Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Case head separation

Had to happen sooner or later... what’s the best way to get the remaining brass out of my chamber?

I carry a .45 cal wire brush on the end of a cleaning rod in my pack. It usually pulls a bad case right out.

Thanks Tim

The brass brush works well, the separated portion of the case is not stuck in the chamber very hard.

If it's stuck tight plug the bore just ahead of the case neck with a ball of paper and pour the case full of melted lead. Then tap it out with a cleaning rod.
Jerry

I have a stuck case remover for 30-06 that resembles a cartridge . it fits into the stuck case and some little grapple hooks pop out in front of the mouth. only ever used it once in 50 years but the extractor pulled the whole shebang right out. or you could tap it out with a rod from the muzzle. made by lyman if'n I remember right.
also works on 308.

Put the whole thing in the freezer overnight. Should fall right out in the AM.

I have hand threaded a brass wood screw into the stuck cartridge body, then I could pull it out with my fingers, or tap it out with a cleaning rod. It's only happened to me a couple times with 20x-firred re-formed 219 zipper brass. It's best to keep your over used brass under your reloading bench..., in the recycling bucket. Why risk case failure when you're touching off an explosion 3" in front of your eye?

OK, got the stuck case remover and no joy. Dont want to do the lead thing, any other ideas?

Tried brass brushes, no joy. Tried everything I can think of and nothing.

Any other ideas? Freezer is not big enough, plus its full of food...

Gunsmith? It is possible to split the cse with a riffler and a chisel, raise an edge, and pull it out. Also possible to use a tap like an easy out. Very easy to ruin a barrel either way. In fact it's hard not to. Better to employ someone who is good at such things.

Cerrosafe...

https://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=cerrosafe&ksubmit=y&dym=y


I've used it for years... Works like a champ.. No muss, no fuss, NO damage to anything...

I've got more than few barrels I had to pull because the owner attempted such home remedies and badly scored the chamber walls. I like the cerosafe idea much better.

I agree on the Cerrosafe, it is easy to use. I definitely would not even get close to my barrel or chamber with any kinds of cutting tool!
Phil

Well sure, all kinds of better methods, Brownell;s kinks books are full of them. Which every good gunsmith should have read.Which is why I said "gunsmith." Besides those fellas gotta feed the dog too. But cutting and dragging the thing out can work if you're very good at what you're doing. Practice when it happens to a sizing die.

I'd hoped that would have served as a warning if someone, somewhere, recommended it. There are lotsa things I can do but hire out because the other guy does it better, faster and probably cheaper in the long run, And hopefully he'll return the favor.

Can't you just shove a large brush in the chamber/case (20 ga or 12 ga) with a short pistol rod and then come in from the muzzle with a rod or dowel and tap the "stuck" brush out? Thinking a bronze brush will stick good when reversing direction.

Have one in 308 and 30-06, must when you shoot a M1A, or Grand

Nope. Tried it

Thanks Lee, how is this used?

Grace makes a nice set of gunsmith picks. Wonder if you can use a right angle pick to dig into the brass (they have a sharp point) and twist and turn and pull? Maybe squirt kroil in there too?

No, besides risk of slipping and scratching the chamber, you're not pulling straight back. Pulling on one side wants to tilt what you're pulling on and increases friction. Why dual extractors in shotguns are preferable.

I'm still waiting to hear if the brush trick worked. If not I;d say gunsmith time. If a manufactured extractor isn't on hand (spendy for one time use) the Cerrosafe method is up next. Besides probably having it on hand (still not cheap for a one time effort) you're smith has probably done it before and is not so likely to make a mess of it.

I hesitate to add, but to be complete, there's also the epoxy method. Make a plug in the broken part with epoxy and bounce 'er out. Don't know about you guys but I'd be damned embarrassed if that plug ended up glued in the chamber. Not recommended for mere mortals!