Don't know how I did it but when trying to de-prime some recently once fired 450-400 3 1/4" NE Hornady brass for a upcoming hunt the brass got stuck as I was sizing/depriming. There is about 1/8" of the base sticking out of the bottom. I've tried pulling on it with pliers, taking the rod out so I can stick something in and hammer it. Rod moves freely but won't clear the case mouth. I'm at a loss and think I might have to order a new sizer.

RCBS makes a very effective stuck case remover. I have had one for years and have gotten a lot of use out of it.

One other possibility is to cover case and die with dry ice. With both the brass of the case and the steel of the die retracting from the intense cold, there is a good chance the case will come free.

I'm assuming you pulled the rim off and left the solid head of the case in tact.

Put the die in a bench vise and drill the end out and tap it 1/4-28. (#3 drill works fine)
(Pull the expander button and decapping pin as far forward as they will go so they don't snag the drill)

Then find a large nut or short piece of pipe, ect,,something that will fit over the case head but will butt up against the bottom of the die body.
1/2 " in length is fine.

Take a 1/4-28 hex head bolt and a steel washer that both fits the bolt & is big enough to span that piece of pipe or the large nut that you found in the step above.

Place the nut/piece of pipe over the end of the die,,screw the bolt with washer into the case that is now threaded thru the end and tighten it down.
You now have a jack screw in place to pull that stuck case out.
With the die securely in the vise,,turn the bolt w/a wrench tightening it and it'll draw the case out of the die.
Sometimes they almost slide right out,,sometimes they really take some serious cranking and make a loud snap when they come free from the die.

Not done yet!

Once the case is free of the die,, you'll only be able to remove it as far as the expander trapped inside will allow you to. It won't go passed the case neck inside/

Remove your jack screw bolt,,pull the case out as far as it will come and put the case in the vise. Then hack saw the end of the case off.

Now the expander & rod can be removed thru the bottom of the open case and the rest of the case removed from the die.
Clean up the die and inspect.

Put the drill, tap, nut and washer in a little box and on the shelf for the next time. If you reload enough,,there will be a next time!
Use enough case lube..

Thank you for replying, I have to order the stuck case remover. I started to drill it out last night at work but did not have the right tools. Will try again tonight along with the dry ice. They just happen to have a dry ice machine at work.

Thanks again

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by #1 of 13:
Thank you for replying, I have to order the stuck case remover. I started to drill it out last night at work but did not have the right tools. Will try again tonight along with the dry ice. They just happen to have a dry ice machine at work.

Thanks again

Mike

The expansion coefficient of steel is about 13 ppm/C, brass is more like 17 ppm/C. The brass will shrink more than the steel going from 25C room temperature to dry-ice chilly.

Send it to me and I will remove it for you, drama free.

#7 drill
1/4 20 tap
washer
deepwell socket
long 1/4 20 bolt

add in YouTube

Mike:
Not to hurt your feelings any. But, there's only one way to stick brass like that. "lack of lube!!!" You missed one, that's all it takes.

I was going to say the same thing Ted did. Get a socket that fits over the case head. Drill it out to just under 1/4" and tap it 1/4"x20 thd.
Use a washer and allen screw, or any bolt that size. All you need is 1/4" space under the socket. Just takes a touch to snap it loose.

Unscrew the ball and take the top part out. Once the case is out, a pair of dikes, or tin snips to the case mouth will open it up to get the expanding ball out.

No way in hell of doing so otherwise, you'll end up wrecking the die.

Just about everyone of us that have been doing it very long have done the same thing. I honestly believe I invented this cup puller they're selling. Back in early 1958 I had the same problem and made one. Worked so well I made another and sent it to Herter's. Never got a reply. The very next catalog had them listed. They hadn't until then.

Over the years when I've had a lathe I've made a hundred for guys just to get back at 'em for screwing me over.

Have fun, but, lube those cases!! Imperial wax is the very best.

George

quote:

Originally posted by #1 of 13:
Thank you for replying, I have to order the stuck case remover.

Just did this myself a few weeks ago with some 470 brass. Was in a rush and didnt lube a case. The RCBS tool was a quick and painless answer. Thankful for amazon and their second day delivery....

i expect we've all stuck a case or three

I prefer simple.
I take the decapping rod out, by force if necessary.
I have hardened punches, and stick the correct size in, and knock the crap out of it.
It only needs to move a little..Done.
I have had more stuck by using the incorrect shell holder, than lube. Measure a few different brands of the same size, and you will be surprised at the difference.

Strange, I've beat on 'em, twisted with a 12" pipe wrench on the head, soaked in WD-40 for days and done it again several times.

Never have gotten a case unstuck without pulling out with a bolt hole tapped in the primer hole.

I have wrecked a die once though before I drilled a hunk of steel with a hand drill the first time as mentioned above.


PS: Lee, how long have you been in LC?
George

I, like some others here, use the RCBS tool. It's handy, easy to use and isn't all that expensive.

quote:

2152hq
one of us

samething i do... what 215hq said..

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
#7 drill
1/4 20 tap
washer
deepwell socket
long 1/4 20 bolt

add in YouTube

This is exactly how I do it.

I went 30 some odd years before I stuck one, but have stuck several since.
I made my own stuck case remover so it is pretty simple, but irritating to get started resizing again.
Unless the case is sticking out a lot one should not need a deep well socket, I find once it moves any, then it is no longer stuck.

I have always used 1/4-20 because I do not have any 1/4-28 bolts.
Keep saying I will get a couple because that give much more metal to metal (or thus it seems) contact to improve the chances of successful removal.
Always worked so I never bothered to Improve my kit!

That's all great & normal procedure, but what if the case head separated & is left in the shell holder & the body is stuck in the die ?

quote:

Originally posted by 375sunrise:
That's all great & normal procedure, but what if the case head separated & is left in the shell holder & the body is stuck in the die ?

This has only happened to me twice, the first time I sent it to RCBS and they removed it and replaced the decapping pin and expander ball and the decapping pin threaded shaft and shipped it to me free.
The second one I ran a tap in the remainder of the brass case and pulled it out with a bolt as described above.

375S:
Never had that happen except in a rifle.
Pulled the bolt and used a tap that fit just right inside the case. Came right out and only happened one time.

That was with a .303 British I bought the first wife way back in mid '60's, got some cases that were starting to separate and never knew about such things til some came apart. Didn't take long to learn though.

Give a tap a try. You might stick it in the freezer over night too. Sometimes the temp change is all it takes on such different metals.

George

Thank you all for your suggestions. Luckily I have a spare set of died for some reason and was able to reload my ammo before leaving for Zimbabwe. When I get back I'll take a picture and post it with the whole story. I did buy the stuck case remover but it was too late, my impatient nature may have done me in. I'm use to being called all sorts of names so I will be prepared.