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| Article written by: Mark Trope | |||||||||
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Quite often a person gets a really great deal on a batch of Mil-Surp ammunition. Often, the components are worth more to a handloader then the assembled cartridge! Let’s look at that. Suppose a wholesale dealer gets a lot of complaints from customers about a batch of Mil-Surp ammunition. There are frequent misfires; hangfires and customers are finding rounds in very box with cracked necks. The wholesale dealer decides to close out the entire lot of ammunition cheap. The bullets, especially if they are an odd size may be worth a small fortune by themselves. Usually, the wholesale dealer doesn’t have the time, or isn’t willing to pay someone to sit there and break down ammunition. The wholesale dealer just closes it out. This can be a literal treasure trove for the reloading Mil-Surp shooter. Suppose a fellow has a batch of nice, clean loaded Mil-Surp ammunition, but wishes to try a different powder or bullet then the arsenal loaded in it? Even if the brass is berdan primed, the low cost can make it worth the reloader’s time to pull & save the Mil-Surp bullets, properly dispose of the powder (Note.1) and load his own powder and bullet in the Mil-Surp brass case. Here is another scenario. A fellow gets a great deal on a batch of nice; clean 7.62 NATO ammo loaded with the usual 147-grain FMJ BT bullet. He wants to go dear hunting, and gets a box of 150 grain jacketed soft point BT bullets. The Mil-Surp bullets can be pulled, and after reducing the original powder charge by a grain or two, the 150-grain jacketed soft point bullets can be loaded. At this moment, there is clean, well shooting 30/06 Korean Mil-Surp ammo on the market. While this ammo is Boxer primed, the primers are also corrosive. A fellow might want to remove and replace the corrosive primers with commercial, non-corrosive primers, and then reload the original powder and bullet back into the case. In this way cleaning the rifle won’t be an immediate priority. There will be no chance of rust forming in the barrel if the corrosive primers are replaced with commercial, non-corrosive primers. In each of these scenarios a round of ammunition will have to be broken down, and the individual components (or some of them) saved. Additionally, the components need to be in good shape for eventual reuse. |
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Kinetic bullet puller |
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20 years ago I acquired an RCBS branded (Quinetics manufactured) kinetic bullet puller. This unit looks like a hollow hammer. Unthread the cap several turns, and the aluminum 3-jaw collet (3 individual pieces) will open so a round of ammunition can be inserted. A rubber O-ring will pull the collet around the cartridge case rim. Next, retighten the cap securely. Now the unit is struck against a very hard surface. The cartridge case can’t move forward due to the collet holding it in place. Kinetic energy will cause the bullet to move forward. |
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A round of Korean 30/06 Mil-Surp ammo seated in the kinetic bullet puller |
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It may take several hard strikes to dislodge the bullet. If the bullet has sealer between the case neck and bullet, as is usually seen on Mil-Surp ammunition; it may take several very hard strikes. A kinetic puller must be struck parallel to the striking surface for it to work. This type of puller works. I’ve been using the same one for 20 years, and not had any problems with its ability to disassemble a round of ammunition. That speaks volumes about the density of the high-impact plastic Quinetics used in constructing this unit. |
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Note the 3 aluminum jaws of the collet. This works, but s-l-o-w-l-y |
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Powder & bullet will have to be dumped into a container and separated, very time consuming |
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| Is it all roses with a kinetic bullet puller? No, there are a few disadvantages to this style tool. Some of the disadvantages are minor; at least one can be major. The first issue with the kinetic bullet puller is speed. It’s downright slow to operate. If many rounds are to be broken down, the loading of the round in the unit and removal takes a lot of time. If the O-ring slips off the 3 collet jaws when the disassembled round is being removed, you have to pick up the collet jaws and put it back together. Sometimes when the unit is struck and a round comes apart, a few kernels of powder will get stuck between the threads of the cap and tool body. This makes it hard to get the cap off. After a round of ammunition is disassembled, the bullet and powder will have to be dumped into a container, and the bullet picked out. | |||||||||
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Note damaged case mouth from kinetic bullet puller, this is a very bad thing! |
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However, the worst fault about any kinetic bullet puller is what happens when the bullet dislodges from the brass case and hits the bottom of the tool body. All too often the bullet bounces back, and the base of the bullet strikes the case mouth, putting a nasty dent or gouge in it! If you wish to re-use the brass, this is a very bad thing! A dented case mouth will cause a bullet to go down the barrel eccentric (off center), and strike away from the intended aiming point of the target. |
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Enter Hornady Manufacturing Company, www.hornady.com. Hornady Mfg. Co. |
