stuck case removal

[andrew375]

I've had a casehead separation in my .375 H&H, rifle is a ruger 1. I've had separations before but in those instances the case bodies came out with a prod from a screwdriver. This time the case won't budge. So far I've tried a sciber to try and hook it out and an oversized cleaning brush. My next step is to push in another case with some hot glue on the outside and see if that grabs, if that fails I will try a taper tap of a size that will cut into the brass but not the chamber. But before that does anyone have any other suggestions? To be clear the head is completely off, separated at the front of the web.

[RKJ]

Could you push a cast bullet down the barrel from the muzzle? I'd think that would push the stick case out.

[pietro]

.

I use a spring hook, extended through the rear of the case, to pull the shell out to the rear.

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/06945869?cid=ppc-google-New+-+Hand+Tools+-+PLA_stMLVQ405___164110844115_c_S&mkwid=stMLVQ405|dc&pcrid=164110844115&rd=k&product_id=06945869&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkI-hw8-e4gIVFtVkCh13zAEoEAQYAyABEgKCmvD_BwE

https://cdn.mscdirect.com/global/images/ProductImages/0694586-23.jpg

[pworley1]

Try putting it in the freezer over night then try the pick again. The brass will contract more than the steel and should loosen by freezing.

[Ragnarok]

Cram an old shotgun brass bore brush into the case as far as possible then knock the case out with a cleaning rod from the front

[Bazoo]

Sticking another case in it is a good idea. The way I'd tackle it is as follows. Cut off the neck and shoulder so you can get a closer fit and use a dab of JB weld instead of hot glue. Clean the inside of the stuck case, and make sure you don't use enough JB weld that it would squish out into the barrel or chamber.

[frkelly74]

The old timer method is as Ragnarok suggests, Jam a larger cleaning brush into the case from the back end. and push the case out with a rod inserted from the muzzle. There is almost no chance of doing damage to the bore or chamber this way.

[Moleman-]

Get some cerrosafe or similar and make a chamber/throat casting then knock out the casting. The broken case will come with it and it will not damage your chamber. Rotometals has a great deal on their "Chamber Alloy (158-190)" a pound for $10 which is more than enough and can be reused many times. It's basically like pouring hot McDonalds coffee temp alloy so you don't have to get very fancy with your setup. I use plumbers putty to block off the lugs if needed and a patched jig to stop the alloy from going in the barrel too far. You don't want to let the cerrosafe cast its self around any metal on the cleaning rod jag like a loop or jag type, so I'll wad a patch up into a ball and cover it with another patch.

[country gent]

I have used a bigger cleaning brush, wood dowel glued into the case, the old 375 case sized down to fit night work but how much engagement may be questionable. If you have a syringe and kroil put a drop at the case chamber junction and let work sitting muzzle down for awhile. Then give it a try. Super glue does good to glue the dowel or case in place. Give it some time to set up also. an hour or so. I would save the tap as last try. Fitting a dowel for the most engagement before gluing it in gets a really good bond

[ascast]

Sulfer= liquid sulfer will bond to the brass and you can tap it out. Available at any drug story. Get some foil. Put a small ball in the case mouth to plug. Make a spoon of foil and pour in chamber. Let it harden. Tap out with cleaning rod. This may not work if you use moly lubes. The sulfer will "stick" to the steel, but will wipe off with pressure.

[HollowPoint]

Before I rebarreled it I had an Enfield No.4 MkI that would do this more often than I'd expected. I tried those expanding store bought shell removers but they didn't work. I tried picking it out with a pick similar to the one shown in the previous pic but I couldn't get it to catch the lip on the mouth of the broken shell in the chamber.

Out of frustration I attempted to pick it out with a small straight-slot screw driver by wedging it between the brass case and the chamber wall with no luck. I then got the bright idea to spot weld and old threading tap to a short length of steel rod that was long enough to reach the brass in the chamber from the back end of the reciever. I carefully screwed it into the broken shell just enough for the teeth on the threading-tap to bite into the inside wall of that stuck case. You wouldn't believe how easily it came out. I've carried that home made broken shell remover in my range bag ever since.

