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

  1. #61
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    I recently tore down and deprimed an ammo can full of 223 loaded in LC - 07 brass which was given me because it had bad primer pockets, after the original crimp is swedged out the brass is useless.

    using a Lee universal de-priming die, I've never had a live primer go off and all were reuseable.

  2. #62
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    The "Energy" in a single primer is very low. You have removed the primary "Energy" source - being the powder. You have drilled an 80% or larger hole in the Bullet which will allow gas to exit the top of the die. Put on a set of Safety glasses, Put on a set of heavy leather gloves, screw the die into your Reloading press from the bottom up so the Primer and Brass case is showing at the top of the press.

    Then take a small punch, or the stem from a deprimmer, or of similar diameter as a firing pin. Place the point in the center of the primer - and hit the stem/pinch a couple of whacks with a hammer. Primer is NO LONGER ACTIVE.

    Then go and use the stuck case remover. The "DANGER WILL ROBINSON" issues are far behind you; you simply need to extract the potentially "Low Energy" primer and then the case.
    Last edited by MUSTANG; 03-04-2021 at 04:45 PM.
    Mustang

    "In the beginning... the patriot is a scarce man, and brave and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." - Mark Twain.

  3. #63
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    When setting primers off, may I suggest also wearing EAR PROTECTION? You start off with only so much hearing, anything that causes your ears to ring, means you definitely just lost some. Even a cheap disposable pair of foam earplugs will save your hearing, trust me, my dad was mostly deaf and 2 close friends have hearing aids in both ears, and a cochlear implant, respectively - Being deaf SUCKS, pretty sure they'd agree fully with me here.

    Agreed on face pro and gloves too, but take care of your ears

    Glad you got past the kaboom part, keep being careful and thinking three times, acting once. The idea of "What could possibly go wrong?" is, as your face mentioned, one that doesn't belong anywhere near firearms or reloading gear

  4. #64
    Boolit Man Airborne Falcon's Avatar
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    So I am calling this the sphincter pucker factor post.

    It's out.

    I finally just got tee'd off at the thing and drilled the primer. Slowly. It came out without going bang.

    Once it was out everything else was as normal.

    Stuck case came out and was surprisingly undamaged except for the torn rim and the hole I drilled at the base.

    This is over, finally.

    Thanks for all the input and words of encouragement gentlemen.

    Lesson learned.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    What you think about you do ... what you do, you become.

  5. #65
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    start a hot fire un a hole in the ground and attach a wire to the die.
    drop the die in the hole on hot coals and let it cook off.When you hear it go. come back and pull out the die a d let it cool.
    Take it from there.

  6. #66
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    Was it worth the risk ?

  7. #67
    Boolit Man Airborne Falcon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alferd Packer View Post
    start a hot fire un a hole in the ground and attach a wire to the die.
    drop the die in the hole on hot coals and let it cook off.When you hear it go. come back and pull out the die a d let it cool.
    Take it from there.
    Next time. I like the way you think.

    Quote Originally Posted by bimus View Post
    Was it worth the risk ?
    In these times ... yeah, probably. I've gotten another 500+ cases resized today.

    Oh, and I got the bullet out of the case ... well, what was remaining of the jacket.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    What you think about you do ... what you do, you become.

  8. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by Airborne Falcon View Post
    Next time. I like the way you think.



    In these times ... yeah, probably. I've gotten another 500+ cases resized today.

    Oh, and I got the bullet out of the case ... well, what was remaining of the jacket.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    String them on a bead chain, like a necklace, and hang them over your press........as a reminder. Glad you were able to save the die.......without injury.

  9. #69
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    what a saga !!!
    good job on getting through the problem!
    Death to every foe and traitor and hurrah, my boys, for freedom !

  10. #70
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    You know a wise man once told me the mark of a good carpenter is his ability to fix his mistakes.
    Well done.

    Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

  11. #71
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    You're on your way to making a wind chime. Congrats, had fun reading it.

    Slim
    JUST GOTTA LOVE THIS JOINT.

  12. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by bimus View Post
    Was it worth the risk ?
    Anything that does not kill you makes you stronger. Every step of the way caution was urged and precautions were taken. I don't think the risks were as high as some think. This was not some, here hold my beer stunt. It was a group effort to resolve a problem. It is not even so much about the die saved as it was a joint learning exercise. We now know how it can be done safely if it ever happens again.

    The OP is not as much an idiot as he has claimed. I have run a lot of loaded ammo into sizers. Fortunately I never got a round stuck. I had a bunch of ammo that would not chamber. The bullets were too large of a diameter. Instead of pulling them down and sizing the bullets and reloading them I just ran them into the sizer. I don't know why the OP's round jammed. Must have been a very hard bullet.

