RCBS Inertia poller

[wv109323]

Just curious about RCBS service. I bought an inertia puller about 10 years ago. My old puller had the aluminum shaft and had cracked so I bought a new one anticipating failure. I never used the new one.
I needed to pull a few 9mm bullets and could not find my old puller so I grabbed the new one. On the second bullet the entire end of the hammer broke off.. I emailed RCBS and asked for a new one. I have not heard anything from them. Does RCBS warranty their bullet pullers? Do I need to call?
I am by no means a freeloader but I got zero service out of the puller. Your thoughts and comments.

[Tom W.]

Call. They should take care of it.

[15meter]

Calling seems to get faster response, I've emailed and it's taken awhile for them to respond.

[Taterhead]

I would be shocked if they didn't replace it dor you. The cap let go on mine after several years of heavy use. Replaced no problem. They are sometimes a bit slow responding to electronic inquiries, but they'll take care of you.

[retread]

I had one of the old ones with the aluminum handle shaft. The head broke after only 20+ years! Got a hold of RCBS and the sent me a new one. It is all plastic but seems to work fine.

[Papercidal]

They will warranty it but they will require you to ship the broken one back before they do so (at about the same cost for postage as the tool cost).

[AZ Pete]

They will warranty it but they will require you to ship the broken one back before they do so (at about the same cost for postage as the tool cost).

interesting, they replaced mine, no question or return needed....
Do you know when their policy changed? Maybe emailing a photo would suffice?

[Land Owner]

Hey... they're cheap and not indestructable, but yours was REAL cheap. No idea how Alliant/RCBS will treat this. Hope they warranty you a new one.

[TNsailorman]

I had one of the old inertia pullers made by a different company. It had an aluminum handle and it broke after very little usage. I ordered an Quinetics puller and it has been going strong for years now. I will say that I have always had nothing but great service from RCBS but I always call them, not email. james

[ukrifleman]

I ordered an Quinetics puller and it has been going strong for years now.

+1!
Mine just keeps on going, even after I had a milsurp tracer round ignite in it!!
ukrifleman.

[Doughty]

I have had a RCBS 5 station case prep machine for years and have used it A LOT. And I bought it used. About 3 weeks ago while prepping a new batch of brass I realized that I was having to press pretty hard to get the chamfering tools to work and that it was rolling the edges a little. I looked in RCBS's online catalog to order some new heads. Couldn't find them. HMMM

About this same time I bought a used RCBS digital scale with the accompanying powder dispenser. The scale would not calibrate. Kept getting an Err1 message. The owners manual said to contact RCBS for help.

I went to their website and got onto their "Contact us" page. I wrote out a short message concerning my woes and sent it to them. I noticed a message on their site that they were having power outage problems due to wildfires. In about 2 weeks I got a package from them with 2 new chamfering heads. No Charge. I then got an email from their Tech department outlining how to do a factory reset for the scale. It worked perfect! No proof of purchase. No sending in old parts, just taking care of a customer. My kind of company,

While we're on the subject of good companies, I have a pair of Nikon binoculars that are over 35 years old that I have used A LOT. Through my inattention they slid off the dash of my Cherokee and landed on the floor. Knocked them out of alignment. Double image. They are at Nikon now, being repaired, under 100% warranty. No proof of purchase. Just send them in and they're taking care of a customer. Again my kind of company.

[abunaitoo]

I've broken a few RCBS pullers.
Last one that broke, I just bought a new one.
Figured I owe RCBS at least that much for all the replacements I got.

[wv109323]

OP again
I had one of the aluminum shaft ones and used it from 1975 til 1990 or so. It broke. I bought the second aluminum shaft and the handle cracked and I bought the all plastic one. It went unused for several years. I was in a hurry and grabbed the new all plastic one. On the second bullet the end broke off. If I had resonable service out of it I would have just bought a new one. I have had excellent service from RCBS before.l

[brassrat]

They wanted mine sent back before it would be replaced, around four yrs ago and said was new policy. I bought a different brand and am happy. I had, two, RCBS hammers break, they are not good

[Three44s]

Midway hammer here. Used it a bunch on handloaded ammo bought from an estate to save bullets, brass and primers. My Midway puller has been serving me since the mid 90’s, no complaints!

I read that seating the bullet a bit deeper helps to pull them. The movement breaks the “set” between a slug and the inside of the case neck.

Three44s

[Tom W.]

Mine is also a Midway. The first one that I bought shattered after the first five cases I disassembled. I called Midway and they sent me a new one, saying that they got a batch from the supplier that wasn't made correctly. This was about 20 years ago.
I did learn to put one foam earplug into the puller so it won't mess up your bullet tip......

[David2011]

They will warranty it but they will require you to ship the broken one back before they do so (at about the same cost for postage as the tool cost).

I had the same experience but it fit in a small flat rate box so there was some money saved.

It lasted many years (1990s purchase) and pulled hundreds of bullets before breaking.

