stuck case
I had a 223 case break in two in a sizing die while reloading. About 1/2 inch of the base came out on my shell holder. How do I remove the rest of the case without harming the die. any ideas?
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down at the range yesterday, my buddy brought out his mauser action, re-barrled to .270. i rember this gun being a great shooter, but befor he shot, he said the last time it was shot, a case expanded in the chamber, causing the bolt to stick. He figured it was a hot reload, and though nothing more of it. yesterday, with a new box of winchester, the first round expanded the case and stuck the bolt again. there is obiviously a defect... any ideas what it could be, i was thinking it could be a headspace or worn chamber issue. 0 -
Snowshoe,
With the break at the web you should use a chamber cast (Cerro Safe or some other fusible alloy, or even melted sulfur) to safely remove the stuck portion.
I once had to remove a case from a closed end die, (Winchester M'94) and worried a sail needle between the case and the die. The collapsed case then pulled out with needle nose pliers.
The judicious use of a tap works about half the time, the rest of the time it destroys the die.
If the die is RCBS, they offer the service of removing stuck cases for free, under warranty.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross0 -
my first question would be ,......How many times has that case been fired??
Second,...if it seperated at the case head,.then consider yourself lucky it hapenned in the die and not uppon firing!!
Then,..If I am incorrect,..try soaking the die in something like Kroil and trying to punch the case out from the top with a dow rod the same size as the NECK of the die,..not the case.
If this fails,....a reamer at the gunsmith should grab it and pull it out quick with no die damage.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
I second the QUESTION posted by JustC..and agree with the asessment on how to remove...
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0 -
Capt. and Justc ... could be somebody forgot the slippery stuff[:D]
Any way all suggestions are good, and to them I will add that Brownells sells an extractor, or at least they used to. Not expensive tools and hopefully not often called for, but when ya need one it's there.
In going on 30 years I've only stuck 2 and both were "lube" mistakes. Of course now they have these super dies that don't require it, but if I already have the die I don't buy a new one cuz I'd rather spend the money on components[:D]
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
Or save yourself a lot of time and money by buying a new set of dies off the Lee website for about $12.....
....I never met a gun I didn't like!0 -
Something you can try that won't cost you anything but time. Put the die in the freezer overnight and try removing the casing next day. Just might work, has in the past. 0 -
ditto the freezer suggestion,..I always forget that one[:)]
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
I realize this may be off the topic, but the case could have already been ruptured before it was run into the die.
I always inspect my cases through each step of the reloading process!
Running the cases though the polisher first will make cracked and ruptured cases easier to spot.
If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!0 -
Usually when we don't lube the cases well enough, I've pulled the rim off the case.
Best soaked in WD-40 and grab what is left of case with Vice-Grips and pull it. Some, was able to find a tap that would get a thread into the case and get a bolt to pull it out. (after first soaking it in WD-40) Others, was able to get a small punch between the shell and die. Get lube in there and was able to grab with Vice-Grips and get it out.
Use lube!
Good judgement comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgement. Gen. Omar Bradley0
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