    Tim
    Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS

    The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides

  13. #73
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    Woot. I'd say you totally redeemed yourself

  14. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by dtknowles View Post
    Anything that does not kill you makes you stronger. Every step of the way caution was urged and precautions were taken. I don't think the risks were as high as some think. This was not some, here hold my beer stunt. It was a group effort to resolve a problem. It is not even so much about the die saved as it was a joint learning exercise. We now know how it can be done safely if it ever happens again.

    The OP is not as much an idiot as he has claimed. I have run a lot of loaded ammo into sizers. Fortunately I never got a round stuck. I had a bunch of ammo that would not chamber. The bullets were too large of a diameter. Instead of pulling them down and sizing the bullets and reloading them I just ran them into the sizer. I don't know why the OP's round jammed. Must have been a very hard bullet.

    Tim
    Tim, that probably worked if you had cast boolits, not so well with jacketed bullets like the OP had.
    I recently went through this with a 308, loaded with a cast boolit that would not chamber. Not wanting to stick a case in the die I found another die that would reduce the shoulder diameter a bit and a 45ACP die to size the very base of the case. Problem solved. Now I have fireformed brass that is unique to this rifle with a short chamber.

    Ken

  15. #75
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    Sounds like a "Body sizing die" might be the ticket in the future. Size the body of the case only.

    Glad you got it removed without any body injury!!

  16. #76
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    Betcha you don’t do that again! Once you had the powder juiced up and mostly removed and the primer temporarily deactivated, it was just normal stuck case removal.

    Glad it all worked out and your die is back in action!

    Three44s
    Quote Originally Posted by Bret4207

    “There is more to this than dumping lead in a hole.”

  17. #77
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    Buy a push through bulge buster 9mm for the swollen heads on 223 . That should save this problem . A 40 covers 25,30,32 Rem and 6.8 SPC . A 45 ACP covers everything in a 308/Mauser/06' . It's not a perfect solution but it beats some of the other choices . They will also allow for that occasional round that gets by to be fixed safely .
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  18. #78
    Boolit Man Airborne Falcon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rockrat View Post
    Sounds like a "Body sizing die" might be the ticket in the future. Size the body of the case only.

    Glad you got it removed without any body injury!!
    I've got short body dies from Brownell's and RCBS now on backorder, prepaid, just waiting for them to get back in stock.

    5.56x45, 7.62x51 and 30-06. I don't shoot .223 per se .... and I am probably going to keep FL resizing for my .308 and 30-06 bolties. But the service rifles I am going to switch to short body dies ... once they fill their backorder. Although, there is still the issue with neck sizing as most service rifles really expand the neck upon firing and subsequently the bullet slips-through rather than seats.

    I rolled the dice ordering one set through Brownell's not knowing for sure if RCBS will resupply them before they satisfy their own in-house orders or what ... I guess time will tell.

    This current shortage of components and equipment/accessories is maddening. Proof that you can never have too much of anything when it comes to ammo/reloading, spare parts, etc. I am so well stocked on powder and primers and even presses and spare parts ... but I overlooked having a couple of backup dies for most-used calibers. I think that will be an important gap to fill, for me at least, in the near future.

    That and more molds, more lead, more coatings, etc. Gas checks are fast becoming a thing of the past but I still intend to stock-up on more of those first chance I get.

    This has been a valuable lesson for me. I thought I had it all covered, and I do more than most probably, but there are holes to fill. Now that I am retired I am going to fill those holes.
    What you think about you do ... what you do, you become.

  19. #79
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    good job Airborne, Life's too short to be cowering in a corner and I'd have torn into it as well.
    “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan


  20. #80
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pressman View Post
    Tim, that probably worked if you had cast boolits, not so well with jacketed bullets like the OP had.
    I recently went through this with a 308, loaded with a cast boolit that would not chamber. Not wanting to stick a case in the die I found another die that would reduce the shoulder diameter a bit and a 45ACP die to size the very base of the case. Problem solved. Now I have fireformed brass that is unique to this rifle with a short chamber.

    Ken
    Yeah, not just because I was using cast bullets but also larger diameter so proportional change was much less, and not just any cast bullet but soft cast bullets. I don't recommend anyone putting loaded ammo into a sizing die. Too many ways for it to go wrong. Yeah, I did it and got away with it but have my ways of keeping myself out of trouble. I did not just go to it. I thought about it, went slow at first checking as I went. Tested the first round and the second.

    That is not to say I never screwed up. In my first year or so of reloading, sometime in the mid 70's I stuck a 30-30 case in my sizer (probably no or not enough lube). I was in my mid teens. I did not have a mentor or the internet. I got the case out but broke the expander and decapping pin. I just pulled the decapping screw and put a punch in the top of the die and pounded it out. I had to wait a month to get a new expander.

    Tim
    Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS

    The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check