The Guns & Ammo Network

Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller

by J. Scott Rupp • March 13, 2012 • 4 comments

Hornady Cam-Lock bullet pullerA while back I found some old .280 reloads and realized I’d lost the records for those lots, and at the same time I had a bunch of ammo in oddball cartridges for guns I’d tested over the years and no longer possessed—along with a box and a half of pre-production factory prototypes  for which the final dimensions of the cartridge had changed.

I didn’t want the reloads (except the bullets), and no one wanted the rest—and of course the prototypes had to go. That meant I had a lot of bullets to pull. I’ve always hated kinetic pullers, so I decided to buy Hornady‘s Cam-Lock Bullet Puller and give it a try.

I loved it. It was easy to set up and fast to use, there was no hammering, and the bullets came out of the process relatively undamaged so I could reload them again. Downside? Having to buy individual collets. It was a pain in my case because I had to buy collets for diameters I don’t reload, which won’t be an issue for most folks. But the collets are only about $10, so it’s not a big deal either way.

◄ Back
Picture 1 of 7

Hornady's Cam Lock makes quick work of pulling bullets from cases.

In Ammo, Reloading • Tagged , ,
  • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1331425150 Trent Bohl

    i got it. i love it

  • Fred

    I got one, too. It really worked good.

  • Michael Edwards

    I don't reload ammunition. I was recently given a cigar box of odd sized ammunition which I had no use for, the only way I could figure out how to dispose of them was to soak them in a bucket full of water for some time.
    I also do not know anyone who loads their own ammunition.

  • Chiefbuck

    To pull bullets with little damage I use an electricians combination wire stripper/crimper/cutter tool. I just use a reloading press, grip the bullet in the wire stripper portion and lower the lever/arm. I have not found any difference in accuracy and believe that the rifle barrel lands & grooves minimize the small marks in the bullet. I experimented using .303 British bullets in 8 X 57 brass to use in my 7.7 Arisaka WWII Japanese rifle. I removed the decapper pin in the 7.7 dies in order to resize the surplus 8 X 57 brass. I wanted to fireform the 8 X 57 brass and use it in the 7.7. It made a weird looking round but it worked without a hitch. The cost per round was less than ten cents. If you try this using corrosive ammo, be sure to clean the rifle after use, I just use soapy water to flush the barrel first before using standard cleaning methods.