Unfortunately for me, I discovered after I removed that broken case that my earlier attempt to remove it with that small screw driver had ruined the inside surface of the chamber. I ended up rebarreling it to save the rifle.

On a Ruger No.1 you don't have to reach all the way through a reciever to reach the broken case. This means you can find a threading tap of the correct diameter, carefully stick it into the open end of the broken case head and lightly screw it in till it bites then pull that case out. It doesn't have to be twisted into the broken case very hard for it to have a secure enough grip to extract the broken case. The finer the threads on the tap the better but the one I'm using has a thread pitch of about twenty threads per inch.

The deeper the threads on the tap, the more finesse you have to use when screwing it in. The shallower the threads on the tap the more aggressive you can screw in the tap without the fear of the threads cutting through the wall of the broken brass case and scoring the walls of the chamber.

HollowPoint

[JBinMN]

While I have read some pretty good suggestions, I think I would likely try using an "Easy Out" to try to pull it out if one of the other easy methods did not work well.

Should bite into the brass right easy, and then just draw out the case. Might want to try spraying some liquid wrench or penetrating oil ( even , "Ed's Red".) down the barrel first to maybe "slick" things up a bit before ya try.

I'd likely start with he square ones, not the helical ones. But the helical ones might do the job.

An "Easy Out" for those who may not be familiar with them is a tool used to remove bolts when the head has either rounded off, or the head broke off.
You have to drill a hole into the bolt & insert the "easy Out" & then you can turn out the broken or ruined bolt.

They look like this:
Square:
https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FNzkyWDEwM Dg%3D%2Fz%2FD3wAAOSwBahVAOHx%2F%24_35.JPG&f=1

Helical:
https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi5.walmartimages.com%2Fasr%2Fb87c 810b-09bf-43ff-a777-de71f4f510dc_1.bb532d329cbfae5750f4c23675a8193e.jp eg%3FodnHeight%3D450%26odnWidth%3D450%26odnBg%3DFF FFFF&f=1

G'Luck! whatever method ya choose to use!
:)

[Bazoo]

Indian Joe, I think it's a pretty good idea myself, I'll file that away in the ol memory banks. Thanks for posting.

[Hickory]

I've had a casehead separation in my .375 H&H, rifle is a ruger 1. I've had separations before but........

Sounds like your brass is worn out and needs to be replaced.

[winelover]

Soak with Kroil, then use a tight fitting bore brush. Worked for me.

Winelover

[JBinMN]

If you really want to ruin the chamber on your ruger ?.....continue poking hardened steel tools in there - the scriber is not a good idea - easy out is a bad idea - a tapered tap is a really really really really bad idea
Heres a good idea that actually works
take a piece of 1/8th BRASS brazing rod, hammer the end flat and make a pointed chisel end on it, from the breech end of the rifle drive the pointed end in under the stuck case between case and chamber wall - it might take a couple goes to get it under - then drive the body of the punch in till its full depth to the cartridge shoulder - this puts a crease the full length of the case - it will likely fall out - if not it wont take much to push it out with a brush on a rod or such

Again dont put hardened steel tools up into the chamber - even if you quote a hundred "gunsmiths" that do this successfully its still a dumb idea -----one small slip and the chamber is ruined!!!

I dont expect you to try my brass chisel method ----its too simple -- it works -- its safe -- you cant damage your gun -- its posted by an Aussie -- I dont have expert/guru status -- been posted several times before and never got a reply --

Well, you ARE getting a reply now & I am going to be "civil & polite" to you, even though I would rather say what I want to say in a different manner. A manner that would be against the rules of this forum, so I will defer to those rules & not proceed the way I would like to say things here to you, and done regardless if you are "Aussie", or not...

I'm gonna suggest something to you...

If you are going to make a suggestion, try not to go out of your way to "poke others in the eye" when doing so.

You could have simply posted your method & left criticizing others who were offering suggestions just to try to help someone else, completelyout of your post, but no, you had to go about it in an abrasive manner...

Even if you wanted to re-enforce that using some of the other methods may be a poor idea, your post would have easily said,

"I would not suggest using a hardened steel object to remove the brass case from your firearms chamber due to the possibility of damaging the firearm by being "heavy handed",

or something along those lines, & then offering your suggestion for another way to accomplish the goal.

