Collet or Cam Lock Bullet Pullers

[MoreIsLess]

Has anyone use a Collet or Cam Lock Bullet puller. The description says they are not to be used with cast bullets. What about plated (which are supposed to be cast under the plating). I have an inertia puller that is due for replacement and I thought I would try one of these except I use plated bullets.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012761534/hornady-cam-lock-bullet-puller-collet

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/680804/rcbs-collet-bullet-puller

 

[gojones]

I use the RCBS collet type bullet puller. Works fine without any issues. Ive never used the Hornady Cam Lock though.

 

[glc24]

Not sure why they say that.

All I've ever pulled with my Hornady are plated bullets of various caliber, grains and brand!

 

[Englishmn]

I have used my rcbs on plated .357 swc worked just fine. I keep a hammer puller around too some stuff requires it, like wadcutters.

 

[MoreIsLess]

I use the RCBS collet type bullet puller. Works fine without any issues. Ive never used the Hornady Cam Lock though.

Did you use it with plated bullets?

 

[MoreIsLess]

Not sure why they say that.

All I've ever pulled with my Hornady are plated bullets of various caliber, grains and brand!

Was your bullet puller the cam lock or collett

 

[someguy2800]

Both of the pullers you mentioned work in the same way, they both have collets. The only difference is that the RCBS one engages the collet with a screw, and the hornady engages it with a cam lever.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I've used both and committed to the Hornady Cam-Loc based on the speed of use and that you don't have to adjust the tension between each pulled bullet. I've pulled 300 bullets in about 20 mins.

I've mostly pulled jacketed and plated bullets...mostly RMR, but also the softer Xtreme...as well as Hi-Tek coated lead bullets.

 

[MikeInOr]

The effectiveness of the collet puller depends on how deep the bullet is in the case. They do take a while to set up and get tuned in for the load you are pulling. For a few rounds I use a kinetic (hammer) puller. For a couple dozen or more bullets the collet puller is worth the hassle. So kind of 2 different tools that depend on how big the job is.

I have pulled several hundred plated 40's with a collet puller. The o-give of the 40's I was pulling made it hard to get a great grip on the bullets. But it did work and the bullets were perfectly usable for another load.

 

[gojones]

Did you use it with plated bullets?

No, I have not pulled any plated bullets, just jacketed.

 

[Blue68f100]

I've pulled all using collet type and kinetic pullers. But it all depends on how much bullet you have exposed to grab. Due to ogive of some bullets the kinetic pullers are better choice.

 

[Toprudder]

I have used an RCBS collet puller to pull plated bullets, but only for ones that have enough straight bearing surface of the bullet exposed for the collet to grip. 9mm is usually good, 40 not so much. The problem is that most plated bullets use very soft lead, so it deforms more easily.

What I have done is use a kinetic puller to get the bullet started, then use the collet puller to finish the job.

 

[Muddydogs]

What I have done is use a kinetic puller to get the bullet started, then use the collet puller to finish the job.

Why? If the bullet is moving in the kinetic puller then another tap or two will finish the job.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Why? If the bullet is moving in the kinetic puller then another tap or two will finish the job.

To recover the powder and bullet without a mess.

With my Hornady, I lower the ram to pull the bullet, grab the case, dump the powder back in the jug, drop the case in a bin, release the bullet into my hand, drop it into another bin, and pick up the next cartridge to put into the case holder. It takes less time to do it than typing it.

 

[Doublehelix]

I use the RCBS model, and have used it successfully with plated, jacketed *and* cast.

As others have mentioned, some cartridges work well, others, not so much. You definitely need a kinetic puller as a backup.

I just pulled about 50 bullets from some .40 rounds that had coated lead bullets, and I think I had to use the kinetic puller on about 4 of them, the rest were easily extracted using the RCBS collet puller.

 

[Rule3]

Your link to the Hornady is just the "collet" for the cam lock
You need the whole thing
They both work the same. I have the RCBS you need to buy collets for each caliber
I have only pulled jacketed (a BOAT LOAD) of several calibers I bought a box of someones reloads, they were crimped to death XTP bullets, Hundreds of them!

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/851547/hornady-cam-lock-bullet-puller

 

[foxmeadow]

I've found that the .45 collet in the Hornady unit to be somewhat fragile, and have broken a couple. I crimp fairly tight and it takes some effort to pull, and usually leads to deeply marked bullets. I pull .45s with a kinetic/inertial puller now.

 

[Toprudder]

Why? If the bullet is moving in the kinetic puller then another tap or two will finish the job.

To recover the powder and bullet without a mess.

With my Hornady, I lower the ram to pull the bullet, grab the case, dump the powder back in the jug, drop the case in a bin, release the bullet into my hand, drop it into another bin, and pick up the next cartridge to put into the case holder. It takes less time to do it than typing it.

