Stuck Case!!!!!

TheBig1

TheBig1

New member
I've never had a problem before, don't know what I did wrong.

I just bought my 8 year old daughter a TC Venture Compact and sat down last night to begin the development of some loads. I also just bought a Lyman Ezee Case Trimmer that I could put on my drill. So I hit all of my brass with One Shot and resize the first piece of brass. Switch over to the Ezee Trim and give that a try. Everything worked like a charm.

So now I'm going to resize all 100 cases and then switch to trimming all 100 cases in the next step. I place my 2nd piece of brass in my Rock Chucker and notice that it's a little rough going in. When I go to pull it out it's really rough now. All of the sudden the case head pulls out of the shellholder destroying the case head. (Yes, it was the correct shellholder)

I don't know what I did wrong. Does anyone have a homemade way of removing a 223 case from an RCBS 223 Resizing Die which still has the decapping pin sticking out of the flash hole?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I'd rather not have to buy a Stuck Case Removal Kit.

Chad
 
There are things that you could do, like trying to heat the case, or freeze the case, you could put the die in a grip and use air, you could try putting a metal rod in the freezer over night and then put the die into the oven and heat it up and then remove and put the rod in the case and then pull with vice grips..

THESE ARE ALL BAD IDEAS..

buy the $16 case remover and use it. It is the best thing to do so that you don't mess up your dies. It just happens. You can be careful all day, but it's just going to happen at some point.

I put my dies in the sonic cleaner after doing a batch, and have used all kinds of lubes, but it just happens every once in a while. In ten years i think it's happened 3 or 4 times, but the biggest lesson i learned was the first time, and that was messing with trying to use some combination of things in your workshop does one thing,.. RUIN THE DIE. So, i ended up getting the remover.


https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/131002/hornady-stuck-case-remover?cm_mmc=pf_ci_google-_-Reloading+-+Metallic+Reloading+Equipment+(Not+Presses)-_-Hornady-_-131002&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy-fjh8C21gIVWrnACh0k1ALbEAQYAiABEgLOovD_BwE
 
There is nothing special about the removal tool RCBS sells.....a tap, bolt and spacer. Might be able to round those up in the garage. I would just buy the tool as Tbone said.

I also clean my dies regularly. I use SS tumbler after the brass is prepped, but I will also run them in the vibratory tumbler as soon as I get home from shooting. IME, resizing clean brass is always easier on the die.
 
Thanks guys! I run my brass through the tumbler when I get home from the range. It's clean when it goes for resizing.

I just watched a video on how to do it and all I need is a 1/4"-20 tap and a 1/4"-20 machine screw. I have a 7/32" drill bit, a socket, and a flat washer. So I'll hopefully be working on this later tonight.

I do clean my dies, but can you explain how you clean yours? Perhaps I'm not doing it well as can be expected. I do however make sure that I'm always cleaning out the little hole in the side of the threads with a pipe cleaner.
 
I hose them with Brakekleen and use some bore cleaner on them. After I'm done I spray the HOS up in the die BEFORE using it the first time. Also it is MANDATORY that you let it dry COMPLETELY. I usually set about four loading blacks of sprayed cases aside for about 10 minutes so I have plenty that are GTG and then replenish that periodically. Do not be parsimonious with the spray.

Greg
 
I've had way too many stuck cases so i've been there. I use two ways which may or may not be right but work for me.

1st i'll try to secure what's left of the case head in a vise really tight and than use a wrench to spin the die off the brass. If it's not stuck too bad this usually works. You need to unscrew the decapping pin first and then once you remove the brass you need to cut it in half to retrieve the neck sizer piece.

If that fails I do the same as what the RCBS kit does, I drill the flash hole out with a 7/32" bit then use a 1/4 X 20 tap and tread the hole. Then I use a spare socket with a washer, tightening the screw down until it backs the brass out.

Good luck with it.
 
Shooter, I'm wondering if I didn't allow HOS to dry enough before I started getting to work. I always try to pause what I'm doing to give it some time, but perhaps it wasn't enough time.

When I get it out I'll be sure to clean it really well prior to attempting it again.

On second thought, after this, which is my first stuck case, reloading has just become too difficult and a PITA. I think that I'm just going to sell everything. THWI!!!! lol
 
hose them down with one shot as noted, and let them dry well.

i use one of the plastic shoeboxes from walmart (the 88 cent jobs), toss a bunch of brass in, spray, shake, spray, shake, spray, shake. let them dry util all the liquid evaps and you're good to go.

even applied heavily i still get > 4000 cases lubed per can so i feel theres no need to be cheap with it.

i know there cheaper options out there (homemade lanolin mixes) but i have no problems with lubing 4 cases per penny in my world just for the convenience factor!
 
Quote: On second thought, after this, which is my first stuck case, reloading has just become too difficult and a PITA. I think that I'm just going to sell everything. THWI!!!! lol


Don't give up yet, Chad.
grin.gif
Just about everyone has to stick ONE case. I stuck mine in the '50's, made a case extractor (5 min. on the lathe or just use a socket/washer) which sits in the drawer. I did use it once more before I learned to let HOS dry well before use (my first experience w/one shot
lol.gif
). Also didn't clean conventional lube from die before switching to HOS.

Anyway, you're only about 5 minutes away from extracting your stuck case and you'll be good to go for another half century of carefree reloading.
smile.gif


Regards,
hm
 
Yeah, from what you guys are saying, and from how I've been doing it, I don't think that I allowed HOS to dry properly. That's definitely a lesson learned. Now, after running to Lowe's after work, I'll always have the necessary tools on hand to deal with it.

Let me ask you this, since I sprayed them last night, will that layer of spray still be good or should I hit them again before resizing tonight?
 
It appears that you can take the man out of the infantry but you just can't take the Grunt out of the man.

Have you ever heard that a Chem light is the best tool for a Grunt? It's because you have to break it to get it to work.

Long story short, I'm in need of a new 223 Resizing die.
 
Originally Posted By: TheBig1I think that I'm going to get the Lee Ultimate 4 Die Set. Apparently you don't need to lube the cases with these die.

On the FULL LENGTH Die you MUST still lube. On the COLLET NECK sizing die you do not. In an AR15 you must full length size for safety and reliable chambering and operation. Neck sizing only in an AR is a big no no. On a bolt obviously it is not an issue.

Greg
 
That's OK. Additionally the labeling of some with TC can also fool guys into thinking it's tungsten carbide but it is really taper crimp. Even Tungsten carbide rifle dies need lube. There is no free lunch in full length resizing.

Greg
 
The 2 cases I got stuck before all had something in common.. They seemed a lot tougher to go up in the die, So when that happens now I just throw that brass away.. And out of about 1000 pieces of brass I thrown one away since the 2 stuck pieces and have not got one stuck since.. Dan
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooterThey are good to go. That lube will stay lube for a long time.

Greg

+1 to that.

i process my brass in large lots. sometimes i get distracted and dont get back to it for days. no problems... HOS stays put once its there.
 
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