I was reloading my 222 Remington brass last night and must not of put enough lube on the brass when I was decapping and sizing .To make a short story shorter I have a stuck case.How do I remove it?Thanks in advance.

Need more info...

What kind of dies?

Is the die still in the press?

Is the case hanging on the expander ball, or is the case body stuck in the die?

Dan

yotecaller,
Been there-done that. I now have a RCBS stuck case remover. I bought it right after I stuck the first case. I think I've used it once in over forty years since then. It's an easy keeper and I don't have to clean stall after it. It is also well worth its cost. Contains everything but the drill. Good luck.

They are RCBS dies.I took the die out of the reloader and took the decapping rod out so it`s just stuck in the sizeing die.

BigBob hit the nail on the head.
I have stuck 1 case since I started reloading and bought a RCBS stuck case remover and have only used it that one time. It worked great.

If you don't want to use the case remover use the heat wrench. get the die hot enough and the case will let loose.

You could pour in some Cerrosafe then punch it out. Save your expander ball that way.

Take the die to your local gun shop. They will should have a stuck case remover. The smith did my pops quick as a wink and didn't charge a penny. I bought one shortly after dad stuck a case. I think I've used it once since then, but I can't quite recall.

Turok

I recently broke the decapping pin and got a case stuck in my 300RUM resizing die. The gunsmith around here wanted $10-$12 to take it out (not counting the pin replacement). Hell, I can get a new one for 16 or 17. Anyway, I called RCBS just to see what I should do and they said send it back and we'll replace it for free, even though it was completely my fault. Their customer service is fantastic! There's a string on here somewhere that details many similar stories. If you don't need it right away, you may want to check out that option as well.

You can pick up all the material you need to make a "Stuck Case Puller" @ the local hardware store for about $1.00 and 15 minutes time @ the work bench (about all you will need is a drill, bits for 1/4"x20 tap and 1/4" clearance, 1/4"x20 tap, a hack-saw, file, some loc-tite and a pair of small channel locks.

At the hardware store, purchace a 1/4"x1/8" pipe bell reducer, a 1/8" pipe close nipple. a 1/4" flat washer, 1/4"x20 nut and a 1/4"x20 bolt about 2" long that has "full length" threads. If you cant get a fully threaded bolt, use a piece of "all thread", or, if you have a 1/4"x20 die, thread the bolt to a minimum of 1 5/8" of thread.

Thread the close nipple into the bell reducer, (use loc-tit) cut off the excess and file flush.

Drill the nipple out to clearance the 1/4"x20 bolt. Useing another case, check that the case head will clear the threads in the large end of the bell reducer. Clamp a 1/2" drill bit in the vice and turn the bell reducer down onto it by hand if need be.

That's it! You now have a "Stuck case puller" that will work for cases up to .473" head size. For bigger case head sizes counterbore the large end of the bell reducer.

To use your new "Stuck case puller", after backing out the expander ball as far as possible, carefully drill out the primer pocket and tap for 1/4"x20 threads.

Place the large end of the bell reducer over the case head. Thread the nut all the way up the 1/4"x20 bolt, place the flat washer on the bolt, insert the bolt into the small end of the bell reducer and thread it into the previously tapped "stuck case" head.

Make sure the bolt is threaded all the way into the case head engaging all of the threads and then some.

Now all you have to do is tighten the nut down against the bell reducer. The shoulder of the large end will butt up against the die body and the bolt will now pull the "stuck case" into the bell reducer.

This works on the same priciple as the "store boughten" version @ a fraction of the cost.

The most important thing is that you can run to town, get what you need and be back in business in hours instead of days.

[ 12-24-2002, 01:09: Message edited by: wildcat junkie ]

Thanks for all the replies.

IMHO, every reloader should own the RCBS stuck case remover. Sooner or later we all do it. Most people that load for several different cartridges do it several times in their life. Different dies and such often take different degrees of lube...and if you short change one..look out.

Also, I have NEVER ruined a decaping pin or the rod in the process of getting a case out. Simply UNSCREW the expander ball and leave it loose in the case while you extract the brass from the dies. Then you can cut one end off the brass and get your expander ball back.

I want you to explain to me how you took the decaping rod out if the case is stuck??? Can't be done I don't think...the expander ball will not come out the top....

While I have never got one stuck I could get the decapper out by locking the nut against the stem and then threading the bushing out of the die. If the threads of the bushing are courser than the threads on the expanding button then the stem may have to be turned counterclockwise with a pliers. In any case the expanding button will stay in the case and the decapping rod will then pull out.

At that point I think I could get a long heatreated drive out pin in there and hammer the case out.

Put the most case lube around the base of the case. Thats where they stick.

On one particularly bad night I stuck cases in both my .338 Win. Mag. and .375 H&H dies.

Out of desperation I ordered 3 different stuck case removers. Two (Forster and one RCBS model) supposedly required yanking the expander ball through the neck--impossible in my case since the neck was in the sizing die, which of course was the whole problem. I'm still trying to figure those out.

The other was the trusty RCBS which contains various taps & dies and a drill bit and worked just fine. Save yourself some heartburn, throw away their drill bit and use a good one. I used a Bosch, fractional size just a hair bigger than the one in the RCBS kit, worked fine 3 times now.

Nowadays if a case feels sticky going into the die, I pull it out right away and squirt some more lube on the pad!

I don't think a lube pad will distribute lube in the best way. I put the lube on with my fingers and I put the most lube around the base of the case and almost none near the shoulder.

I have never had a case stick in any die and I have been handloading since 3/53. I wipe out all FL dies before I start sizing to make sure there is no built up lube inside that might cause lube dents. The first case into a cleaned out die requires the most lube of course.

Three of my rifles have wildcat cartridges that require 3 form dies each, a cut off die and a neck reaming die. For instance one reduces a 7mm Rem Mag to a .224 cartridge that's only 2.0" long!

Ray--

To remove the decapping rod you unscrew it from the die and pull up so that the expander ball is stuck in the neck of the case and wont turn. Unscrew the rod and remove it from the die. After the case is pulled from the die saw it in half and recover the expander.

I seem to have done that a LOT.