5th gear

Any tricks or tips on pulling 5th gear off the input shaft? I'm replacing 3-4 friction rings in '93 5-speed.
Yes, the circlip is off. There is so little room to grab the gear solidly to pull it safely. FSM shows a bearing splitter, I would think you would need it to be exact size specific as they have tapered edges-
Just how tight is 5th on there? Does it shake the earth when it pops?

Thanks-

I just use a couple of small pry bars. Some are a lot harder to remove than others.