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Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
https://www.waguns.org/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=100971		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  MadPick [ Mon May 20, 2019 8:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
I bought some .40-caliber bullets from American Reloading a few years ago that were mixed-weight; there were both 165- and 180-grain bullets in that batch. I knew that when I bought them, but I found that it was such a pain in the ass to sort them that I swore I wouldn't do that again:
viewtopic.php?p=609181#p609181

Well, I continue to be mesmerized by some of the cheap prices that they offer, as well as some of the unusual (pulled) self-defense bullets that they sell. I recently bought some .40 180-grain pulled HSTs (qty 369, that's all they had) and some 9mm 115-grain pulled Hi-Shoks.

As often happens, the pulled bullets were pretty dirty. I wet-tumbled them, and they were beautiful again. As I was looking at the .40 bullets spread out on the towel, I saw one that looked just a teensy-weensy bit different . . . so I decided to weigh every damn one of them (in batches of five). I also went through and weighed all of the 9mm bullets.

Let's say you're loading some hot 10mm or 40S&W loads. Which one of the bullets below will blow your gun apart? Would you know if you just picked it out of the box, and realize that it was different before you dropped it into the case?

Image

^ Answer: One of those is a 180-grain HST. The others are 165-grain. Yeah, there's almost NO difference and I doubt that any one of us would catch it while loading.

Here are two 147-grain Hi-Shoks and three 115-grain Hi-Shoks. These are a little easier to tell apart, but still very similar:

Image

In the 369 .40-cal bullets that were supposed to be 180-grain HST, I found about a half-dozen 165-grain HSTs and one 180-grain mystery bullet. In the 500 115-grain Hi-Shoks, I found two 147-grain Hi-Shoks. These are the most concerning from a reloading perspective: Heavier bullets hiding in among lighter bullets. That'll cause a kaboom.

The takeaway: If you buy pulled bullets like these, please please please take the time to sort through and weigh them, and be VERY certain of what you're loading.

P.S. I just received 3000 more today. I'm fucked. icon_eek
Author:  thefuryoffire [ Mon May 20, 2019 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
These pulled bullets in .40 and 9mm are some of the last pulls I'll ever buy. My difficulties with loading them convinced me to either just buy xtremes or to cast - and I've gotten into casting pretty deep in the last two months.

Never again do I buy pulls.
Author:  usrifle [ Tue May 21, 2019 12:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
Damn Steve, 3k more that you have to weigh and sort? icon_eek I know this 17 yo Kid that can help, he works for Action bay time. :wink05:
Author:  Nitro_Guns [ Tue May 21, 2019 7:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
Cheap prices can many times turn into a lot of time and effort expended OR the possibility of a catastrophic failure.
Author:  MadPick [ Sat May 25, 2019 6:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
MadPick wrote:
P.S. I just received 3000 more today. I'm fucked. icon_eek


usrifle wrote:
Damn Steve, 3k more that you have to weigh and sort? icon_eek I know this 17 yo Kid that can help, he works for Action bay time. :wink05:


I tackled the 3000 bullets a couple of days ago. These particular ones were actually advertised as being 95% correct, and that there would be some of different weights in there. I figured I was screwed, if they actually advertised it that way then they were probably a total mess!

I tore through them fairly quickly, actually. Weighing 10 at a time, I got the whole job done in 50 minutes. And . . . they were 100% correct! Yeah, they have crimp marks on them, but they were all the correct bullet type and weight.

Oh, and they were fairly clean too, no need for tumbling. thumbsup

Image
Author:  MadPick [ Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
A follow-up on this . . . .

Over the last week, I loaded the pulled 9mm bullets that I described above. There were actually 3,109 bullets, so they gave me 109 extra. I was able to load every one of them . . . well, except the one that I crushed because I pushed it into the die sideways. But that was user error. icon_eek. So yeah, they all looked pretty good, no damage to any of the jackets or anything besides the crimp marks.

