Does pulling bullets affect accuracy?

[del2les]

Over the decades, I've used a fair amount of self-pulled and factory demilled bullets, and for the most part, I have had very good results. I tend to separate any heavy damaged jackets and use them for fire-forming or other. My self-pulled have been with either kinetic or collet pullers, and I am rather careful to protect the bullets as best I can.

I have many hundreds of cheap, factory demills that shoot and perform very well, and some of them, I cannot tell any difference in groups. The act of firing a bullet down the bore and the rifling engraving cause far more "damage" to bullets than "most" demills I have encountered.

 

[crashlanding]

As a side note, slightly off topic, if you use a kinetic hammer puller, make sure you get all the powder out of it, I’ve noticed it sticking and clumping at the end, I needed to use air to flush it all out, especially if re using the powder

 

[std7mag]

I've used pulled bullets for range use and hunting.

At distances 400 & under, they perform just fine. And a deer won't notice the 0.002" scratch.

For those junking your pulled bullets, ship them to
Std7mag
Altoona, PA.

 

[Pdvdh]

I have little concern re-using pulled bullets.

I began using the Lee Crimp Die (LFC) on all my 223 varmint rounds years ago. I pulled some bullets after they had been crimped so I could examine them for any deformation caused by the crimp of the case neck. Indeed I could see an indentation ring around the baring surface of the jacket from the Lee Factory Crimp die on the thin-jacketed Hornady Vmax varmint bullets. But the lands in the bore of a barrel deform bullets much more than my crimp ring.

As to the consequences on precision. The bullets with the sight ring deformation that were crimped using the LFC die consistently shot with better precision than the same bullets that had not been crimped and deformed.

I doubt bench rest competition shooters would know one way or the other. Seriously doubt they would risk shooting pulled bullets. Wouldn't accept any abomination to their standard operating procedures for fear it could psychologically degrade their shot execution.

 

[del2les]

Here's a little test - After a light polish, can you tell which of each of these various bullets are pulled and not?