GRIP-N-PULL - I put it through its paces.

[royinidaho]

Every once in awhile something ends up on the reloading bench that is worth mentioning. The something this time is the Grip-N-Pull bullet puller. This is a well thought out, well designed, well made bullet pulling tool. Not a rehash of existing technology but a whole new way of pulling bullets. And it's darn handy and much more convenient than what I've been using for many years.

My first impression of the tool(s) was it good looks, feels great with great fit and finish. It's made of the correct material. Workmanship is first class. The tool is KISS at its finest.

The two units cover all of the rifle calibers. There are pistol bullet pullers also but I'm interested only in rifles. The Standard Rifle model covers 17 through 30 calibers. The Large Rifle model covers 8mm to 458 calibers.

I used the Grip-N-Pull to pull hand loaded bullets in .224, .277 .308, 375 calibers. All bullets were pulled with the intention of reuse. I visually inspected, miked and spun enough of each pulled bullet in the several calibers to assure myself that there were no scratches or mechanical deformation. It did take a couple of tries to get the correct grip, not too heavy and not too light, with the smaller caliber bullets. Once I got the "hang" of it, things went smoothly. I scratched only three 224-caliber bullets and none of the other calibers.

I shot sufficient number of Nosler and Berger bullets pulled with the Grip-N-Pull in 270 and 338 calibers to prove to myself that accuracy of pulled bullets wasn't affected.

The instructions indicate that the Grip-N-Pull shouldn't be used on factory-crimped cartridges. I tried some factory 308s and had no success. My grip isn't what it used to be. Darn it! Another more robust individual had no trouble pulling the factory 308s.

The Grip-N-Pull isn't a variation of one an existing bullet-pulling concept. It is a completely new and innovative tool and excels when compared with impact and collet type pullers. Setup is nearly instantaneous. There is no spilled powder and the pulled bullet doesn't stick in the collet. In short it is handy, fast and does the job well.

Being an off the wall kind of guy I found a couple of unintended uses for the Grip-N-Pull. I have a cleaning rod that allows the jag and brush to unscrew themselves after several passes while cleaning the bore. It's quite bothersome. The 20-17 position on the Standard Rifle Grip-N-Pull works nicely as a wrench without fear of marring the cleaning rod.

The second unintended use was discovered as I noticed that several cases required greater pressure when seating bullets. I had neck turned the brass and confirmed uniform neck thickness with the ball micrometer. Why the increased seating effort? I had zeroed the rifle and loaded only 10 cartridges for drop validation. I set aside the 3 that showed increased seating pressure. I was going to see there was a difference in grouping. The Grip-N-Pull was handy so I checked "neck tension" by pulling all 10 of the loaded bullets. The 3 that were more difficult to seat were also more difficult to pull. I trust my "Feel". It turned out that the harder to seat bullets were the "good" ones. The others were off normal. The cause of the problem was, when neck cleaning; I picked up an oily nylon brush instead of the dry brush dedicated for the task. With very little effort and no fear of damaging bullets I was able to learn that I need, as usual, to be more careful.

Stop by Grip-n-Pull The World's Best Bullet Puller Its worth taking a look.

 

[sbhooper]

Good review. I have not had a chance to use mine yet, but will do so with confidence now.

 

[Mike 338]

I got a set, also with the intent of re-using the bullets. I started with some 338's. I had problems galling the bullets without extracting them. I called Grip-n-Pull and they recommended I pull the tongs apart to get a lower grip. That worked O.K. I threw away all the bullets. I needed to break down some 300 win mags. I couldn't get a single bullet out but badly galled them all by trying. I put them all in the old kinetic puller and the job was done in a couple minutes.

 

[Doublezranch]

I'm going to +1 on Roy's comments. Smooth, comfortable bullet extractions with very minimal defect to the bullets. 300 RUM to 338 RUM...flawless everytime.

 

[GRIP N PULL]

Roy,

Thanks for the nice write-up. I appreciate it. I like your other uses too!

Mike, If you are galling bullets it is because the bullets are seated too deep and there is nothing to grab onto. This is an educated guess as to what is going on anyway, this is the only reason it would not work perfectly on the 30 cal hole. If you have to grab the bullet with the next size down to pull it out a bit you can do that. Usually this will leave a mark on the bullet but it won't affect accuracy.

I have pulled thousands of bullets with the GRIP-N-PULL and that is the only issue I have experienced and heard about from customers. If there is nothing for it to grab you will have a hard time pulling the bullets. Try this and it might make it better for you. If I can be of any assistance to you please feel free to call me again. 208-684-4850.

Doublezranch,

Thank you too! I appreciate it.

Take care guys.

Brandon

 

[Doublezranch]

As you know Brandon, I had that same issue. Using the smaller hole to "start" the bullet out works excellent. Once you have the bullet out far enough, the appropriate hole finishes the job. Again, you know that I shot those bullets that I had "questioned" with marks on and around the bullet. They shot just as good as the bullets with no marks.

Excellent product.

 

[farout]

Wow. Watched the video. Looks like a better mouse trap for sure! I will try one some day. I currently use a RCBS. Works great but I always have to buy a collet it seems for a new caliber. This Grip-N-Pull would seem more economical and faster too.

Thanks for bringing this new item to our attention, Roy.

 

[royinidaho]

I load everything looooonnng, thus wouldn't have experienced Mike338's problem.

When I chamber the round in one rifle the bullet gets "marked" and when pulled to either add or reduce chg wt the GNP adds no marks.

Brandon,

Good to see you're into great customer support!

 

[sbhooper]

Unless they are severe, bullet marks are irrelevant, as they are erased when the bullet is fired down the barrel anyway.

 

[royinidaho]

Unless they are severe, bullet marks are irrelevant, as they are erased when the bullet is fired down the barrel anyway.

I agree for small slide scratches. But they don't look good which seems to affect my shooting.

Ham fisting with collet pullers deforms the bullet without leaving a noticeable mark. I checked it out.

I'd tend to think that a ring left around the ogive would have an affect on terminal performance proportional to the severity of the ring.

 

[sbhooper]

Perception is everything!

 

[GRIP N PULL]

Bump for a good thread

 

[Vedak]

Good review. I got all three a few weeks ago. Haven't been able to use them yet, but will for sure this weekend. I had some issues chambering 3 rounds I had reloaded- after some assessment, I realized those three rounds didn't have the case necks deburred. Glad I got this tool.

 

[Greyfox]

I also bought the complete set. Only used it with my 6.5x284 and 300WM so far, but it worked perfectly. My biggest use is when adjusting seating depth with a different bullet and invariably seat the bullet too far in when readjusting the dye. With a little practice I was able to back the bullet out .020" without effecting runout. Nice product!!!!