Safe to disassemble BP loads with inertial puller?

[jphendren]

As the title suggest, is it safe to disassemble BP loads with an inertial bullet puller?

Thanks,

Jared

[Tascosa Joe]

I have done it.  I never thought about whether it was safe or not.   

[jphendren]

I have as well, and it occurred to me this morning that it may not be safe, so I decided to ask.

I found this thread, and it seems to be safe:

http://www.bpcr.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2361

Jared

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I have done it.  I never thought about whether it was safe or not.   

Worked for me.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Yup, I do it all the time if there is some sort of screw up.

[Fingers McGee]

Yup, I do it all the time if there is some sort of screw up.

Same here

[Buffler Razz]

I've done it. But fair warning, I've also been known to run with scissors and drink from a garden hose!

[Slowhand Bob]

Being the careless sort I have done it plenty of times but I do not run with scissors, shux I dawnt run without them any more either but I have drunk many a yucky swig from a warm garden hose!  Ima thinking that if nothing that would spark gits whopped you are ok? 

[john boy]

The question lurks - why would one think that a kinetic puller is not safe for black powder but no mention of being unsafe for nitro based powders?

The ignition train starts with the primer - not the powder charge.  And an indentation has to be made on the primer to crush the primer anvil.  No crush - no ignition.  Folks also say kinetic pullers and rimfire rounds are explosions waiting to happen.  Again, there has to be an indentation of the rim for the ignition train to start

The subject of rounds going bang in the puller has been posted and discussed many times on various forums over the years.  I've read of only 1 or 2 instances where they went off but the poster never explained what exactly what they did wrong or possibly the rounds had mercuric primers.  Further, kinetic pullers have been used for multiple decades before Hornaday and others came out with grip press pullers

My belief is - use the proper collet and keep it tight, it is a safe tool to pull bullets

[Dick Dastardly]

Not fair John Boy,

You used common sense and logic as well as statistics.  No incantations or colored candles with strange scents, no mirrors, nothing that'll stand the test of lawyerism and other superstitions.

From now on, please preface your sage arguments with a disclaimer. . .  such as "serious thinking happening here" or "experience has shown".

DD-MDA

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

If it wasn't safe I'd have been blown to kingdom come long ago.

[john boy]

"serious thinking happening here" and  "experience has shown" Factoids!
... "experience has shown".  
1.  Using a piece of wood to transfer the energy of the puller is an exercise in futility and a waste of time and energy.  Many times one's arm gets tired before the bullet falls out when the case is hard crimped
2.  Using a concrete block transfers the puller energy nicely but:  it buggers the end of the puller with all kinds of marks.  Plus, it is prone to cracking the bottom of the puller. If you have a Frankford, take a picture of the pieces, attach it an email to Battenfeld Technologies customer service with your mailing address and they will send you a new one
3.  A one or two pound muffin tin ingot of pure lead used to whack the puller on, not only transfers excellent energy, there are no scratch marks on the bottom of the puller and one can pull bullets with the ingot sitting on the corner of the work bench
4.  Pick the correct collet and one never has to unscrew the top to insert the round or remove the empty case.  Just loosen the cap, tilt it on the edge and tap it on the lead ingot - Presto,the case slides back and you can grab the rim and freely pull it out.  Then with the loose cap - slid in the new round and tighten the cap
5.  To remove the powder and bullets, unscrew the puller with the bottom of puller cap pointed almost vertically.  This way, you don't have to fiddle with the collet so the flat side is down.  Yep, some powder will spill out, so do it over a container like a Chinese plastic meal container, not the Styrofoam ones and let the bullets fall out at the same time.  And don't waste your time scraping the powder off the grease grooves.  Just run them in hot tap water before you throw them wet in the pot for the next casting session.  The bullets will dry, so don't worry about hot lead explosions  

"serious thinking happening here"    
The Equation of 'Crimp Hardness' ...   (Ya know the words posters always say ... 'use a light or hard crimp')
* Light = One to 3 whacks and the bullet dislodges
* Medium = Three to 6 or 7 whacks
* Hard = Eight to 10 whacks
More than 10 whacks - One has Exceeded the Realm of Knowing How to Reload!

[Dick Dastardly]

To add to that JB, you may now add "Knowledge Displayed"

Great post!

DD-MDA

[john boy]

Thanks Dick.  Appreciate the kind words

[wildman1]

"serious thinking happening here" and  "experience has shown" Factoids!
... "experience has shown".  
1.  Using a piece of wood to transfer the energy of the puller is an exercise in futility and a waste of time and energy.  Many times one's arm gets tired before the bullet falls out when the case is hard crimped
2.  Using a concrete block transfers the puller energy nicely but:  it buggers the end of the puller with all kinds of marks.  Plus, it is prone to cracking the bottom of the puller. If you have a Frankford, take a picture of the pieces, attach it an email to Battenfeld Technologies customer service with your mailing address and they will send you a new one
3.  A one or two pound muffin tin ingot of pure lead used to whack the puller on, not only transfers excellent energy, there are no scratch marks on the bottom of the puller and one can pull bullets with the ingot sitting on the corner of the work bench
4.  Pick the correct collet and one never has to unscrew the top to insert the round or remove the empty case.  Just loosen the cap, tilt it on the edge and tap it on the lead ingot - Presto,the case slides back and you can grab the rim and freely pull it out.  Then with the loose cap - slid in the new round and tighten the cap
5.  To remove the powder and bullets, unscrew the puller with the bottom of puller cap pointed almost vertically.  This way, you don't have to fiddle with the collet so the flat side is down.  Yep, some powder will spill out, so do it over a container like a Chinese plastic meal container, not the Styrofoam ones and let the bullets fall out at the same time.  And don't waste your time scraping the powder off the grease grooves.  Just run them in hot tap water before you throw them wet in the pot for the next casting session.  The bullets will dry, so don't worry about hot lead explosions  

"serious thinking happening here"    
The Equation of 'Crimp Hardness' ...   (Ya know the words posters always say ... 'use a light or hard crimp')
* Light = One to 3 whacks and the bullet dislodges
* Medium = Three to 6 or 7 whacks
* Hard = Eight to 10 whacks
More than 10 whacks - One has Exceeded the Realm of Knowing How to Reload!

If ya whack it on the END grain of the wood it works jest fine. If ya whack it on the side grain ya can whack it quite a while before it works. WM

[Deadeye Dick]

I agree with Wildman. I use a chopping block and whack it on the end grain. Works great and doesn't mar the puller.
Deadeye Dick

[john boy]

Gents, when I first stated using a kinetic puller, I used a piece of oak to whack on.  Not the best.  Then I cut off a chunk of cherry butcher's block -  getting better!  Then the concrete block was recommended by a good friend gun crank.  Best so for and then the puller split in half after being buggered up - which was replaced free of charge.

One day, I had a 2# muffin tin ingot of pure lead sitting on the work bench ... Hey, why not.  Now, it's no turning back to any other substance to whack on - it's the best of the best.  Plus, the ingot is a great paper weight!