Case head seperation in Die

[1Shirt]

Howdy from Ne!
Have been reloading for more years than I care to think about, and have never had a full case head seperation from a well lubed case in a die until about half an hour ago. The case is a K-Hor, the die is an RCBS, the lube was/is Lyman spray on, the case is a WW, and has been loaded 4 times (I think). Now the question, Having never experianced a full head seperation in a die, have no experiance in getting the case out with hopefully not ruining the die in the process. Am looking for words of wisdom and hopefully sucessful experiance in extraction, rather than just having to order another die. The only good thing about this is that I didn't have the seperation in the rifle. (#3 Ruger by the way). My loads have not been particularly hot( at least in my mind, and judging by primer flattening, and various manuals) My normal load is 12gr. H-110, under the little 35gr. Hor. V-Max, and over CCI std. SR primer, with either Win/Rem Brass. I had planned to anneal these cases befor reloading.
Any words of wisdom would be appreciated, and I thank in advance all who respond to this thread.

[holycross]

1Shirt,

First off I've never done this,but when I eventually encounter a case head seperation. I'll try Putting the die (standing on its base) into the freezer for a few hours. The rate of dimensional change of brass-vs-steel should cause the broken case to simply fall out.

Mark.

[StarMetal]

Being the head and thickess part of the case broke off the rest inside the die shouldn't be too hard to get out. Maybe you can remove the decapping rod and try to punch it out with a punch of some sort. Another idea is to find a tap that is slightly larger and thread it into the remaining portion stuck in the die and see if you can pull it out. Like I said it's the web and head that give the case the tightess fit in the sizing die.

Joe

[felix]

The best way is to unscrew the expanding nipple within the die, and take out the rod. Get an aluminum gutter/roofing nail, a long and fat nail, and file off the "point" and tap that nail through the top of the die, tapping on top of the nipple still in the case, and after about 3 taps, the case falls out with the nail. Leave the die in the press during this entire operation. ... felix

[David R]

I have done that twice in 18 years. The first time I tried a whole bunch of stuff to get the shell out and ended up tossing the die. The second time I tossed the die and used more lube. Bought new die set for $24.95. I now have a seater for condom boolits and one for cast so I don't have to re adjust.

[C1PNR]

but this sounds very much like a case head separation in the chamber of your rifle.

I think it's ECHO, out of Boise, Idaho (IIRC) that makes a tool to clear this from your rifle chamber (caliber specific). I've used a couple of different ones (.30 Carbine and '06) over the years and they work quite well.

Give that a try, and you'll also have a handy tool to take along in the event of case head separation while hunting!

[Scrounger]

but this sounds very much like a case head separation in the chamber of your rifle.

I think it's ECHO, out of Boise, Idaho (IIRC) that makes a tool to clear this from your rifle chamber (caliber specific). I've used a couple of different ones (.30 Carbine and '06) over the years and they work quite well.

Give that a try, and you'll also have a handy tool to take along in the event of case head separation while hunting!

Here's something else that sometimes works: Stick a .35 caliber brass brush up into the neck as far as you can and try to pull it back out. This will usually work in a rifle, might work here.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I would try the freezer trick, then the oversize cleaning brush trick, and if it was still stuck I'd send it to RCBS because I know how easy it is to damage the die (don't ask.) My best guess is that you just missed a head separation in the rifle with that case. If I was still loading Hornets, I would drag a pointed, bent wire from base to mouth inside every fired case. Any case that I could feel the point of the wire drop into anything that felt like a groove would be tossed. Hornet brass, being very thin, is notoriously easy to separate.

[StarMetal]

I forgot to mention I have a the regular Hornet and I just neck size only and I have fired my brass over and over many times with no problems at all. You might try neck sizing only to make the brass last longer.

Joe

[David R]

I think I had a differfent problem. Not enough Lube on the case. The first time, I was using the old lube pad. I felt the case stick into the die, ten ripped the rim off trying to get it out. This is what happened to me the second time when I was using Hornady One shot. so I already knew the case WAS not coming out of the die. I did take a hammer and drive on the expander plug with the nut off. I bent the expander rod. Shell didn't move. I guess its different if your case head seperated.

[1Shirt]

All kinds of info, and all of it appreciated. That said, will try the freezer bit first, then the bore brush, and then follow other advise in sequence until something either works, or I pitch the die and order another. By the way, I only neck size these cases, with the die screwed about 1/2 to 3/4 a turn off the shell holder. Only full length cases when they have never been fired on one of my rifles. Will let you know what if anything works. Again, thanks to all.

1Shirt

[Slowpoke]

All kinds of info, and all of it appreciated. That said, will try the freezer bit first, then the bore brush, and then follow other advise in sequence until something either works, or I pitch the die and order another. By the way, I only neck size these cases, with the die screwed about 1/2 to 3/4 a turn off the shell holder. Only full length cases when they have never been fired on one of my rifles. Will let you know what if anything works. Again, thanks to all.

1Shirt

I know a guy who is crazy about the Hornet, he carries a 1/4 -20 tap in his pocket for removing brass from his chamber that has seperated, not sure if it would work in a die or not.
Good luck

[1Shirt]

Howdy, Well, tried the freezer bit, and that didn't work, tried the 35 cal bore brush, and that didn't work, but now have a bunged up 35 bore brush that I will keep just in case I might find a use for it in present condition some time in the future. Will now be trying the nail or tap recommendation, to be followed by the (if one of these don't work with the pitch it and buy an new one recommendation. Life is just one learning experiance after another, but guess that is part of the fun/fustration of learning. Don't think anyone will ever fully master the art of reloading.

1Shirt

[trooperdan]

.. I can't remember the caliber but it was an RCBS die and I just sent it back to them and they removed the case, no charge. Actually, now that I think about it, it wasn't a case seperation; it was a rim pulled off because I didn't lube the case! I think it was a 5.56mm Johnson die, a .30 Carbine necked to .22.

[floodgate]

1 Shirt: Before you scrap the die, try this. take a smooth, pointed tool like a machinist's scriber, slide it into the die and under the edge of the case, and try to buckle the case inward about 1/8". With care, you MAY be able to do this without scoring the die. Then take a pair of fine-point needle-nose pliers and try to roll it inward as you pull on it. With the thin wall of the .22 Hornet case, this MIGHT work. Atually, Dan's suggestion just to send it back to RCBS is the best way to go. floodgate

[wills]

Send RCBS an e mail, explain the problem. See what they say. I had a problem with my hand primer and they just sent me another, fast too

[waksupi]

I have used an engraing tool in the past for this. You need to really careful, as a graver will easily cut the die. The limitation is on the length of the graver, but should work in a small case. Then a small tool can be used to bend the case enough to remove it.

[1Shirt]

Well, I tried Slowpoke's method only with a 1/4 x 28 tap, and then tapped it out in the die with a cut off nail through the die held in the press. Just a lite tap wit he hammer and it was out. Cost me a few bucks for the tap, but gained a lot of experiance in the process, and have the tap and nail if I ever have the same experiance again (hope not). It is good to have a varity of ways suggested by various folks. By the way, The extracted case body neck still showed good sign of adequate lube, so will now be checking all cases internal with small crochet needle(works better than a bent piece of wire) befor loading. Again, thanks to all who responded.
1Shirt

[StarMetal]

I thought it would come out easy as I said the thick portion of the case broke off and basically the shell was left in the die. Great going.

Joe