Thanks from all of us other newbies that are also learning from this.

To have to whack open that many rounds, maybe wait for a debate or election? Should help with the frustration level!

I second this suggestion. You get to buy a new gun.

Also if using the kinetic bullet puller, earmuffs for sure!

If the collet puller gets the bullets without damage, I would pull all of them down. Otherwise, I'd trash them. A Ruger Blackhawk 9/357 is an option only if those rounds are not overcharged. Overly hot 9mm loads will stick cases in a Ruger convertible revolver. Such stuck cases are more hassle to remove than using an inertia puller.

Quick update. In the interest of safety I have decided to pull all the 9mm rounds I have on hand, about 2200 at the start. Using the inertial hammer I've done about 350 of them so far. I can do about 50 per half hour using this method. I expect to be done in about a week or so.

To break the monotony I break down 50 then reload them, triple checking the powder weight. The collet puller is scheduled to arrive tomorrow so I'll see if that way is better at that time. These are FMJ rounds so I don't think it will tear up the bullets but I don't know if it'll be able to get a grip on them. It would be nice to not lose any of the powder if it does work. I'll let you know later.

Rule #1 - Zero your scale every time you use it , every time...
If you stop and leave the bench for a few minutes...check the zero .
When the earth rotates it will throw the scale off so check the zero often, become paranoid - OCD and anal when it comes to powder weighing and dispensing . Check , double check and triple check , visual checks of the powder level and anytime something doesn't "feel" right , dump the powder and do it over ....this is the one part of reloading that matters a lot . Also can save you from pulling down a bunch of loaded ammo .
Gary

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FWIW about pulling loaded rounds; I had a few 9mm rounds with a questionable OAL. I would have fired them but I had nothing to do, was bored and the virus scare is in full swing here in my small town, so yesterday I hammered a few apart. I used a lead ingot on my bench but the stereo I was listening to at the time would occasionally skip from the impact on the bench. I got a hand towel, folded it up and placed it under the ingot. Worked great. No need to pound more to get the bullets loose and it was even quieter and the stereo didn't skip (the Do Wop CD was happier). I got the idea from an old video of Mr. Lee using a Lee loader. The "anvil" he used was a piece of some hard surface padded on the bottom with foam rubber...

Two things. If at all possible, put your scale on an eye level shelf attached to the wall, with no contact with the bench. That will minimize vibration from the bench affecting things. I put a short shelf up for the scale only.

As for the poster who mentioned pulled cast bullets being encrusted with powder, QUICKLY play a propane torch over them, so fast the lube doesn't melt. Powder goes poof immediately, lube stays put. You really do need to do something, that powder is likely enough to screw things up.

I hardly have enough time to reload, let alone redo 1000 rounds. When you start weighing them you will quickly see the problem. I’d discard them, and move on. Offer them as components to the guys working the local range or something. You’re at an inflection point, you either blew some money and time, or saved some money and blew a whole lotta time. Money is easier for me to come by, so I’d trash them.

The bullets I'm working with are FMJ so no powder is sticking to them at all.

I'm in the opposite situation. Money is tight but since I'm retired I have lots of time. Trashing them would only occur if there were absolutely no other options.

UPS just dropped off the collet puller so I'm ready to see how it works. Update later.

It may be likely that you'll need to resize the cases again to establish firm bullet grip. Pull the decapping pin first!

Well it didn't take long to find out that the collet puller is the way to go. Holy **** is it easy! I can now pull about 6 bullets per minute with no visible damage from the collet. And I'm not losing any of the powder.


Thanks, I did figure that I'd need to resize the cases and I did remember to pull the decapping pin first.

Now that I have a much faster way to pull the bullets I expect to have the situation corrected in short order.

If by chance you are using a plastic hammer.....
it will last longer if you hit it on wood....... I use a 28" long 4x4, on end, held between my knees.
I used a towel over my empty RCBS singe stage, but that got old.

Broke my first hammer hitting a steel plate.

Carry on.

I would at the very least, just put them in a box somewhere and label the box "To be handled later". When you have time, no other reloading need, just get a few out and pull the bullets and dump the powder. Place the primed brass and the bullets back in your component stash for further use. In 45+ years of shooting I have never thrown away any ammo, especially some handloads...

I check zero and check charge before I start loading, during loading I zero and check charge AGAIN...

I've had my powder measure come loose and up the charge.(I check that often also)

Good thing you didn't shoot any of them..

Years ago, I decided to move my scale off the primary bench just because of this.

OP, in the future, when you return to the kinetic bullet puller, you can either:
a) put a piece of electrical tape over the hole in the puller's nut, or
b) cut a piece of tagbord or manila folder to fit inside the nut/cap

Either method can trap powder that flies out with each wack.

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Judge control not gun control!

I was using the Frankford arsenal hammer and started out hitting it on wood as per the instructions, but it was taking 10-15 hits to dislodge the bullet. I then started hitting it on an iron plate and 3-5 blows did the job.

I was pleased with how well the hammer held up. I did about 500 rounds with it and saw no obvious damage to the hammer.


Now that I have the collet puller the job is going much faster. I can do 50 rounds in a few minutes. I expect to be done with the entire batch of 2200 rounds today, or perhaps tomorrow.

I have been reloading some of them in between to break the monotony.

I did put a piece of tape over the hole in the end but still some powder is lost with this method. Not a lot, but some.

Now that I've got the collet puller it works so much better that the hammer is probably permanently retired. And now I don't lose any powder.

I think I've learned a lot from this experience. The higher the price of the lesson the better the chance that it will be remembered. I don't think I'll ever forget this one.

We all learned with you! Thank you for sharing your situation. Did you happen to weigh any of the charges thought to be overcharged? It would be interesting to know how high they went.

If it were me I'm going to pull them all with a collet puller. I've done the same thing with 50 or so and tried to weight them to find out which ones to pull but the measurement was never precise enough using range brass that I don't separate. If you're using one type of brass and it is consistent in weight you might be able to cull the cases that were overcharged but I wouldn't bet on it.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Just today I was dipping Red Dot into 30-30 cases with a 1.0cc Lee Dipper and a funnel. Part way through my 40 rounds the powder bridged in the base of the funnel. Had I not noticed, that partial load in the funnel could have gone with a full load into the next case.
I ended up dumping out all the cases and charging them instead with my RCBS powder measure. Then I checked the powder level in each case with a bamboo skewer stick.
This kind of stuff is par for the course in reloading. Alertness is key.

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This stuff happens, stay vigilant. Had a squib and had to pound it out with a dowel. This on the most expensive gun I've ever owned.

Certain powders do this to me in my powder measure also, on several occasions I've had powder drop out as I'm moving the loading tray to the next case. Now every dump is followed by a second (vigorous)click of the handle to drop anything out.

When using a funnel it gets a tap and a visual check.