I was resizing some virgin Remington brass for my 375 RUM when this happened...



I lowered the handle, cartridge entered smoothly in the sizing die, I lowered the handle and nothing... I was like, what the heck, kind of felt to easy... I looked and discovered the case stuck in my die. Upon inspection I found that the shell holder had ripped the rim right off the base of the cartridge. The case was lubed as always with Redding sizing wax. The inside of the neck also got lubed. Thought I would share this since its a first for me.

Maurice

Maurice

I've seen more often then I care to. Most often I run a 45 acp case into a 45 auto rim set up.
I've also done it using spray on lubes with my 25 06 brass.
I threw the spray out and bought a quart of STP and have not had that problem again.

Jim

Thanks arkypete. Good to know it does happen. The sizing wax is great. I never had any issues with it and a little goes a long way

Never



Cal30

Let's see

Small rimless cases AKA .223
Wrong Shell holders
New FL sizing dies with preservatives on the interior
Spray lubes in particular
Not enough of any lube in general
Really tight FL sizers (Lyman comes to mind)
Brass fired in grossly oversize chambers
Dirty corroded brass

All the above will contribute to making little horseshoes out of case rims.

I always thought for some strange reason that brass would of been much stronger. My bad.

Throw out all the case lubes you have and buy
some Imperial Die Wax. Then live happily
everafter.

Happened to me once. If you don't have a tool for removing stuck cases, get one from RCBS. They work.

i think that anybody who has loaded their own for any length of time as run across this more than once. soak it down with penetrating oil 1st then try rotating it so the shellholder has something to grab onto. If that doesn't work then a case extractor, after leaving it in the freezer overnight. last resort is to get a hardened brass chisel and cut down the side of the case

After soaking, heat with a heat gun, the try to turn it so the shell holder can get a grip.

If you have to mechanically remove it it isn't that bad. I actually made a case removal tool myself out of desperation. Later found something similar that was available comercially. My Dad still has it in a drawer on his reloading bench.

Since then I have had need a couple times, and having still not purchased one have come up with a easy way to pull them.
Remove the decapping rod from the stuck case. You may have to get a little creative to pull the expaner through the neck, but it's do-able.
Remove the die from the press, thread it back in upside down so the case head faces up. Tap (cut threads) the case through the primer pocket with a 1/4-20 tap. Set a large nut ( big enough for thr case to pull through but not so big the die fits in it) over the die put a washer or two over a bolt long enough to pass through the nut and into the case. Hold the nut with a tool of your choice and thread the bolt into the case. I use a 1/4 drive ratchet. The bolt bottoms against the washers and nut and as you tighten it it will draw the case out. It takes longer to set up than to draw the case out.
This meathod avoids scratching anything up with power tools or hammers & chisels.

First off, I am using Imperial sizing wax. Redding is the company that distributes it now. Secondly, the case was removed from the die without to much fuss. The thing which surprised me the most was the fact that the shell holder ripped the bottom of the case right off. I will try to take another picture with a better camera.

Here's the part that gets me. You said it's new virgin brass. That means it "should" have been sized from the factory. Often you can run virgin brass into a sizer die to just straighten out dented case mouths without any lube on them. That's the part that amazes me is that you stuck a virgin piece of brass with lube on it. As for Imperial wax, it's one of the best case lubes around so I feel that it not the cause at all. I like what SR4759 said..."wrong size shell holder". This is especially true of LEE shell holders as they are, in my opinion, generic is size. RCBS and REDDING make specific shell holders. They don't use one shell holder, like LEE, to handle a wide variety of calibers. Don't get me wrong many calibers share the exact same size case head dimensions, but LEE goes over board with it.

You are correct Smoking. I ran the brass in my sizer because Rem brass always has dented mouths in their lots. As far as the shell holder it's a Lee (I think) #5. I have used it to load over 1500 RDS of 375 H&H ammo and now around 150 RUM cases without any problems.

That shouldn't have happen then in my opinion. Factory virgin brass in my opinion should have the same dimensions as the factory loaded ammunition except for the neck area because then a bullet would be present and the neck will be slightly larger then.

Seen it? Done it! With 270 Winchester. Inadequate lubrication.

Easy answer just tap the case through the flash hole and use a bolt of same diameter with a "cup" over the die and that case will be drawn right out.

Look at a picture of the RCBS Stuck Case Remover and see what it is.

Don't try to tap the case out as sometimes you'll knock the head off the case.

Give Remington customer service a contact. It will be helpful to send them this picture and have the Lot# of the brass. If there's a fault in the brass it could lead to more problems.

If the rim ripped off that easy and the case was lubed, what would have happend in the field on a cold day when you needed a follow-up shot?

I'm thinking of doing just that actually, calling big green just in case. It could of been a screw-up on my part, however It's doubtful...