Purchase a simple kinetic bullet puller such as the Frankfort Arsenal one and remove the bullets safely and easily. Very simple and easy to use. Maybe a friend already owns one you could borrow.
Frankford Arsenal Impact Bullet Puller

 

People do collect old ammo.....
But a bullet puller work very well.

Frankford Arsenal 836-017 Sudden Impact Bullet Puller 661120446422

 

Grab the case with your left hand, grab the bullet with a pair of pliers, rock the bullet back and forth, this will loosen the bullet and it can be pulled out. Best to do this outside because you'll probably spill the powder. Do it over your garden or lawn and it will make good fertilizer.

 

Grab the case with your left hand, grab the bullet with a pair of pliers, rock the bullet back and forth, this will loosen the bullet and it can be pulled out. Best to do this outside because you'll probably spill the powder. Do it over your garden or lawn and it will make good fertilizer.

I use channel lock pliers.

Set the cartridge in my reloading press w/o dies.
Extend the ram so the bullet is above the die seat.
Get a good hold of the bullet w/ pliers.
Lower the ram - Walla!

 

Since you just want to use the bullets as sinkers, you probably don't need a bullet puller. Bullet pullers are designed to keep the bullet shape intact so they will perform well when loaded again, and to keep from spilling the powder, so it can be reused. I think you can just squeeze the bullet in a vice and work the case off by twisting and pulling on it. I would not squeeze the case in the vice, as that risks setting the primer off. The powder will fall all over when the case pops off, so have newspaper down when you do this. Scatter the powder thinly on your lawn. It's a good nitrogen source. Hand the primed cases to your local fire department for disposal.

 

Since you just want to use the bullets as sinkers, you probably don't need a bullet puller. Bullet pullers are designed to keep the bullet shape intact so they will perform well when loaded again, and to keep from spilling the powder, so it can be reused. I think you can just squeeze the bullet in a vice and work the case off by twisting and pulling on it. I would not squeeze the case in the vice, as that risks setting the primer off. The powder will fall all over when the case pops off, so have newspaper down when you do this. Scatter the powder thinly on your lawn. It's a good nitrogen source. Hand the primed cases to your local fire department for disposal.

That's why I suggested a bullet puller. Having powder spread all over your floor can be dangerous in itself depending where it's done. Just something to think about.

 

Or, put a 35 gallon garbage can under your bench vise.

 

Your way is far better, but NJ Phil does not have any reloading tools.

 

Yes ray, I caught that in the OP.
Just figured some reading this might could use this tip.

 

How can I safely extract them?

Real men use their teeth

Just kidding, couldn't help myself.

 

If you hold the case neck against a hard surface and tap against the neck with a hammer while rolling it along the surface, the neck will loosen up and you can remove the bullet with your fingers. I didn't believe this method until I tried it.

Allen

 

Hmmmm,

Ya know, every once in a while I need to pull a couple bullets that are seated so the ojive is non ideal with my RCBS collet puller, and they are long and hard to bang out with an inertia puller.

Do the necks recover when run through a sizer, or do they need annealing?

 

New one on me, but sounds like it should work eventually. I would be wearing gloves and safety glasses, though…just in case.

 

I would use my kinetic bullet puller by RCBS.

 

RCBS Plastic Hammer type bullet Remover works great. Been using it for 20 Yrs>?

 

I crimp my cartridges with a factory crimp die, which makes it impossible to get them out using the impact puller. The Forster bullet puller mounted on my press is what works for me. I wonder if factory ammo is crimped before it is packaged? Does anyone know?

 

The necks can be resized right after removing the bullet. It also works if you have a flat piece of steel you can hold between your hands and apply downward pressure. You roll the neck between the steel you are holding and the hard surface. You really have to lean on it though. In addition-- the rounds I did it to were not roll crimped so I am not sure how it will work on those. You learn a lot of tricks from old reloaders that didn't have a lot of money to spend on equipment. Remember, only the neck can be in contact with the hard surface while rolling it. If you are going to use light hammer tapping, you can hold the cartridge in your fingers to roll it with the neck on the hard surface. It doesn't take long, just two or three passes/rotations and personal safety equipment is always recommended.

On Edit: I just rolled a factory loaded Speer 64 gr GD between two pieces of steel, it opened up the neck and loosened the bullet, but the crimp did not open up far enough to pull the bullet out with my fingers. But it is loose and spins easily in the neck. In summary, it doesn't work as well on a crimped bullet.

Allen

 

Just ship your old ammo to me, and I'll send you some fishing weights. Problem solved!

 

... 30/30 and .243 that I would like to get rid of or extract the bullets to use as spinner weights for fishing. How can I safely extract them?

It sounds like you're saving none of the components for shooting. If that's the situation...

~ Lay the neck of the case on a hard surface, tap the neck lightly with a hammer, all around the circumference. This will stretch the brass enough to easily pull the bullets with a pair of pliers.
~ Spread the gunpowder in the lawn, it will act as fertilizer.
~ Squirt some penetrating oil into the empty case so it penetrates the primer.
~ Make some tackle and go fishing!

 

Unless your ammo is very very ....very old I bet you could find a hunter that would buy your old ammo for $0.25-$0.50 around. He's paying $1.00 or more around. You can then buy the right weights for you fishing tasks. Has any one ever tried to drill a hole in lead... How about in a piece of ROUND lead less then a 1/4" thick? If you used the inertia puller, You shooting friends would probably love the bullets and especially the brass. You'll spend more on drill bits and maybe a trip to the ER with a drill bit through your fingers... Sell the ammo , buy the weights or spinner bodies you want.
Ray

 

I use an rcbs puller with a number of collets. 308, 223, and 458, I pull the bullets, dump the powder in my scale, necksize the cartridge and seat softnosed slugs of the same weight. For the 308 and 223 I of course retain the mil primer. As for the 458, a simlar method is used. Why use 458 win cartridges, I managed to obtain a number of boxes with the REM 500 grain solids.When on the range, I shoot my BRNO Mauser just to annoy the benchrest shooters. Those guys that shoot guns mounted on a railroad tie.

 

Hmm my post asiappere