Exactly.

The Hornady will work in some presses that the RCBS will not, due to the difference in designs. For instance, the Summit press won't give the RCBS puller room to turn the locking handle, due to the toggle links on top of the press. The cam handle of the Hornady should work, though. I've read multiple times about the cam on the Hornady breaking, though.

 

[Muddydogs]

To recover the powder and bullet without a mess.

With my Hornady, I lower the ram to pull the bullet, grab the case, dump the powder back in the jug, drop the case in a bin, release the bullet into my hand, drop it into another bin, and pick up the next cartridge to put into the case holder. It takes less time to do it than typing it.

While the collet puller makes it easier to put the powder in one container and the bullets in another theirs no mess to just pump the kinetic puller into a container then fish the bullets out later.
Guess what I'm saying is get both pullers because they both have there place and if you load long enough both will come in handy but don't think that you have to go through a bunch of extra steps using one then the other to pull a single bullet unless that's your thing.
A foam ear plug pushed into the end of a kinetic puller makes a great bullet stop so the tip doesn't get messed up. Just make sure and pull the plug out and remove the little bit of powder that gets trapped around it so you don't mix powder types, there's probably not enough to worry about but its best to play it safe.

 

[someguy2800]

While the collet puller makes it easier to put the powder in one container and the bullets in another theirs no mess to just pump the kinetic puller into a container then fish the bullets out later.
Guess what I'm saying is get both pullers because they both have there place and if you load long enough both will come in handy but don't think that you have to go through a bunch of extra steps using one then the other to pull a single bullet unless that's your thing.
A foam ear plug pushed into the end of a kinetic puller makes a great bullet stop so the tip doesn't get messed up. Just make sure and pull the plug out and remove the little bit of powder that gets trapped around it so you don't mix powder types, there's probably not enough to worry about but its best to play it safe.

I pull bullets all the time with a kinetic puller and if you do it enough you end up with powder all over the floor and everywhere. A tiny little bit always bounces back up around the gaps in the collet.

 

[9mmepiphany]

While the collet puller makes it easier to put the powder in one container and the bullets in another

Not just easier, it breaks it into discreet actions which defines neat

theirs no mess to just pump the kinetic puller into a container then fish the bullets out later.

Assuming that the intended word were "there's" and "dump"

Having to "fish" through the powder for the bullets, to say nothing of shaking out the powder caught in the body/cushion, pretty much defines "mess"

 

[Rule3]

Some of you guys are making a mountain out of a mole hill.
The advantage of the collet pullers is when doing lots of rounds vs the hammer.

The Kinetic hammers are really not a big deal when salvaging bullets and powder. Hammer out the bullet, "dump" it and powder in a nice clean shallow container. It really is no big deal to pluck out the bullets. Besides if using the hammer you probably are not doing 100's in a sitting.

 

[SCC]

I just used my Hornady collet puller on 8 9mm rounds with Berry's 115gr Hollow Base Thick Plate (HBTP) bullets because I thought I might have made a squib. I load rather long (1.15") so there's a good gripping area for the collet. On the first one I pushed the lever over rather hard and got indentations in the pulled projectile. Eased up on the others and no marks. No squib found. Resized the cases and reused all the projectiles, including the first one, without problem.

 

[rskent]

I have both of these pullers. I pretty much hate them equally. They may work great for a lot of people in a lot of different situations. For me, not so much.
I have never been able to pull any amount of bullets without leaving marks. The Whack A Mole puller is a bit messy. I can live with messy, not rings around my bullets.

 

[cougar1717]

I have and use both kinetic hammer and Hornady cam lock. OP, it sounds like you are pulling plated, handgun cartridges. For a small amount, either is ok. If I had to pull 25+, I would prefer the cam lock. It does require a caliber specific collet and time for adjustment, but you can manually adjust how much grip the collet puts on the bullet via the handle for each pulled cartridge. I think the warning about plated bullets is legalese for those who do not follow the instructions on how to adjust the cam lock and then deform their bullets. This may cause problems if they reload the deformed bullet and something bad occurs. Hornady doesn't want that liability. Places that sell pulled bullets usually sell plated ones that have significant deformations. A quick search would yield some plated bullets that have significant deformation due to being pulled. But to be clear, a person can pull plated bullets with a collet puller without significant deformations.

For rifle cartridges with light for caliber bullets, a collet puller (like the Hornady cam lock) is the way to go. I bought mine shortly after pulling a 55gr 223 Remington that required over 100 kinetic hammer strikes to pull. (I had to count for fun.) As you know, 9/40/45/44Mag/308win/30-06 and others will routinely pull with 2-3 strikes.