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Thread: I did a really dumb thing (stuck case related in the utmost sense of the words) ...

  1. #41
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    I’m with Leadhead...........just throw it in the river. One less piece of crap Hornady die to deal with!

  2. #42
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    Is the hole in the bullet small enough to use a rod to drive the bullet into the case?
    Spell check doesn't work in Chrome, so if something is spelled wrong, it's just a typo that I missed.

  3. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by Airborne Falcon View Post
    So here's where I stand at the moment.

    I was able to use the decapping nut as a guide ... screwed it back down into the top of the resizing die as far as it would go and took a drill bit wrapped in tape so as not to damage the threads on the locking nut (thank you to whomever recommended that very important step) and was subsequently able to slowly drill through the pill (having flattened-it actually helped) until I got all the way through into the case and powder. I had filled the cavity, as I was drilling slowly, with Kroil and it all drained into the case and flooded the powder when I punched through. When I pulled the bit out and knocked out all the jacket shavings a lot of gunk saturated powder came out with the shavings.

    I refilled the case with Kroil a couple of times, let it soak for awhile, then kept repeating the process knocking out shavings and powder gunk ... and then refilled the case and let it soak some more.

    Next step ... try to tap the base, thickest part just above the rim, and punch through to make sure the Kroil has saturated all the way down to the primer.
    I'd now screw the die back in the press and gently tap the primer out with a small punch. Gently, there's a strong possibility that Kroil won't deactivate the primer. Safety glasses and gloves, worse case the primer goes off. Once the primer is out, proceed with a stuck case remover. Good luck.

  4. #44
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    maybe you could frame it and hang it in prominent place in the reloading room as a reminder to be more careful in the future

  5. #45
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    Now the DANGER WILL ROBINSON is behind you. I believe the best step forward is to now use an RCBS Stuck Case Remover https://www.rcbs.com/case-processing...r/16-9340.html

    to remove the case.

    (1) Use the appropriate Drill Bit and drill through the dead primer and base.
    (2) Thread the hole in the brass Base using the threading tool in the kit.
    (3) Run The base cap and Extraction acre into the Thereaded hole in the brass.
    (4) Using a wrench to fit the Wrench head on the top of the Hornady die; and a "Cheater Bar" to turn the screw into the brass case base - slowly extracting the brass case - should bring the Bullet with it. I use a box end wrench as a "Cheater Bar" to turn the screw into the base. Had to do that yesterday with a Nickel Plated 30-06 case stuck in the die. And last week with a Nickel Plated .308 case. I guess I am guilty of being CHEAP and still pick up the Nickel Plated Rifle Brass laying on the ground at the Range - even though I know I am along the way going to get one stuck in the die.
    Mustang

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  6. #46
    Boolit Man Airborne Falcon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smithnframe View Post
    I’m with Leadhead...........just throw it in the river. One less piece of crap Hornady die to deal with!
    Yeah ... not a big fan of Hornady dies. Of the twenty-two die sets I own only three are Hornady. The rest are Redding and RCBS ... and two Lees.

    Quote Originally Posted by ulav8r View Post
    Is the hole in the bullet small enough to use a rod to drive the bullet into the case?
    Doesn't appear to be ... I thought it was but now I have a Squirrel Daddy decapping rod stuck in the neck inside the die upside down in my Rock Chucker. Arghhhhhhhh (no fault of your idea - I was already knee deep in this mess before reading your post)

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Dar View Post
    I'd now screw the die back in the press and gently tap the primer out with a small punch. Gently, there's a strong possibility that Kroil won't deactivate the primer. Safety glasses and gloves, worse case the primer goes off. Once the primer is out, proceed with a stuck case remover. Good luck.
    I couldn't get a small punch down in there ... even tried a 16 penny nail. I think pieces of the ruptured and fragmented bullet are blocking access from the inside of the case to the primer.

    I thought for sure I could get to it with that Squirrel Daddy rod.

    Quote Originally Posted by farmbif View Post
    maybe you could frame it and hang it in prominent place in the reloading room as a reminder to be more careful in the future
    That will not be necessary ... I'll never forget doing this stupid thing.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails kGfE9Ww.jpg  
    Last edited by Airborne Falcon; 03-04-2021 at 12:19 AM.
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  7. #47
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    I have to admit that I'm in the float test it camp. Float test is a technical Navy term meaning to throw it overboard, preferably into deep water.

    Kudo's on admitting your new found way to stick a case in a die though.

    Robert

  8. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by MUSTANG View Post
    Now the DANGER WILL ROBINSON is behind you. I believe the best step forward is to now use an RCBS Stuck Case Remover https://www.rcbs.com/case-processing...r/16-9340.html

    to remove the case.

    (1) Use the appropriate Drill Bit and drill through the dead primer and base.
    (2) Thread the hole in the brass Base using the threading tool in the kit.
    (3) Run The base cap and Extraction acre into the Thereaded hole in the brass.
    (4) Using a wrench to fit the Wrench head on the top of the Hornady die; and a "Cheater Bar" to turn the screw into the brass case base - slowly extracting the brass case - should bring the Bullet with it. I use a box end wrench as a "Cheater Bar" to turn the screw into the base. Had to do that yesterday with a Nickel Plated 30-06 case stuck in the die. And last week with a Nickel Plated .308 case. I guess I am guilty of being CHEAP and still pick up the Nickel Plated Rifle Brass laying on the ground at the Range - even though I know I am along the way going to get one stuck in the die.
    At this point this is the best solution. I have never stuck one myself but have unstuck many for friends and it always amazes me the force required to remove them when they become a self locking taper.

