Pulling boolits and GCs

[0802]

So a friend of mine gave me some old 30-30 cases (1970s), some which are still loaded with boolits. I decide to pull the boolits with my kinetic puller since they're not my handloads and the load he had on them seem pretty aggressive.

So tonight I break out the puller and decide to work through 40 rds of 30-30. I figure soon I'll have some brass and some scrap lead.

But when the boolits come out, they come out minus the GC. Its stuck in the base of the neck of the case. So right now I'm looking at 150 Gr x40 of lead and 40 unusable 30-30 cases. Haven't actually pulled all 40, probably only 13 or so, but every one comes out the same way.

Help. How do I get the GC out so I can use the case?

[44man]

Try a good pair of needle nose pliers. Push the check down and tip it so you can get hold of it.

[RayinNH]

You can always shoot them out. Shoot at a target or piece of cardboard to see that they actually exited. If not push them out with the cleaning rod...Ray

[Bob in Revelstoke]

I had somewhat the same thing happen. Boolits came out fine, gas checks stayed in neck. Tried hitting them harder in the kinetic puller, didn't work. Took them to the range on a quiet morning and shot them out. Took a cleaning rod with me and checked the barrel after each one with a patch attached just in case. Lots of unburned powder and messy, but I got the brass.
This is probably not recommended, but it worked for me.

[0802]

Good stuff fellas -- had thought through most of those approaches, but was hoping for the voice of experience. Won't be at the range anytime soon, so went the needle nose route, except my pliers weren't needle nose enough. Ended up using a dental pick. Looking at a pile of 1970's era IMR 3031 now, feeling bad that its going to become fertilizer. But at least I've got the brass and scrap lead now. BTW the GCs were kinda corroded, but that also might be from the lube.

Josh

[grumpy one]

I've done it several times. First, extract the bullet with the kinetic puller. Occasionally the check stays on, but usually it sticks in the case neck. Push it gently on one side with a small piece of rod to get it edge-on but still stuck in the neck, and pull it out gently with needle-nose pliers. You won't damage the check if you're careful. Sometimes the check drops into the case when you try to turn it sideways. When that happens, put it back in the inertia puller and rap it a few times to get the loose check stuck in the neck again. I've never damaged a check, or anything else, doing it this way. I scrap the bullets though, because the gas check seating surface is usually a bit undersized after a check has been installed and removed.

[carpetman]

0802----I find the kinetic puller to be the worst way to pull bullets when you have several to do. The RCBS collet type is good on jacketed--not so on cast. For cast the best way I have found is take your die out of the press and run the bullet up through the opening and lock onto it with a pair of vice grips and go back the other way. You still might leave the gas check on,but it's easier than the kinetic. There have been reports of detonation using the kinetics also.

[0802]

Thanks -- the other 25 are coming out that way. These are not coming out easy with the kinetic.

Ever torn a rim?

[grumpy one]

I agree with carpetman - I always used the kinetic puller because I hoped to be able to re-use the cast bullets, but for me the check usually comes off so the bullet is scrap anyway. Might as well use the visegrips to start with, to do the job quicker. I haven't heard about detonations using kinetic pullers, but if you can't save the bullet anyway, there just isn't much point. Also, I hate trying to separate a lubed bullet from a pile of powder, which sticks to the lube when you tip the whole mess out from the inside of the kinetic puller. Visegrip pulling saves the powder and keeps it clean as well.