Your trying to make your suggestion look better, (while it is a good suggestion on its' own merit & would not need help), by using others as "crutch", then and at the same time criticizing & coming off as derogatory to at least 3 folks, to try to make your suggestion is not a good practice & certainly won't endear you or anything you say here to the ones who read your post as I just did.
As well as possibly others who notice your way of stepping on others who were only trying to be helpful, in order to make your suggestion look better.

Perhaps that type of method & manner of posting is why you felt your last sentence in the post quoted above was necessary. ( Geeez, I am crying alligator tears of woe for your poor lack of responses to your posts...)

Perhaps if you were a bit more informative without derogatorily using others to promote your idea would motivate others to pay more attention to your posts.

Now, I have said the above in a polite & civil manner, which is completely against my nature, and regardless of your being "Aussie". I am not prejudiced in my dealing with folks on most occasions, unless they deserve treatment as such, for their own behavior(s).

I dislike UN-necessary ill-mannered, rude & boorish behavior equally, regardless of race, color , creed, or nationality, etc..

( I also have no qualms about giving an "eye for an eye" and responding in a like manner to others who use such manners when necessary either. Unfortunately though, I am not allowed to do that here in this forum.)

I hope you learn something from "this response" to your post.

( and I feel so excited I got to be "your first" response to one of your posts in over a year... Don't ya just "feel the love"?)

If not, I wasted my time & I can assure ya you won't be getting any more replies from me, in a complimentary manner, should you continue the pattern your last post demonstrated to everyone...

Do as ya like, though, as I am sure ya will...

[country gent]

I have had good results fitting a wood dowel to the inside of the case then gluing it in to the case then you push on it ( tapping set up vibrations and the shock may break the glues bond). I fit the dowel with a file and sand paper so that it has 1" or more of engagement then seal the wood with super glue let soak in and cure slightly sand with coarse paper. Clean it and the case. Glue in place and let cure for1 hour or more. then push out with cleaning rod from muzzle. Depending on where break is 1 1/2"-1 3/4" length of engagement should be doable. This gives a lot of surface for bond in the case. Use the glue sparingly as you don't want it running out the front or squeezing out the back gluing the case in tighter.
I have case extractors extractors for 223 308 30-06 that work very good. one for 375 caliber could be turned up pretty easily from brass aluminum May be a little soft or leaded steel. its a simple set up with a sliding expanding collet and a shaft with tapered end to expand collet when seated. Hold the outer ring and push on end with rod collet expands and the square edge grips on case mouth removing the broken case.

[HollowPoint]

Wow; I was afraid this would happen. My DIY broken shell extractor and my earlier suggestion seems to have caused things to go south rather quickly. Sorry for the un-needed stress and mis-direction. I've never had a problem with my method, nor have any of the guys at the shooting range who have borrowed my home made shell extractor.

Granted, there is potential for damage to one's chamber but this is for those who deliberately don't exercise some level of being careful when using this extracting method. Over and Out.

HollowPoint

[Larry Gibson]

Get some cerrosafe or similar and make a chamber/throat casting then knock out the casting. The broken case will come with it and it will not damage your chamber. Rotometals has a great deal on their "Chamber Alloy (158-190)" a pound for $10 which is more than enough and can be reused many times. It's basically like pouring hot McDonalds coffee temp alloy so you don't have to get very fancy with your setup. I use plumbers putty to block off the lugs if needed and a patched jig to stop the alloy from going in the barrel too far. You don't want to let the cerrosafe cast its self around any metal on the cleaning rod jag like a loop or jag type, so I'll wad a patch up into a ball and cover it with another patch.

^^^^^^the best way to do it w/o potentially damaging the chamber^^^^^^^^^

[JBinMN]

If you wanna sound off on me ....pm me ...I promise I'll read it
If this "discussion", gets some attention and stops one bloke from scoring the chamber of a good rifle with a steel tool then its done its job - you might have the steady enough hand and keen enough eye - to use an easy out or a tap and do no damage (I hope so) - but a lot of blokes out there dont. Its too late after that steel tool goes astray.



If not, I wasted my time & I can assure ya you won't be getting any more replies from me, in a complimentary manner, should you continue the pattern your last post demonstrated to everyone...

