Pulling Bullets

Guy

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
133
Location
Washington State
Was busy for a bit this morning pulling bullets from old 7mm Rem Mag ammo that won't fit my current rifle. I've been using the RCBS collet style bullet puller. It's easy to use, quiet and effective. No marred bullets today!
Some of this ammo was loaded nearly 20 years ago, other only about 10 years ago before I sold my last 7mm Rem Mag rifle.

One disconcerting thing I discovered, the ammo I loaded in 2000 used H870 powder which is a spherical powder. It was an excellent choice I thought then. Sent the 175 Nosler Partition to 2930 fps with good accuracy. The bullets pulled easily, however... Some powder kernels stuck to the bottom of the bullet, and most of the rest had compressed into a pretty solid lump inside the brass case! I used a small screwdriver to break up the "lump" and then poured it out. I'm not trying to save powder, though some ammo I'd loaded with H4831 and Reloader 22, and both of those poured right out, no problem.

This morning I recovered:
49, 175 gr Sierra SPBT Gamekings
19, 175 gr Nosler Partitions
20, 160 gr Nosler Partitions
05, 160 gr Sierra SPBT Gamekings
08, 150 gr Barnes TSX

I'll try to size down the brass enough to fit the new rifle, but I'm not sure that's going to work. We will see. At least I've got the bullets!

This box of 19 brought back good memories of the elk hunt, back in 2000, in the Wind River Mountains. The missing cartridge was expended on a bull elk.
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Some H870 stuck to the base of a Sierra 175! Good grief. I wonder if these would have been safe to shoot?
5688Rsdh.jpg


And as a result, I've got quite a few "new" old 7mm bullets. All of useful types & weights. Cool.
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Every now and again, a bullet puller comes in handy.

Regards, Guy
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
941
Location
N Idaho
Im sure they would have been perfectly safe (especially since you dont speak of any welding). Great to get a pile of good bullets back and optimize them for your new rifle.
Congratulations!
 
OP
Guy

Guy

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
133
Location
Washington State
Out of curiosity, was that solidified powder a compressed load?

Ha! You're testing my memory... Loaded those cartridges nearly 20 years ago... I think it may have been. It was a max level load for sure and shot well, producing impressive velocity. Performed well on elk too. And, ya, it was probably a compressed load. H870 is an old powder, no longer in Hodgdon's lineup.

Guy
 
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