Stuck Case (with pics)

BigUglyMan

BigUglyMan

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So I was sitting here, merrily rockchucking some 300 WM cases when it happened. *THUNK* the rim tore off one of my cases. :runaway: After a few short minutes of cussing and yelling (BUM Reloading Tip #1: Handload when no one else is home) I did what any self-respecting gunnut would do...grabbed the digital camera to document my plight. :D Well friends and neighbours, the internet ain't real fast at mi casa, so by the tiem I had the photos downloaded to my machine and started the Photobucket upload, I was at a loss for things to do so I started tearing into the afflicted sizing die.

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I unscrewed the seating stem and removed all those wonderful bits, then set to trying to get the case out of the die.

Let me tell you...stuck is stuck. But I wanted the case as a reloading memento so I kept at it, bigging out my BFH and pounding on the decapping rod until the case popped free. SUCCESS!!! :dancingbanana: Well, not yet. I still had to get the decapping rod out of the case. Chopping the case in half would have destroyed my memento, so I used what little rim was left, clamped the pliers on the abused decapping rod and hooked the rim into the shell holder. With a bit of fiddling around the expander ball popped out of the case.

SUCCESS!!! :dancingbanana: Well, sort of. My exuberent pounding had peened over the end of the decapping rod, so reassembly would be difficult. What to do, what to do. EUREKA!!! I unthreaded the expander ball and slid the nut and such onto the the rod from the pointy end. The rod's still straight, decapping pin still kosher and she all went back together in the time it took for Photobucket to upload the pics for the story. And best of all, it was cheaper than the first alternative I had considered...throwing the whole s**ttaree away and ordering a new set of dies and brass from He-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Mentionned. Sorry bud.

So, back to sizing brass!

Well, not so much...2 cases later I snapped the decapping pin. And I can't get my 416 Rigby dies apart to rob the pin from. And of course, no spare pins.:mad: :mad: :mad:

Think I'll quit for the day.:mad:

Mind you, I do have 21 resized cases. Maybe I'll start loading some 3 round samples and do some development.
 
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I had this problem only with my 30-06 dies, not with my .257 or .303, solved it by lubricating the snot out of my cases, but maybe you are already doing that. Life's a bummer when this happens and you are a long way from replacement parts, but then it could be worse, you could live in the big city and be close to replacement parts. Go out and look at the Northern Lights with your significant other and mellow out.
Bill
 
Okay, okay... When it gets stuck, it gets STUCK!!! Anyhow... Here is a trick for next time...

You got a torch??? If so, good, if not, your stove will work... Your gonna need parafin wax, the stuff that your mom used to bottle stuff with...

WITH GLOVES ON... and pliers ready... heat the a$$ end of that case and touch the parafin wax to the hot case end... Parafin will seep through and allow you to pull the stuck case out...

Cheers
Jay
 
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I've ripped the rims off a bunch, 'til one day I broke down and bought the RCBS "Stuck Case Remover". I've never had to use it.
Buy yourself a "Stuck Case Remover" and you'll never have another stuck case.
 
What brand of die is it?
If it,s a Lee, you can still loosen the decapping rod's collet and pound on it with a hammer and the case will pop out.
With other dies, you can try unscrewing the center holding nut, finish unscrewing it from the rod and try tapping on the decapping rod.
PP.
 
The RCBS "Stuck Case Remover" is so easy to use..5 minutes and you are back in business...

Although I submit they *may* not be available at the local store in BUM land...:runaway:
 
I did that to an RCBS die a few years back, I bent the rod. I sent an email to RCBS, and a few days later, a new rod showed up, with a few decapping pins, all free of charge.
Now that's service!

As to lee, I've had stuck cases in their dies too, but I've never managed to break anything. I did bend thier decapping rod once, but it straightenned easy.
 
its an esay problem to solve..unlock the decapper..screw it all the way down now use the locking nut to push it the rest of the way down.. should work easy as can be..
well it did for me just the other weekend;)
 
Redding Imperial sizing wax will prevent this as Splatter mentioned so will a stuck case remover.
Look at the bright side, at least it was only a lousy Federal case in a common caliber, not a Norma case for the Rigby, not that would really hurt.
KK
 
Splatter said:
I've ripped the rims off a bunch, 'til one day I broke down and bought the RCBS "Stuck Case Remover". I've never had to use it.
Buy yourself a "Stuck Case Remover" and you'll never have another stuck case.
Click to expand...
You will .............. and yes, it works GREAT!!






.
 
For the life of me I don't know how but yesterday I managed to get a case stuck in a Lee Collet die...

The neck tension on the case was so strong that it was gripping the mandrel like I have never seen. When I tried to raise the lever of the press, nothing moved. I pushed a little harder and bang, the shell holder broke and the case was still stuck in the die.

By pounding on the decapping pin with a hammer and ground-down punch, I was able to free the case.

Alot of cursing was involved :runaway:
 
I ended up making a stuck case remover consisting of a drill bit, tap, bolt and a stack of washers - not quite as handy as the RCBS unit, but it works slick. I'll have to try the parafin trick though - that sounds interesting.
 
Hehehe, I've found the 20 ton shop press to come in handy on more than one occasion. A bench vise, vice grips and a rubber mallet are also useful tools that everyone should have in their garage. And a torch can help ease things along, too.

One trick I've used in the past is to clamp the die down is a bench vise, and clamp the protruding end of the brass real solidly in the vice grips. then whack the grips solidly with the mallet as close to the die as you can. Most the time one or two good 'thwacks' is all it takes.

Moral of the day? Neck-sizing and lube are both very good things....
 
All the while I was thinking about a nice new Redding bushing die, but I somehow managed to beat the case out with no damage to the die (what are the odds). Now just waiting for new decapping pins and we're off to the races.

I had thought about the universal decapping die, but wasn't smart enough to get one on my last trip out. So now I'm stuck waiting because they don't carry them at the NorthMart. Oh well...I do have 9 different loads to test at the range so that should keep me busy until I leave next week.
 
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