    Once the bullet was pushed back I would have thought the OP could have pushed and held the bullet back with a small diameter item and shook out the power. Beating on powder is not a good idea. 30 or so years ago a lady was killed a a brenchrest match when they tried to remove a stuck loaded round from a bench gun when the bolt was removed. She was behind it and the case killed her. My friend that lost the thumb was try to remove a stuck loaded 308 round by beating it from the top of the die.
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  9. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by dtknowles View Post
    flood with coolant (fill the top of the die with cutting fluid), drill out the bullet, drill slowly (makes less heat), dump the powder, decap and remove stuck case in the normal manner for stuck cases. It is the bullet stuck in the neck jamned into the neck of the sizer that is holding things tight, start with the smallest bit you can get in far enough to cut into the bullet, go up one drill size at a time. If it is a lead bullet, jacket lead or cast, you should be able to drill it out without much heating. Completly different story if it is a solid copper bullet.

    Tim
    Yep, that should be a fairly safe and practical way to success.

    Cheers

  10. #50
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    Danger.
    I would just get a new die.
    Getting hurt is just now worth it.
    Then again, I've done a few things that I knew I shouldn't have.
    Lucky
    I still have everything I'm suppose to.

  11. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Airborne Falcon View Post
    Yeah ... not a big fan of Hornady dies. Of the twenty-two die sets I own only three are Hornady. The rest are Redding and RCBS ... and two Lees.



    Doesn't appear to be ... I thought it was but now I have a Squirrel Daddy decapping rod stuck in the neck inside the die upside down in my Rock Chucker. Arghhhhhhhh (no fault of your idea - I was already knee deep in this mess before reading your post)

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    I couldn't get a small punch down in there ... even tried a 16 penny nail. I think pieces of the ruptured and fragmented bullet are blocking access from the inside of the case to the primer.

    I thought for sure I could get to it with that Squirrel Daddy rod.



    That will not be necessary ... I'll never forget doing this stupid thing.
    Looks like there’s room to grab the decapping rod FIRMLY with Vise Grips and tap it out with a hammer against the Vise Grips. If that’s successful I would drill out the bullet all the way to the neck of the cartridge so that the powder can be flushed out before removing the primer.

    Kroil will creep to a one molecule thin film; far thinner than WD-40.

    “Pill” has been a cringe worthy word here since I joined. It makes people sound like they just dropped out of the sky from AR-15.com. We use “bullet” to describe mass produced copper condomed projectiles intended for the masses and “boolit” was coined to differentiate cast lead from mass produced.
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  12. #52
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    At this point I think the safest way to continue would be to slowly hack saw the base of the case off making sure you go slow so it does not get hot. Primers don't always die like you might think. Clean out the case. Put a bit of soldering paste in the case and fill with melted lead. Reverse the case in the press then with a 3# hammer drive the decapper, case and lead out of the die. I have done this a couple of times because of case head separation in the die.

  13. #53
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    I'd keep repeating the drilling process with increasingly larger bits until you get into the brass. Now turn the die upside down and twist a drill bit in by hand removing as much powder as you can. By now you should be able to fir a lee decapping pin in the top, slide it in and tap out the primer.---- time of RCBS stuck case puller

  14. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by smithnframe View Post
    In post #26 I am quoted but I can’t find my original post........what gives? Not PC I assume!
    If it were left in place we would have to issue an infraction for insulting other members. Since you are a long standing member contributing member with no previous infractions it was decided by the moderators to delete the post instead of issuing an infraction.
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  15. #55
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    Once you had a hole in the bullet you should have opened it up as large as possible with larger drills - at that time you could have taken the die outside and popped the primer off with no risk.

    Like said earlier, grab the pin with a pair of vise-grips and tap the decapper pin out. Then you can finish drilling out the bullet then set off the primer (or use the decapper once it fits)

  16. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by pastera View Post
    push the whole thing out with grease - I have a lathe so a threaded adapter to add a zirk fitting to the decap pin opening would be an afternoon task.
    That’s exactly what I was thinking. The same way stuck dry balls are removed from a muzzle loader.

    Has the OP tried vise grips? Looks like there’s enough to get a hold on with the right size vise grips.

    Last chance before buying a new die, put it in a campfire or other heat source, far away from where it could do any damage and take cover. The primer will go off first and the case will probably be shot out. The die will probably need to be re-hardened, but that shouldn’t be too difficult to do.

  17. #57
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    If you decide to tinker with it....soak it in water for a couple days. Perhaps you can flatten the powder

  18. #58
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    This reminds me of the guy that got a cleaning rod stuck in a mosin, then tried a bunch of ideas to clear it and eventually gave the rifle away. Getting ideas from the internet is good, but you need to think about the next 2 or 3 things you’ll do if the current thing doesn’t work. Good lesson learned I suppose.

    I won’t give you more ideas, you’ve got plenty, but I will say that the first rule of primers is that
    there is no such thing as a deactivated primer.

  19. #59
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    Be Advised..... It can be VERY hard to deactivate a primer... I've seen where people have used everything under
    the sun, and they still go bang. I hit one with a small punch that was in a emty case. Had it in vice and when I
    hit it, the primer came back up the punch and embeded itself in my thumb.... BE CAREFUL.
    leadhead

  20. #60
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    JimB is totally right about deactivated primers. WD-40 doesn't always kill primers. Heat will set that primer off and it's less than what you would think. I'm also in the float camp.

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