I do feel like they were a bit undersized due to the prior crimping, and were a little easier to push into the case than a "normal" bullet would be. I gave them a good crimp though, and I think they're good. thumbsup

I may buy one of those undersize Lee sizing dies, though, for future 9mm endeavors like this. I have one for .40, and it works well.
Author:  MadPick [ Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
The next chapter in pulled bullets . . . today I decided to load some pulled 175-grain .40-caliber Hornady Critical Duty bullets, again from American Reloading. Here are a few of them:

Image

The Critical Duty bullets have a red rubber substance in the center that feels like a pencil eraser. See how that one is bulging out on the left? Weird.... icon_eek

Bullet #2 or #3 (I don't remember) was the same way, and I cut the protruding tip off with a knife. (Yeah, I know the one next to it looks the same way, but it wasn't me!) I cut #1 down after the photo, too.

I loaded the first one, and the bullet slid into the case way too easily. I switched to my Lee undersized sizing die, and they felt MUCH better.

Anyhow, I loaded these up in 10mm . . . I think they'll be just fine for range ammo.
Author:  Caveman Jim [ Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
The price is alluring but I’ll pass. I don’t want to switch to wet tumbling or have to buy another set of dies for under sized bullets.
My hats off to those who undertake this route. :wink05:
Author:  MadPick [ Sun Jul 21, 2019 5:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
MadPick wrote:
I loaded the first one, and the bullet slid into the case way too easily. I switched to my Lee undersized sizing die, and they felt MUCH better.


Those were the 175-grain Critical Duty bullets; after I loaded all of those, I moved on to a box of 165-grain.

Looks like I was too quick to blame the bullets:

Image

I've had issues in the past with 10mm PPU brass not holding even non-pulled bullets tightly enough; I wonder if my sizing die is bigger than it should be. Oh well, I'll just keep using the undersized die, that works fine. thumbsup
Author:  MadPick [ Sat Feb 08, 2020 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
I recently bought some pulled M118 LR bullets . . . those are .308 Sierra SMK bullets, pulled from military ammo.

Out of the box:

Image

After a run through the wet tumbler:

Image

So yeah, all of that sealant or gunk or whatever comes off, and they look pretty damned good. However, there is some minor damage/scratches if you get up close enough:

Image

But pffft, that shit's minor compared to what's going to happen to that bullet as soon as it hits the rifling. For 19 cents each, I think that's a win.
Author:  Clark Kent [ Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
Nosler sells blemished rifle bullets online, and RMR does the same for 9mm pistol bullets. IMHO a much more satisfactory solution than futzing around with pulled bullets.
Author:  MadPick [ Sun Feb 09, 2020 6:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
Clark Kent wrote:
Nosler sells blemished rifle bullets online....


Yes, and I’ve bought them in the past. However, those are usually boutique bullets that, when marked down as blems or overruns, still cost a heck of a lot more than most bullets. One clue is that if it comes in a pick of 50, I don’t want to pay that much. :bigsmile:

I know that Nosler bullets are good, but if you’re looking for cheap bulk buys, they’re not in the running.
Author:  jackass [ Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
https://americanreloading.com/en/

I never knew of these guys, if there is a sale can you post it in Good Deals?

For those of us with time on our hands and simple tools to sort everything, is an interesting idea.
Author:  MadPick [ Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
jackass wrote:
https://americanreloading.com/en/

I never knew of these guys, if there is a sale can you post it in Good Deals?


They're kind of like Palmetto . . . there's always a sale. :bigsmile: You can get on their email list or follow them on Facebook, and you'll get sales. Lots of sales.

Like you can see from this thread, they're a mixed bag. The prices are good, but the products are hit-and-miss.
Author:  beckdw [ Sun Feb 09, 2020 10:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pulled Bullets from American Reloading
MadPick wrote:
jackass wrote:
https://americanreloading.com/en/

I never knew of these guys, if there is a sale can you post it in Good Deals?


They're kind of like Palmetto . . . there's always a sale. :bigsmile: You can get on their email list or follow them on Facebook, and you'll get sales. Lots of sales.

Like you can see from this thread, they're a mixed bag. The prices are good, but the products are hit-and-miss.
This. For bulk plinking or practice, these are definitely the way to go. For precision long range, hunting, etc I would get them elsewhere.
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