Do as ya like, though, as I am sure ya will...

Yes. I wasted my time on replying to ya. You have made that quite apparent now & I am no going to waste any more time on ya now.

Perhaps ya now understand why some folks don't respond to your posts here.

I know & understand why, anyway... It seems quite obvious to me.

So, this post is enough for me, there will be no more.

Buzz off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

G'Luck to the OP! whichever method you find works best for ya!
:)

[swheeler]

My preferred method is cast the chamber in cerrosafe and knock casting with separated brass out, I have done it with a dental pick dug into the side of the soft brass casing, THIS IS INSIDE THE CASING, then pull back if it comes loose it just needs to move a fraction of inch. Not much of a shoulder on that 375 to headspace off of, original purpose of the H&H belt was supply a good stop to set headspace, if you handload you can seat the bullet out long to engage rifling, then neck size and make your brass last many firings without any separations, your Ruger No1 is perfect for this set up. Seating the bullet this way may increase pressure some, so start low and work up is always good advice and never exceeding published maximum data is good advice too!;-)

[Bazoo]

Hollowpoint, thanks for sharing your experience. I like the tap idea, I'll remember that one as well.

[Texas by God]

I used the brazing rod chisel on a Smelly .303 and a cleaning brush on a Remington 788 22-250. It's only happened to me twice in all this time and in both cases I knew the brass was fixing to go- the experience taught me to discard suspect brass.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Oily]

Before you get too involved try using a can of compressed air turn it upside down and blow the liquid into the brass until it freezes it. Sometimes they will almost fall out. If you try this make sure you oil the areas that the liquid touches as it will rust easily.

[gwpercle]

Soak with Kroil, then use a tight fitting bore brush. Worked for me.

Winelover

If you don't have Kroil mix a little conventional ATF (General Motors ) and Acetone , 50-50 , this makes a super penetrating oil , soak it a few hours or over night then go the oversize bronze bore brush method . Try to find a real stiff brush ...they work best .
Good Luck,
Gary

[abunaitoo]

It must be really stuck.
Normally they come out without to much work.
Tight patch/brush through the muzzle.
Chamber brush got all that got stuck for me.
How much of the shell is still in there????

I'd go with the cerrosafe as it sounds like it would give the least chance of damage.
If you don't have cerrosafe, soft lead might work.

Not a big fan of stuck case removers.
I've had to remove a stuck case remover for a rifle once.
After a few people tried to do it.
It was a pain.
Once I got it out, I could see the gouge where the stuck case remover had dug into the barrel.
Not good.
Was an old rifle.
Friend was just happy to have it out.
Shot fine after.

I've had friends use a tap to do it.
You'd need a big tap for that size case.
Maybe see if a friend has one???
I have some pipe taps that might fit.
Pipe taps are tapered, so wouldn't have to be the exact size.
PM if you'd like me to check. I think I have a empty case for sizing.
Screw the tap in until it just grips.
Don't jam it in tight, it will only push the shell tighter to the chamber.
Grab the tap with a vise grip at a 90' angle.
Tap the vise grip with something.
Should come right out.

[andrew375]

Thanks for all the replies folks, its given me plenty to of options to go with. I have actually tried easyouts but the diameter I need is between diameters of the set! The problem is that the shank diameter of the one that "might" fit is too big to clear the bottom of the loading cut out on the receiver, that the bit directly behind the breech block.

I've used the taper tap method a long time ago to remove a 7.92x33 case that absolutely wouldn't budge, but as soon as the tap began to engage the case started rotating with the tap. On monday I'll see if I grab some brazing rod from work.

On a side note. A friend of mine ripped the rim off a .303 case in his 1916 SMLE. He bought a proper case extractor but managed to break the bolt handle off in the process of getting it out! Just so you know, the guy is a manager at Rolls Royce aero engines and is responsible for examining and reconditioning of used fan blades. So next time you are flying, if the engines have RR on the cowling then bear in mind some of the fan blades may have been through the hands of a man who managed to do what a century in the hands of squaddies had failed to do.

