Re-use pulled bullets?

[Brad in Idaho]

I am pulling down a bunch of handloaded 9mm ammo (not mine) that I just don't trust in my Glock. I have been in contact with a competitive shooter on another forum and he advised me NOT to re-use the bullets. I am pulling them with my Hornady collet puller and they are not damaged at all so I don't understand his reasons.

When asked why not re-use them, he said.... "because you don't know what the original resize die was nor how much crimp was applied. Some loaders use undersized dies. And it also depends on the bullet construction, cast, copper plated, moly coated, poly coated, complete metal jacket or full (front) metal jacket. It doesn't mean it won't work, but why bother??

These are 115gr FMJ bullets, nothing out of the ordinary. Basically I just want to change the powder and use the rest. Any thoughts on this?

[Litt'le Lee]

been there done that--many times

[bruce]

Re-use pulled bullets? Absolutely not a problem at all. Have done so with both handgun and rifle rounds. Recycled the bullets and powders. Sincerely. bruce.

[BudT]

I guess you intend to reload some ammo with these pulled bullets, I've done that several times with zero problems.

[S.A. Boggs]

No problem, if in doubt roll them across a flight surface with the palm of your hand to check them. @ 21 feet you just need minute of chest, about 6 inches will do nicely.
Sam
P.S. I would be more concerned with reloaded brass in a Glock with the original tube.

[Matt Anthony]

I just pulled 45 acp military surplus as it was corrosive using a impact type puller. Bullets cannot be used. Heavy crimp plus decreased diameter. I have pulled alot of 30/06 military and never had a problem with rifle bullets. Just my two cents!
Matt

[Major Tom]

Pulled many a bullet. As long as there is no damage, reload them.

[Sunray]

Change the powder, use the rest and you'll be fine. Matters to a competitive shooter, but 115 grain FMJ's are a long way from being match bullets. That don't exist in 9mm anyway.
However, the rest of his, um, reason is silly. 9mm uses a taper crimp only. Won't bother anything. Certainly not on an FMJ.
And the original resize die makes no difference at all. Dunno where he gets the idea there's such a thing as an undersized sizer die. Must have seen it on the Internet.

[1-12 INF (M)]

For 9mm at pistol range you are good to go. Don't bother with 147g .30 cal pulldowns, if you care about accuracy.

[Brad in Idaho]

Change the powder, use the rest and you'll be fine. Matters to a competitive shooter, but 115 grain FMJ's are a long way from being match bullets. That don't exist in 9mm anyway.
However, the rest of his, um, reason is silly. 9mm uses a taper crimp only. Won't bother anything. Certainly not on an FMJ.
And the original resize die makes no difference at all. Dunno where he gets the idea there's such a thing as an undersized sizer die. Must have seen it on the Internet.

The person who offered the advice on the other forum is a longtime IDPA shooter/competitor. I have found that when you ask for advice on any gun forum, there are a multitude of opinions on any matter. I have used pulled bullets for rifle ammo, but loading for pistol will be a new endeavor. I know a lot of people re-use bullets they pull down so I wondered about his advice not to use them. I didn't want to be insulting by questioning him on the forum so we had a private conversation. At any rate, I'll try re-using these components including the bullets and see how it goes. Won't hurt to do up 50 or 100 for a test IMO. Thanks for the input to all.

[Brad in Idaho]

No problem, if in doubt roll them across a flight surface with the palm of your hand to check them. @ 21 feet you just need minute of chest, about 6 inches will do nicely.
Sam
P.S. I would be more concerned with reloaded brass in a Glock with the original tube.

I will re-size the brass. I have no way of knowing the source of the brass that was used on this ammo initially. It is of various manufacture, mostly Winchester. I have heard of the "Glock bulge".

[1-12 INF (M)]

You know... for 9mm you might as well use Winchester White Box off the shelf, I'm not at all sure I can load that cartridge for less, unless I went the cast bullet route.

[leftyo]

with plated bullets and pickup brass, you can reload 9mm for right about half what winchester white box will cost you.

[Tuna]

Winchester white box is not cheap when compared to other name brand ammo like PPU, Armscor, S&B and others. I have used many pulled 9mm bullets over the years and have never had a problem with them loading or firing. All were fine.

[1-12 INF (M)]

I did the math on this too - WWBs were .27 each one place I looked, and some back-of-the-envelope costs for reloading plated projectiles and pick up brass came out to about .17 or so. So you can call it roughly half price, discounting your time. I like reloading, so that's recreational time for me.

[Brad in Idaho]

You know... for 9mm you might as well use Winchester White Box off the shelf, I'm not at all sure I can load that cartridge for less, unless I went the cast bullet route.

I recently bought 115gr FMJ 9mm for 21 and 22 cents a round (Blazer Brass & S&B) delivered to my house. It's not so much about the price as it is not wanting the components I have to go waste. I enjoy loading my own ammo when time permits. There's something satisfying about making and firing your own. I'm not sure how much it costs to put together 9mm but I know I already paid for this pull down ammo and have all the tools I need, so I might as well change the powder and see how it shoots.