Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing How to remove a stuck case/cartridge from chamber?

I made the mistake of trying to chamber a round that apparently had not been full length resized and was previously shot in a different rifle. Now it is stuck. I mean REALLY stuck. It was live/unfired and I tried to 'carefully' push/knock it out with a cleaning rod (no squib rod). At that point I wasn't sure if I had pushed the bullet all the way into the case or not and had even tried some WD40 in the barrel (followed by carb cleaner) so I tried to fire it remotely (gun in vise, string on trigger). Not 100% sure if the primer fired (hearing protection on from a distance) but it was well struck and the powder did not ignite. The powder may be inert at this point, who knows.
In any case, I presume my only option left is to take it to a smith and I guess they'll use something like this? http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=972/Product/STUCK-CASE-PULLER
Any other ideas?
It's a .243win case in a Vanguard that was previously shot in a 700 for added trivia.
Thanks.

bring it to a gunsmith safest and cheapist in the long run.

Ed

I presumed, just wanted to make sure there wasn't any other "do this first" things out there. Any idea what would be a ballpark charge for such?

Try putting some Kroil down the barrel and let it soak for a day or two and then try extracting it again. This stuff really gets into tight places and loosen it up .

More than one person has been killed pounding a stuck round
out. If you want to risk the primer still being live you can
use a snug fitting drill rod and a hammer. The best by far
is to go to a gunsmith.

You should thank your lucky stars it didn't actually fire.. Ye Gods..
Nope - just prudent advice - GET IT TO A GUNSMITH before you do anything else... And warn him/her about what you've done so far..

Sleep well folks. It's at a gunsmith's right now.

Good. Unscrewing a barrel ain't all that hard if you have the tools...

brownells stuck case remover. that is what most gunsmiths use.
if you unscrew the barrel you still have a stuck case. good luck

most stuck case removers only work on cases that the head separated from and not a live round stuck in the chamber. The Brownell has a collet that grips the case head and may work .

I had the same problem, a once fired 7mm Rem case resized to 257WM live round stuck in the chamber. I was going to update my tread on it today, since I am getting back from the smith today.
First I tried a cleaning rod down the barrel, did not work, I bought a Brownells stuck case remover but did not fit in a Vanguard action, as advised here, took it to a smith and he had to unscrew the barrel.

Really? Last conversation the smith had still not gotten it out. I was about to lose patience thinking I'd just get my rifle back and purchase the Brownells tool myself but I guess that's not an option.

Ya, they had the Vanguard listed as one that it would fit in but it is about a 1/32 larger in diameter then where the bold exits the reciever. It would have had to been turned down on a lathe.

that is the one i use, with the collet. i rigged it up to a slide hammer. it has never failed

Not trying to be a smart ass here. but what does a gunsmith do that I can't do? Is there a secret formula for removing stuck rounds? What do you do with it? Just trying to learn something. Butch

If the Brownel will fit, it is very simple, just get the collet over the back of the case rim, tighten the collet, and use the built in slide hammer, making sure the muzzle and back of the reciever is pointed in a save direction if a live round just in case of a discharge. My smith had to build special barrel blocks and unscrew the barrel to get mine out since the Brownels did not fit.

One of these stuck case remover should be all the hard to make.

that was my piont.. just buy the stuck case remover (not the broken shell extractor) kinda funny that was my first gunsmith project. gunsmiths wanted 100 dolars or more and gave me a line of bs all the crap about deep frezing and such. i called brownells and they said if there tool doesnt work send it back for a refund. that was about 25 years ago.

When faced with a cartridge which was well and truly stuck and could not be fired, I devised various methods of dealing with it.
I started by removing the barrel. If the bolt was still in the rifle and the extractor was engaged, the case would occasionally come out as the barrel was unscrewed. If it did not (the normal state of affairs), I would then slip an RCBS shellholder onto the cartridge- assuming there was enough cartridge protrusion to allow this- and using a pair of screwdrivers, pry the cartridge out. This was usually successful. If it was not and the rim tore off, this meant the job was going to be difficult.
One of the worst I encountered was a 338 built on a P14 action. The P14 has a lot of camming power but even so, it was not possible to close the bolt. It was possible to really stick that cartridge in there. The customer had, of course, tried to push the cartridge out with a rod and had shoved the bullet back into the powder space. The shellholder trick did not work and the rim did tear off. What to do?
I poured the barrel full of coolant (water soluble oil) then chucked it in the lathe. I carefully cut away the head of the case until the primer fell out then faced the brass of until I could get the powder out. I then bored the case until it was pretty thin and used a carefully shaped and polished chisel to collapse the brass and remove it. As I recall, I charged the customer 75 dollars for this and he was aghast the I would charge so much just for removing a stuck cartridge!
One old timer told me of just heating the head of the case with a propane torch until it fired and blew the head off. I have never posessed the stones to attempt this method! GD

I charged a customer $175.00 many years ago to remove a stuck round from his Ruger 77. Of course that price included removing the broken cleaning rod and jammed tip section of a fishing pole. The bore was unscathed so I felt the charge appropriate. I always charge extra if I have to drill a hole next to the primer so as to render it and the powder inert before the machine work.