[HollowPoint]

Thanks for all the replies folks, its given me plenty to of options to go with. I have actually tried easyouts but the diameter I need is between diameters of the set! The problem is that the shank diameter of the one that "might" fit is too big to clear the bottom of the loading cut out on the receiver, that the bit directly behind the breech block.

I've used the taper tap method a long time ago to remove a 7.92x33 case that absolutely wouldn't budge, but as soon as the tap began to engage the case started rotating with the tap. On monday I'll see if I grab some brazing rod from work.

On a side note. A friend of mine ripped the rim off a .303 case in his 1916 SMLE. He bought a proper case extractor but managed to break the bolt handle off in the process of getting it out! Just so you know, the guy is a manager at Rolls Royce aero engines and is responsible for examining and reconditioning of used fan blades. So next time you are flying, if the engines have RR on the cowling then bear in mind some of the fan blades may have been through the hands of a man who managed to do what a century in the hands of squaddies had failed to do.

It's hard for me to imagine a broken case being wedged into a slightly tapered chamber that tightly. Generally it's the taper of the broken case that makes things a bit more complicated but once you get a good bite into the walls of the broken brass it's that same taper that makes it extract so easily.

I thought about it the other day and I wondered; if I had a similar situation with a Ruger No.1 might I be able to just insert a sacrificial 375 case with a bit of super glue or gorilla glue on the shoulder of the shell and let it sit till the glue cured then just pull it out along with the stuck case? If I'm not mistaken the 375 case has just enough taper to allow another of the same size or similar cartridge to slip into the inside of the broken case if the case head of the broken shell is out of the way. Just thinking out loud. Brass on Brass offers no chance of damage to the chamber.

HollowPoint

[JBinMN]

I thought about it the other day and I wondered; if I had a similar situation with a Ruger No.1 might I be able to just insert a sacrificial 375 case with a bit of super glue or gorilla glue on the shoulder of the shell and let it sit till the glue cured then just pull it out along with the stuck case? If I'm not mistaken the 375 case has just enough taper to allow another of the same size or similar cartridge to slip into the inside of the broken case if the case head of the broken shell is out of the way. Just thinking out loud. Brass on Brass offers no chance of damage to the chamber.

HollowPoint

If that would work, that sounds like a good idea to try.
:)

[skeettx]

Dry ice in chamber, then tight fitting brush to quickly retract the shrunken case
Mike

[waksupi]

Our range expedient method when shooting BPCR, is to get some paper towels. Start making small pieces, just a bit bigger than a cleaning patch, and tamp it into the case with a close to bore size ram rod, and continue adding until the paper is an inch or so past the case mouth. The paper needs to be tamped down TIGHT! Then open the action, and give the ramrod a firm whack. Usually they will come out. I've also done it with bottleneck cartridges, but it is harder to compact the paper sufficiently.

[EO1]

Before you get too involved try using a can of compressed air turn it upside down and blow the liquid into the brass until it freezes it. Sometimes they will almost fall out. If you try this make sure you oil the areas that the liquid touches as it will rust easily.

Yep, I agree and was going to suggest this method but you beat me to it.

[andrew375]

success!

Tried various suggestions from here and other forums. pushed up and drag back shotgun brush, nothing. Dental pick, could get a grip not deep enough to overcome the pull I was applying. Made a pry by filing a chisel edge on a piece of brazing rod, couldn't get a purchase due to the thinness of the case wall. Several people suggested inserting a cut down case with epoxy on it, but the case taper was too shallow to allow that. But that is where I got the solution! I realised that a .223 case is around .378" dia. and would be a good fit in the neck of the .375 case. After cleaning and degreasing everything I roughened up the outside of a .223 case and applied a coat in of epoxy adhesive and pushed it up the chamber until it stopped. Left it for a couple of days to harden then cleaning rod down and a smack with a mallet and out it came. WHEW!!

Examination showed that the case had actually been dragged forward into the throat and the case mouth mashed into the rifling lead. This was why it was so had to shift. Now to go through all my brass. I keep all my brass segregated by age and what has precipitated these case head separations is that I had f/l length resized this particular lot, normally I neck size with a Lee collet die.

[Bazoo]

Glad you got it out, without damage it sounds like. Nice to have a frustrating situation finally resolved.