Learned a bullet pulling lesson today with my ipact (hammer) type puller!!!

[desmark6]

So I am happily loading some 40 cal on my XL650. After loading I am inspecting the rounds and found 3 out of 500 that had the primers seated upside down. OK, no problem. I will just pull the kinetic bullet puller to remove the bullets, dump the powder, soak the primed case for disposal and reuse the bullets. Done it many times in the past with no problems........


Then today, on round #3 of 3 I hear a strange sound and feel a stinging sensation on my cheek and upper lip. After a moment I realize when I hit the bullet pullet on the ground to remove the bullet, the force was sufficient to detonate the upside down primer which blew the top of the bullet puller off and hit me in the face!!!! No serious injuries and thank goodness I religiously wear eye pro when loading. Not sure if anything hit the lens or not.

After 10 minutes of looking around the garage I have been unable to locate the 40 case or the bullet. I have located all of the plastic pieces from the puller, 2 out of 3 pieces of the metal collet. Glad I still got my peepers intact!!!!!


Not sure if anyone else ahs had this happen, but you can bet your bottom dollar I wont be trying to disassemble rounds with upside down primers anymore just to save the cheap lead bullet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone else have this kind of experience? If you have please chime in so I don't feel completely like a clown!!!!

And, I am now in the market for a new bullet puller as well

[Cowboy T]

Oww...thanks for posting this experience, and I'll watch out for it in my reloading activities.

Going forward, since the primer's upside down, you might as well hit it with WD-40 to deactivate it, then go ahead and pull your bullet. The powder's going to become fertilizer anyway, so no need to worry about the WD-40 hitting it, too.

[Twinsen]

Ohh... I've done this without the explosion. But I never deprime live primers to use them. But yeah, glasses always a requirement when reloading.

I'll continue to do it to save myself the $0.03 each time! Y'now, until that happens to me.

[shadowofnight]

Makes perfect sense , with the primer upside down ...inertia sent the pointed part of the anvil into the primer mixture against the cup....= pow.

Same reason decapping live primers is a hazardous affair...you are using the decapping pin forcing the pointed part of the anvil against the cup with the primer mixture inbetween.

Thankfully you didnt catch any shrapnel

[desmark6]

NO NO, let me clarify, I was not attempting to remove the primer with a decapping die. The primer was upside down in the primer pocket. BUT the case is held in the bullet puller by the rim. Nothing was in contact with the primer.

Yes, I believe inertia was the cause as well.

Twinsen, yes I agree!!! I will be doing that in the future. I dont want to throw away the bullets if it can be avoided as I am not made of money. I think in the future they will be soaked for at least 24 hours in water or something to kill the primer.

[FieldsofFire]

Whoa, thanks for sharing. I will keep in mind never to do that if it ever happens. Good reminder for all to wear eye protection all the time as well.

[knucklehead0202]

while not funny, that's pretty funny. never had to deal with upside-down primer issue but i sure whacked the hell out of some 7.65 argentine surplus to pull the bullets and i was kinda scared they'd go off. of course, the reason i was pulling them is that 9 out of 10 didn't go bang when fired so i didn't have too much to worry about. always be careful though, that'd be an awakening experience for sure. i wear glasses anyway and, being a tradesman, i always get polycarbonate lenses so i've kinda got built-in eye protection. still, that'd pucker ya a bit. good luck in the future.

[Mac Attack]

Damn. Glad you are okay. I have been loading for years and probably have pulled many bullets with my hammer and have never had it happen. I would say it is just one of those things that theoretically could happen bug normally don't.

[killshot44]

Crazy how something seems so obvious after something happens.....

[at_liberty]

When I use a puller, I strike a wooden table leg from the side. I regulate my blow by usually needing three strikes to hear the bullet come out. There is no way I want to stand over the thing, so I never strike straight down on the floor or any other surface, requiring me to stand over it or nearby. To help even further, more than half my face is hidden behind the table top. I reach down and give the puller a whack on my table leg.

I can't stand a full face shield for common reloading tasks, but it is actually recommended, at least for bullet pulling and live primer decapping.

[shadowofnight]

NO NO, let me clarify, I was not attempting to remove the primer with a decapping die. The primer was upside down in the primer pocket. BUT the case is held in the bullet puller by the rim. Nothing was in contact with the primer.

Yes, I believe inertia was the cause as well.

Twinsen, yes I agree!!! I will be doing that in the future. I dont want to throw away the bullets if it can be avoided as I am not made of money. I think in the future they will be soaked for at least 24 hours in water or something to kill the primer.

Haha, you got my meaning...I was just stating why it was a bad idea to decap live primers....yours was just the inertia of the anvil....both can have the same outcome is all I meant.

You must have been whacking those sob's hard , I had a dillon and an rcbs break on me over the years...after the dillon one broke I went to the collet die type ( I got the Hornady ) and never looked back.

[Fishslayer]

Anyone else have this kind of experience? If you have please chime in so I don't feel completely like a clown!!!!

No, but just the same, you'll never see me using my bullet puller wothout safety glasses.

Same reason decapping live primers is a hazardous affair...you are using the decapping pin forcing the pointed part of the anvil against the cup with the primer mixture inbetween.

Gonna disagree here. When I needed to decap my first live one I did extensive research. I was unanimously told "No big deal."

I've since decapped hundreds of live primers (disassembling to salvage brass) and not one "bang." I always go slow & ALWAYS wear my safety glasses, just in case...

[CEDaytonaRydr]

Really?

Wow!!!

Thanks for posting, dude. It might save me from making the same mistake.

[Spaceghost]

Duly noted, I have a few .45 acp with an upside down primer from my 650.

[shadowofnight]

Gonna disagree here. When I needed to decap my first live one I did extensive research. I was unanimously told "No big deal."

I've since decapped hundreds of live primers (disassembling to salvage brass) and not one "bang." I always go slow & ALWAYS wear my safety glasses, just in case...

Not life threatening by any means, and with the safety glasses we all wear not that big of deal. It's just an extra hazard to be aware of, slow is good...but if a new handloader started cranking up the speed he will hear a bang...the bang might not hurt him...falling off of his stool or having the old lady run in thinking she just collected on the life insurance policy just might though