping I could save them. Thanks guys for your input.
 
MY 4 year old snapped the head off a Frankfort pulling some 45, but that’s probably more commentary on my kid than it is on the durability of the puller. I replaced it with the same thing.
 
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The new Frankford Arsenal Pile Driver looks interesting, but I don't know if it's worth it...

621674a3.jpg



www.midwayusa.com

Frankford Arsenal Pile Driver Bullet Puller

The Pile Driver Bullet Puller from Frankford Arsenal is designed to mount to your bench or wall for convenient access. The easy lever design uses spring...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
 
I have an RCBS impact puller that was in the box of goodies when I purchased my two Dillon reloading presses at an estate sale back around 2016. It only had 1 insert to hold the round, so it didn't work very well for smaller cartridges. Then I discovered that Lee shell holders fit and work perfectly to hold the cartridge. I picked up a complete set of used, Lee Universal Shell Holders for $10.00 at a gun show, and now all cartridges work fine. I just used it yesterday to pull about 150 rounds of .45 acp.

45.1.jpg

A widow turned these in after cleaning out the basement after the passing of her husband. They were given to me. (I'll take anything for nothing except a beating...) The only thing I would consider doing with them is pulling the bullets to see if they might clean up.

45.2.jpg

Those bullets were really IN there! I had to beat the crap out of every one, and I don't know what that black ring is where the bullets were seated. I can scrape it off with my fingernail. It's almost like a shellac. After tumbling for a little over an hour, the bullets look like this.


45.3.jpg

Look at the difference! I'd say it was worth while for around 150 .45 acp bullets.


I deprimed every brass case, and just for grins, they are in the tumbler right now. I will not use those cases as they were pretty badly corroded. I have no idea if the primers will still work. The powder was dumped in a plastic jar for burning outside later. I have no idea what it is.

So the RCBS puller got a really good workout yesterday, and it's still hanging in there...
 
TSConver said:
Get a collet puller for your press and throw the inertia hammer away. Once you use a collet puller you will never use a hammer again.
Click to expand...

I have the RCBS one and must not be using it right, as I find the hammer to be faster
 
TSConver said:
Get a collet puller for your press and throw the inertia hammer away. Once you use a collet puller you will never use a hammer again.
Click to expand...


I found a used Hornady cam-lock bullet puller at a gun show and picked it up for $10.00. It had three collets with it, including the #13, for 45 caliber. That one has the thinnest jaws, and was broken. I was told to just give Hornady a call and they would replace it at no charge. Now that I had these .45 acp rounds to pull, I tried to use the broken collet in the Hornady puller, and it didn't work. I gave Hornady a call, and spoke to a guy named Dustin. He advised that the system was never intended for pistol rounds. It was designed for RIFLE rounds. He said the #13 collet will eventually break every time when used on .45 acp because there isn't enough "straight" surface of the bullet for the collet to grab on to, and all the pressure is on the tips. That's why they break.

But he said he will send me a new #13 collet at no charge.

So, I went back to the RCBS impact puller and imagined I was banging it against the heads of some of our current political leaders... 😆😆😆
 
The Lyman bullet puller, that my Brother got ahold of, and Frankford puller I've had for years have given satisfactory service.

On occasion I consider a collet puller, but... if its not broke, why fix it?
 
That ragged old brass is now out of the tumbler.
45.4.jpg
It looks good, but I will not use this brass. I don't see any signs of corrosion on the brass, but those bullets were so stuck in the brass, that several casings were damaged by the force needed to dislodge the bullets. I found several cracked case mouths because many times, the bullet did not come cleanly out of the brass. It broke loose on one side of the case mouth, but was still firmly attached on the other. I had to "crack" those loose like cracking an egg.


45.5.jpg
and you can still see that black stuff on the inside of the case mouth where the bullet was seated. I don't know if it's something that was put there when the round was manufactured, or if it's the result of a chemical reaction between the brass & copper if these bullets were stored in a damp environment.

Also, since I used the Lee Shell holder in the RCBS kinetic puller, and so much force was needed to break the bullets free, some of the head stamps were actually deformed. This brass is for scrap. I recovered all of the LP primers, but I have no idea if they are any good. They'll go in a plastic pill container, labeled as to where they came from, and never used...

This was interesting. I managed to recover around 100 very reusable bullets, gave the bullet puller a workout & had a little fun with the tumbler as well.
 
I have the RCBS and the FA...they both work equally well. Some tricks I have learned when using on of these is to get a nice 6" x 3 inch thick piece of hickory round to knock against. And a foam earplug down in the cavity cushions the bullet if you're trying to recover the projectile.

Otherwise they both work equally well
 
georgel said:
The new Frankford Arsenal Pile Driver looks interesting, but I don't know if it's worth it...

621674a3.jpg



www.midwayusa.com

Frankford Arsenal Pile Driver Bullet Puller

The Pile Driver Bullet Puller from Frankford Arsenal is designed to mount to your bench or wall for convenient access. The easy lever design uses spring...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
Click to expand...
Got one. Some of the parts look cheap plastic.
It definitely works. Some well crimped bullets require multiple tries. And its loud.
Glad I bought it for now.
 
Harold2689 said:
and you can still see that black stuff on the inside of the case mouth where the bullet was seated. I don't know if it's something that was put there when the round was manufactured, or if it's the result of a chemical reaction between the brass & copper if these bullets were stored in a damp environment.
Click to expand...
I’ve seen factory ammo where some sort of glue is used when the bullet is seated.
 
TSConver said:
Get a collet puller for your press and throw the inertia hammer away. Once you use a collet puller you will never use a hammer again.
Click to expand...
The collet puller doesn't work reliably for me on military rounds with sealant even when I push the bullet into the case slightly to break the seal. it also has trouble with short and stubby bullets like 9mm 115 gr and .45 230 gr RN. Other than those mine is pretty good. I just wacked about 300 9mm ball bullets out with my Frankford inertia puller and still had about 5 rounds that absolutely weren't coming apart.

I've managed to break a couple of the inertia pullers over the years. Both were RCBS but it took decades for it to happen.
 
I just picked up a Hornady hammer inertia puller. They had them at Academy. Similar to others, but it has a place in the handle for the other holders and the handle is comfortably large. Small things, but nice. I like it. Now the Frankford can be a backup.

iu
 
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