Stuck Case Removal

[John MH]

Suffered a case stuck in a resizing die a few weeks back, first time in over 35 years reloading ammunition. Tried several methods to remove it which included amongst other things a hammer and punch and a spell in the freezer for the die but all to no avail.

Bought two stuck case removers, a Forster kit and an RCBS kit. Forster kit was unsuitable and the actual 'stuck' case remover is just a round ended punch which you are supposed to hammer, the other parts of the kit are to allow you to remove the decapping stem and expander ball from Forster type dies. The RCBS kit included a drill bit, tap and bolt which worked well, case gets trashed but not the die but you do need to hold the die tightly as a lot of torque was needed to pull the case free.

I've now got something that I hope I never need again but will be keeping it.

[Reecy]

You have been very lucky then-only one stuck case in a lifetime 

the rcbs kit does the job well

i find that when I get a case stuck, it's because I haven't waited long enough for the alocohol in the lube to evaporate leaving just the lubricant element left on the case and so there is not enough space for the very thin lubricant film and it jams the case in the die-I always curse myself but 5 minutes spent with the rcbs stuck case remover and it's time to start again

note to self-don't be so impatient 

atb

[Re-Pete]

A can of freezer spray sometimes works. (used to get it from Maplin's....it's used for finding faulty electronic components)

Strip the die as far as possible, warm the whole thing up in boiling water, then squirt the spray into the stuck case. If you're lucky, the brass will shrink a tad and come out.

Pete

[The Gun Pimp]

8 hours ago, John MH said:

Suffered a case stuck in a resizing die a few weeks back, first time in over 35 years reloading ammunition. Tried several methods to remove it which included amongst other things a hammer and punch and a spell in the freezer for the die but all to no avail.

Bought two stuck case removers, a Forster kit and an RCBS kit. Forster kit was unsuitable and the actual 'stuck' case remover is just a round ended punch which you are supposed to hammer, the other parts of the kit are to allow you to remove the decapping stem and expander ball from Forster type dies. The RCBS kit included a drill bit, tap and bolt which worked well, case gets trashed but not the die but you do need to hold the die tightly as a lot of torque was needed to pull the case free.

I've now got something that I hope I never need again but will be keeping it.

Not the 33XC by any chance John?  Just had a similar experience  - 30 odd years without a stuck case........

[John MH]

It was, more lube required.

[Andrew]

I have a brass plaque in my reloading room which reads "NO SWEARING!"

Underneath it says "...unless you stick a case"

~Andrew

[Re-Pete]

Getting a stuck case in your favourite custom F-Open rifle as a result of head separation takes swearing to a whole new level...................

Pete

[Andrew]

4 hours ago, Re-Pete said:

Getting a stuck case in your favourite custom F-Open rifle as a result of head separation takes swearing to a whole new level...................

Pete

Yup.~Andrew