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Hornady Manufacturing Company makes a tool called the Cam-Lock Bullet Puller. The Cam-Lock Bullet Puller is a press-mounted tool. Instead of using kinetic energy to separate a bullet from the brass case, this tool is installed in the die station of a standard reloading press. The leverage of the press handle supplies the energy to disassemble the loaded round. There are no disadvantages to this tool and lots of reasons to recommend it. Let’s take a closer look at the Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller. The Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller has several components (all included with the unit). The only other item required is a separate collet for the specific bullet size of the cartridge to be disassembled. Since the collets are interchangeable, one Cam-Lock Bullet Puller unit will work for all bullet sizes. |
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Tool body with 7/8-lock ring |
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Hornady’s lock ring is the BEST lock ring made! Solid steel, and has wrench flats |
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Collet for all .30 caliber bullets |
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Collet will grip & hold bullet without damaging it |
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Collet being slid into tool body |
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Collet seated in tool body |
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The tool body of the Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller unit is threaded 7/8-14. It threads into the top of a standard reloading press. A collet is slipped into the top of the tool body. The collet is the part that will grip the bullet and hold it fast. Each caliber family requires a different collet. In this case it’s collet #7. Collet #7 is the correct collet for .30 caliber (.308-.312) bullets. This single collet will handle 7.62 NATO, 30/06, .303 British, 7.7 Japanese, 7.62X54, 7.5X55 Swiss etc. |
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Plunger |
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Cam-Lock assembly & plunger |
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Plunger is slid into Cam-Lock assembly |
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Notice small end of plunger near Cam-Lock assembly lever when plunger is slid in place, the plunger closes the collet when the lever puts pressure on it |
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Next, the plunger is slid into the Cam-Lock assembly. The Cam-Lock assembly with plunger is threaded into the top of the tool body. Since different brands and models of presses are different heights, and each cartridge is a different length (like the length difference between the 7.62 NATO and the 300 Winchester Magnum), you will have to carefully adjust the position of the tool body and Cam-Lock assembly for your particular press cartridge combination so the tool grips the bullet when the lever moved to the lock position. Following the directions accompanying the tool, it only took me a few minutes to set the adjustments for the Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller so it would remove bullets from 7.62 NATO ammunition in my Redding Ultramag 700 press. |
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Everything is adjusted, tightening the lock-ring |
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Once everything was set, disassembling rounds of ammunition went very fast! Simply put a loaded round in the shellholder, raise the ram, and turn the lever on top of the Cam Lock Body so the bullet is gripped by the collet. |
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Everything is set |
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Raise ram… |
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Moving lever… |
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To full locked position… |
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To full locked position… |
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Brass case is lowered, case mouth is clean, powder still in case… |
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Unlock lever and… |
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Bullet drops into your hand! |
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Lowering the press ram pulls the brass case, with the powder in it, down and away from the bullet. The bullet is held in the collet. To release the bullet, put your hand under the tool body and raise the lever to the unlock position. The bullet will just fall into your hand. There were NO tool marks on the sides of the released bullets; they were in perfect condition (Note.2)! |
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Case mouth is in pristine condition! |
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Best of all, the case mouth is left in pristine condition! No dents or damage. The brass is ready for immediate reuse. Hornady’s Cam-Lock Bullet Puller can be purchased from any on-line or catalog dealer for about $17.00 + shipping. Remember, collets are sold separately. Collets are about $7.00 each. Hornady’s Cam-Lock Bullet Puller is the fastest and most convenient tool of its type. If you wish to break down ammunition quickly and without damaging the components, the Hornady’s Cam-Lock Bullet Puller is the one for you. I can recommend this tool without any reservation. |
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| Article written by: Mark Trope |
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