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I bought my rcbs see through green all plastic puller about 1975 and it still working fine. The aluminum shell holders wipe out quickly and I went through two or three sets before going to a standard shell holder. I have no problem pulling pistol or rifle rounds. The worst are the light weight 22 cal bullets as they have the least mass. As I said earlier, how you hold it determines how long it will last and how well it will pull bullets. A friend I loaded with bent the aluminum handle on one then got a rcbs all plastic one and broke the handle on it, both in a one year period. To make one work well and last DO NOT hold the handle firmly. Hold it loosely with thumb and two fingers on the very end of the handle and swing it very fast and strike it on steel or concrete so that it rebounds freely and your hand isn't still driving forward. The harder the surface you hit the faster it will rebound if you let it and the fast retreating puller head helps to pull away from the bullet that is trying to go forward. Try this IT WORKS and you can reuse your bullets.
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Those pullers that look the same are the same. What varies from time to time is the "alloy" of the plastic so some are more or less breakable than others of the same brand.
That said, the most robust inertia pullers I've tried are made by Berry's. Barry molds the handle and hammer head in one piece and that seems to spread/reduce the structural stress points for a longer lasting life.
Cabela's used to sell Berry's excellent bullet pullers, vib. tumblers, cartridge boxes and cast bullets ... don't know if they still do.
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Jacketed, I use the Hornady collet puller and am able to use them again. For lead, I use an old RCBS one and after breaking several of the old aluminum collets, I switched to using shell holders. As been said several times before, it is important as to how you hold it and how you swing it. I try to use a lot of wrist action and not swing my arm. That method works pretty well. I use a steel block to hit it on. I've tried wood blocks but found that did not work well, if at all. I've had some that were stuck pretty hard, but with the right technique, they come out. Some .223 jacketed were the worst I've ever done, and actually had to re-seat the bullets a few thousanths before pulling them. This happened with the inertia puller and with the Hornady collet puller. It has never happened before or since, though.
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A timely thread. I broke my RCBS puller on Friday (got a little Cavemanish). I'll try the Lyman this time around. I've broken 2 in about 25 years so I'm not too concerned about this style of puller not lasting long. Who knows how many bullets I've pulled over those years for whatever reason.
I have a Redding collet set up that I couldn't ever get to work quickly. It's in a plastic box somewhere amongst all of my stuff so I may actually lay eyes on it in 2032.