Case stuck in Lee die

[KDX]

I was decapping some .223 in a Lee die tonight and got lazy and only lubed every third one or so. Well that didn't last too long and now I have a stuck case. Any words of wisdom to the obviously dense would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bigeasy]

Get your self a stuck case remover from lee or rcbs, it involves drilling out the primer pocket and tapping threads into it to make a "puller" out of you press. Work great.

 

[Colin]

Can't you unscrew the decapper and put a drift down the hole to pound out the casing? I have done that with 9mm cases.

 

[curtmg]

Can't you unscrew the decapper and put a drift down the hole to pound out the casing? I have done that with 9mm cases.

Probably not in a bottleneck case, the mouth is most likely stuck at the top or the die, and the decapper won't fit through the mouth, when it's being squeezed by the die. What I've done before was turn the decapper all the way down, and push the case out that way. Of course, my stuck case was well lubed, but some moron forgot to change shell holders, and the ram went up with a case in it, then came down empty

 

[machinistbutler]

I just did that in a 25-06 die,I backed off the decapper,screwed the die in upside down in the press,drilled out and tapped the primer hole,put some spacerson top of the die,screwed in a bolt and the case was pulled back out of the die with no damage at all to the die.

 

[JoelEMT]

Yeah, I did the same thing with a 7mm RM and I still haven't been able to get the case out. I've tried just about everything except the drill and tap method. I'll have to look into that.

 

[Pathfinder]

Ive had the same thing happen with that same set of dies. remove decap assembly as metioned and put in a vice, the rest will come to you naturally.

 

[saskgunowner101]

Is that code for hammer time??

 

[catnthehatt]

Ive had the same thing happen with that same set of dies. remove decap assembly as metioned and put in a vice, the rest will come to you naturally.

Yup, lee dies are designed so you can hammer out the decapping rod after backing off the top lock nut.
it's then a simple matter to cut the case off of the rod.
Cat

 

[tjhaile]

It's actually pretty easy to make your own stuck case remover that works the same as the RCBS or Redding ones.

-Materials: 1/4" UNF tap, socket from wrench set, 1/4" UNF bolt, large flat washers
-Unscrew decapper rod assembly as far as possible
-Drill and tap through primer pocket
-Put an appropriately sized socket over die body
-Insert bolt with flat washers through socket into tapped primer pocket
-Tighten bolt to pull case out of die