Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Help removing stuck case, please.

I had a head case seperation in my 35 Whelen, and I cannot get the case out. I've tried using a 50 cal bronze brush to remove it and failed, I also tried using a "hook" to grab the case mouth and pulling backwards. Any other ideas, is it something a 'smith can take care of?

Pull the barreled action from the stock. Carefully push a patch down the bore from the muzzle end to about the throat area. Clamp the barrel vertically in a padded vise, muzzle down and pour some Cerrosafe into the chamber as if making a chamber case. Carefully insert a polished rod into the muzzle end of the bore and knock the offending case out. Watch the crown! No Cerrosafe? Either obtain some, or hire the job done by a competent gunsmith.

A trick I tried several years ago for a stuck case that worked well was to use an Easy Out, the type used to back out a broken bolt. I found one that fit into the case a little ways and gently snugged it up. I popped the case out by running a cleaning rod in from the muzzle and a couple of gentle taps and it popped out. It is essential that you not over tighten the Easy Out so as to go through the brass case into the chamber. The Easy Outs are made to engage steel, they do it very well and would easily score your chamber. Be careful!!!

Mart

How to Extract a Broken Shell from a Rifle Chamber

Yup, just what Malm said...

One issue I have with the Midway/Potterfield video is their failure to use a crown protector when using just the brush to attempt to push out the case remains...

I have done a number of them using epoxy in lieu of cerrosafe. I use a syringe with a tube on it. Obviously, you don't want any leaking past. Once it sets up, tap it out with the biggest rod that will fit down the bore. I have a set of brass rods that are 1/4" and up for this. I don't have to use them much!

I have had cracked cases on my 7x57 due to full length resizing (changed that since...) and this my sure fire way to get a stuck case without and base. I get em' out under a minute 'cause I've had more practice than I care to talk about.

Get a tap the hole size of the case (without the base) and lightly screw it into the stuck case (with bolt removed) until you feel the tap teeth grip. Not so tight as if you were cutting threads - just a bite. I use a square socket on 1/4 drive.

Now here's the hard part...pass a cleaning rod from muzzle to case-once it touches the tap - give it a knock and your stuck case is out.

I went ahead and ordered the Cerrosafe, looks pretty straight forward. I mat try the tap procedure in the mean time though.
thanks.

You can save yourself time and trouble by inserting a rat-tailed file into the neck of the casing and screwing the file into the case neck until the file has plenty of bite into the brass. The case should come right out if the process is done properly. You want to do it right the first time so you don't remove too much brass from the inside of the case neck...

Are you serious???

cerrosafe is cheap easy and......safe

Absolutely!!!

I have a real hard time with sticking a rat tail file into one of my chambers under any circumstances other than to salvage a hunt or something when you have no other alternative.

I have removed literately dozens and dozens of stuck cases from Ruger carbines. We found that it would tear the head off Blazer aluminum cases 9 out of 10 times. I could almost always get a stuck case out with a 45 brush and a little kroil. All this other stuff is excessive for most applications.

If you suffer from palsy, this may hard to do. The case usually separates at the head nearest the bolt. The entire chamber is protected by the remaining brass casing. A rat tailed file inserted when the bolt is removed will do the job easier and faster than you think.

You don't use a drill, force or any other method that would harm the chamber. If you work on stuff with an 8 pound hammer, this may be a bit too much for you to do, but it does work and work well.

Did you use the .50 brush from the muzzle or breech?

Try running it in from the breech end. The bristles are supposed to bend backwards and catch on the case mouth.

I recently had the same problem with a very stuck case.

The fix was very simple. Same idea as the cerrosafe but I used some epoxy putty. Swabbed the case with some acetone. Mixed a ball of epoxy putty until it started to warm up. Pushed it into the case and let it set up for 10 minutes. Popped it out with a cleaning rod.

Yes I did, I have removed stuck cases with this method in the past.

As A 30 yr plus gunsmith, never stick anything in a barrel thats harder than it, Cerrosafe works about 95% of the time. Use a solid brass rod at a 1/4 in dia. you should be ok.

Might try putting the barrelled action in the freezer overnight, then try the bronze brush trick. Cartridge brass should shrink at a greater rate than barrel steel when cold.

I have a method that is similar to cerosafe. It's called "Automotive Body Putty." The body shop guys call it "dumbo." You use it the same way.

Go somewhere that sell supplies to auto bodyshops. They have a product that is called "body putty." It comes in a box and is in strips. It's layed in layers, and is stacked between waxed paper. It cost between five and ten dollars a box, and when made by 3M, comes in both black and white. It is placed in inside auto body seams befor they are painted.

Pull your bolt, and clean the inside of the cartridge case with some good degreaser on cleaning patches. Stick a good wad of paper tight into the case neck, and then fill the case with a wad of this sticky stuff. By pushing against the wad of paper from the muzzle with a blunt cleaning rod, or a blunt rod, the case should come right out.

FYI: I also use this stuff for filler when doing bedding jobs. I keep cerosafe on hand, but have never had to use it, or pull a barrel to get out a stuck case.

Good luck, and let us know what works for you.