Had head seperation yesterday in my 7-30 Waters Contender.I am looking for advice on pulling the case without buggering up the Chamber.Think an easyout might work??????Any suggestions sure would be appreciated.Thanks ahead OB

A wire brush slightly larger than the case ID can be used.....insert the brush forcing the wires to bend backward and then retrieve the brush. The wires act as a thousand grabbers and retract the case.

Another way is to remove the barrel and put some wadded up paper or cloth up in the neck of the case. Then you can either pour some lead or some epoxy into the case and drive it out with a cleaning rod.

I've used an easy-out to remove the remains of a case from the chamber of my .35 Whelen. It worked just fine.

But before I did it, I took an intact case and cut the head off at the same point that the stuck case separated. I experimented with the easy-out sizes so as to use the right one. I put the easy=out on a socket extension and GENTLY inserted it in the chamber and gave it a slight counter-clockwise twist-just enough to engage the brass. I then dropped a cleaning rod down the barrel to knock the case/easy-out loose.

#1). Especially since it is a T/C product, take the barrel off and leave it in the coldest freezer you can find for couple hours... With cold things contract. Half case MIGHT fall out. (If you are that lucky, play the lotto tooooo).

#2). The fat, oversized brass or plastic (how tight is the case anyway) brush is also a very good idea from being safe. A wrap of steel or brass wool might help... Again, don't penetrate the brass and the chamber is safe...

#3). How good are your hands? fingers? manual dexterity? (I try to avoid this sort of work. I am "not.") That easy out takes a "touch" or you bugger the chamber...

As suggested, plug the barrel and pour in molten lead, cerrosafe, epoxy, let it harden and you should be able to tap out the "mass" without danger to the chamber. Brass drill rod is handy for this. Wood dowel. Just don't go down the barrel with a steel rod and expect no damage...

#4). Easy outs work fine, but, BUT... if you have a fine thread bolt of the correct size, you could screw it in, GENTLY, with less risk to the chamber wall, get a grip in the brass and tap it out.

#5). I wouldn't think easy out until I had exhausted the above, but I am not a super handy machinist/tool worker, etc. luck.

Just cut the neck off of a fired case.
Push the fired case into the stuck case lightly and it should extract it with a cleaning rod.

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:
Just cut the neck off of a fired case.
Push the fired case into the stuck case lightly and it should extract it with a cleaning rod.

Sounds like a good idea!

Failing that ....

quote:

Easy outs work fine, but, BUT... if you have a fine thread bolt of the correct size, you could screw it in, GENTLY, with less risk to the chamber wall, get a grip in the brass and tap it out.

Just use a brass screw or bolt of the right size.

I've just gone to pluging the bore just forward of the chamber then filling the chamber with cerosafe. Then after it has set up a minute or so later knock it out from the muzzle end with a cleaning rod. Using lead would work as well I just like the cerosafe because the melting temp is much lower.

Now that you have the case removed, figure out what you did to the brass that caused the seperation. Excessive sizing, moving the shoulder too far back at each reloading is usually the cause.

I am somewhat hesitant to suggest this but here goes. In lieu of the EZ-out, which by the way when inserted into the case, will screw itself into the case and make it tighter. I would measure the case OD at the web, say for instance a 308, and take a tap that is under that size, insert into chambmer very carefully and tap with cleaning rod from muzzle end. Works for me!

Along the lines of the freezer trick, you can drop a bit of dry ice into the remaining case, it should contract and will occasionaly fall free on its own or usually with a bit of gentle persuasion on the case mouth.

Well guys what I did was make a tapered brass screw on my lathe.Screwed it in and tapped it out.I would have used a tap as suggested if I would have read that before.Being of part German Stock and natural being cheap.I used new 30-30 cases and necked them down to 7mm and fireformed them.I was working on the fourth load on then and it was too much for the case to handle.I wonder if the Fed 7-30 brass holds up better or is of stouter construction than the 30-30 brass????Thanks for all the good ideas,I appreciate everyone who tried to help me.OB

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:
Had head seperation yesterday in my 7-30 Waters Contender.I am looking for advice on pulling the case without buggering up the Chamber.Think an easyout might work??????Any suggestions sure would be appreciated.Thanks ahead OB

I used to get case separations with a 6x45mm, used a 1/4-20 tap to get the neck ouf of the chamber.

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:
...... make a tapered brass screw ......I would have used a tap as suggested if I would have read that before.......too much for the case to handle.......

Brass is best - no risk of damage to the chamber or bore. The tap will work but one has to be very careful. Those things are sharp and one slip ..... !

Regarding what caused the separation in the first place, do you dry your cases with solvent or detergent after resizing? I ask this because I too had head separation problems until an armourer suggested not removing the lube from the cases completely. That was 25 years ago - and I still use the same cases. This is a controversial topic I know, but I am convinced that dry cases can, and probably do, cause a lot more bolt stress than lubed cases ever will. Many people actually inadvertently lube their loaded cartridges to some degree. I have done tests and have found that virtually no amount of lubing will prevent case grip in the chamber. What it does do is prevent excessiveexcessive case grip - that condition which results in failed cases, punctured primers and case elongation. And also locking lug overload! But let me define cartridge lubing - a thin smear of waxy substance or sizer lube or even a polished case, would pass as lubed. Excessive lubing is a no-no.

Check out Varmint Al's website.

When I fireform cases I use WD40.Otherwise i have been tumbeling them after sizeing.I will try a small amount of lube and see what happens.OB

Just heard this the other day. Put a can of WD40 in the freezer. Heat your barrel up, squirt the cold WD into the chamber. The case will fall out.

Be sure you get all traces of WD 40 out of your case before you load it or it will contaminate the powder or primer in a hurry.