[Bwana John]

I think I broke a 15+ year old RCBS one 10 years ago and they replaced it in less than 2weeks after calling them.

The current one's face is a little messed up from not seeing screws in th surface I was pounding on, but is still going strong dispite my affinity for heavy crimps.

If the OP called RCBS about I would be surprised if the have not replaced it yet.

[trebor44]

I have always had good service from RCBS when it comes to warranty issues. I started out decades ago with the metal and plastic kinetic puller. Lost it to a fellow reloader. Bought another one (used) and lost it to another reloader. My last one (metal and plastic) is a Frankford Arsenal and has been going strong for 15-20 years. Since I never liked pounding it on the concrete floor and never wanted to ding up the workbench, I made a 'pounding block' from a piece of 4x4x10" post scrap and added a old garage D handle since I had one lying around. It may take a few more whacks to pull crimped rounds but I think it preserves the plastic and metal configuration. I would definitely use it for an all plastic KP.

[Wild Bill 7]

I bought two from Midway about 30 years ago. Used one up until two years ago then it broke in half. Got the new one and it lasted about 6 months and it broke. I was really disappointed when the second one broke because I had never used it. Guess it being out in the garage all that time in the heat it couldn't last either. Bought a Frankfod Arsnel one and it is working just fine.

[leadhead]

I think there pretty much all made by the same company whoever it is.
Denny

[wv109323]

I thought I would update this thread to make everyone aware of the resolution. I waited until Dec. 20th or so and then gave RCBS a call. The CS man said they were behind on E-mails. I gave him my information and received a new inertia puller 3-5 days later.
My experience is you need to call them instead of relying on e-mails.

[Moleman-]

Got a Frankford Arsenal inertia puller around 1990. About 15 later the handle plastic cracked off so I split a section of broom handle and pressed a section of 3/4" conduit over it and have used it like that for the past 15 years. About two weeks ago the head broke into several pieces when using it. 30 years of decent use I won't complain when i initially figured 2-3 years just going off of the plastic construction. Went to go get another and see that they're smaller/thinner with less plastic in the head and handle. Metal rod connecting them also looked smaller. So I got a lyman this go around that seemed more robust than the current Frankford offering.

[1hole]

I believe I got the one of first marketed inertia pullers soon after I saw it; it was a Quinetics brand if I remember rightly. It served well for decades, until about '95, when the head snapped off its light wooden "hammer" handle. By then most hammer pullers had aluminum shafts but I got a replacement with one of the first all one piece plastic head and handle, it was made by "Berry's". Love it.

I think we've only had two puller makers who colored and labeled them for resale by other brands. So, it hardly matters what brand we buy because they're all the same. What varies is the base plastic the makers use and their retailers have no control over that. (I've been told that some lots of that base plastic material have been more brittle than others from the same source.)

IMHO, it's not a question of one puller type or the other being "best". I believe a broad base reloader probably has - or will have - a legitimate need for both an inertia AND a collet puller. But inertia pullers are much more versatile - they're slow but they will pull ANYTHING! - so maybe it should be obtained first. ??

[ipopum]

I have had a RCBS for years. The collet was not holding the loaded round properly. I called RCBS & in a few days I received 2 . A large and a small

and a shell holding block . No questions just good service. I can't afford to own some of the other brands with service like that.

[Land Owner]

I can't afford to own some of the other brands with service like that.

I admit to being a "word snob" and THAT is a nice turn of a phrase. Well done.

[1hole]

RCBS' Customer Service isn't perfect but it is pretty good. That said, there are no "free" parts, no maker could afford that for long. They have data on the parts that tend to get broken, and the quanities. The anticipated cost of those "free" parts are factored into the sales price. That means those who often screw up their tools get a nice break but the majority who don't screw up pays most of the cost.

I'm old. I've learned how good our different brands really are, I buy absolutely nothing by the color of its paint. I'm not clumsy so I don't bend or break much stuff . When I buy new stuff I make my choices based on the user features of each item ... and the purchase price; some of it is green, most is not.

[onelight]

RCBS' Customer Service isn't perfect but it is pretty good. That said, there are no "free" parts, no maker could afford that for long. They have data on the parts that tend to get broken, and the quanities. The anticipated cost of those "free" parts are factored into the sales price. That means those who often screw up their tools get a nice break but the majority who don't screw up pays most of the cost.

I'm old. I've learned how good our different brands really are, I buy absolutely nothing by the color of its paint. I'm not clumsy so I don't bend or break much stuff . When I buy new stuff I make my choices based on the user features of each item ... and the purchase price; some of it is green, most is not.
I agree completely . I shop the same way.

[Bazoo]

I had the same experience but it fit in a small flat rate box so there was some money saved.

I think you'd came out better with a bubble mailer and non flat rate. I'd bet it would about 5.00.

[ShooterAZ]

I have broke several of them over the years, and just bought new ones. It's just plastic, so I expect them to eventually break. Now if I had one for two days and it broke, I'd call RCBS.