There is little doubt I was too kind and still un appreciated! GD

God bless true experts. (When I need one the expertise is gladly paid for. Imagine trying to do your own root canal!)

The problem (apprently) is, per the previous poster, it will not fit the Vanguard receiver. Spoke with the smith, he still hasn't gotten it out. His next step is to attempt hydraulic pressure from the muzzle. If that doesn't work, the barrel is coming off. Initially I told him if he couldn't get it done for $50 (his hourly rate) I'd simply purchase the Brownell tool myself (before I knew it apparently won't fit) and attempt it myself. He said "No problem I'll keep it at that budget". He voluntarily reconfirmed that last night. I don't really care that much about the price as long as it's professionally done. That rifle has not a single scratch on it. I am a little concerned he doesn't even have that Brownell tool and I sure hope he has the proper tapered vise when he pulls the barrel as I suspect will be the final solution.
In any case, he's also replacing the firing pin on my dad's old 742. It won't fire about every 3rd shot or so. He said he's seen the firing pins get out of spec with some regularity and replacement fixes it. He's ordered a new one. I'd have figured the spring would lose tension before the pin would lose material.
For a few reasons I'm not feeling 100% confident but the proof will be in the pudding obviously.

CALL AND TALK TO BROWNELL TEC SUPPORT. THEY ARE VERRY HELPFUL PEOPLE. THEY WILL KNOW IF THAT COLLET WILL FIT OR NOT. I HAVNT USED MINE ON THAT ACTION.

This is what I have done in the past. Fill the barrel with motor oil and get a wood dowel and some o rngs on the dowel.And put the dowel in the barrel with the o ring at the crown and just bash the sh*t out of it. It will blow the stuck case to the ground.

Give it a try hope it helps

Well funny you mention that. He got the cartridge out using "hydraulic pressure" and made some comment about "you wouldn't believe how I do it". When I pick it up later this week (after he replaces the firing pin on the 742) I'll ask him but I suspect it's something very similar to what you described. Althought I though he mentioned transmission oil maybe? We'll see...
That gun just better NOT have a single mark on it...

A gunsmith I worked for was drilling beside the primer to make a hole to put oil in to deaden the powder when the primer went off. all it did was blow the primer out the powder never lit. He turned pale for a couple minutes and said to me am I still alive? I was watching to learn how to do it. I told him that was a good example as to what not to do.

Ya THINK??? What an idiot..

Geez..

Well, got my gun with the stuck loaded round back yesterday from the smith, he removed the barrel to get at it. Also found only one locking lug was contacting its mating surface and galled, the other one was just floating free, he took care of that. So for that and smoothing up the trigger and mounting the scope and he supplied the base and rings and test firing it was $187.00, I thought that was a bargain.

most guns only have 1 lug contact.

If you read all the posts you will see where another smith was doing the same thing. so it must be a common method , but not by me.

This is from an article/story in the first edition (1944) of Gun Digest.

Field Repairs for the Big Game Hunter by Clyde Baker.

Shell Stuck In Chamber.

"Not likely to happen. If it should, pour in a bit of Hoppe's at breech. Let stand 10 minutes, then pour in some more from the muzzle, and let stand for 15 or 20 minutes. Insert one piece steel cleaning rod from muzzle (you should never use any other kind, in the woods or anywhwere else), and gently tap with hammer. If shell doesn't move tap harder. If it still doesn't move, try the axe. If no success, remove barrel from stock, heat chamber portion over fire, and try again. Failing this, pack up, go home, and see your gunsmith."

I have read of several incidents where pounding on a loaded cartridge that is stuck, using a steel rod and a hammer causes the cartridge to fire.

The rod and hammer were used from the muzzle, sometimes with oil added, and sometimes dry. But in some cases, the powder ignighted and the cartridge fired.

I got to thinking, why would this practice cause either the primer or powder or both to ignite?

Could it be because of dieseling? I do know that high pressure will ignite diesel fuel, under some conditions, and this might be one of those conditions.

I do know that in a pellet gun, putting a small drop of oil either on the pellet or in the chamber, will cause the oil to ignite from the heat from the compressed air. You can actually hear the difference between a regular shot and the one with the oil. The oiled pellet is louder.

If it could happen in a pellet gun, it could also happen in a tightly sealed chamber.

This is not meant to be "how to remove a stuck cartridge",but
why does the powder ignite when it is soaked in oil or grease?

My guess, and it is only a guess, the diesel effect causes it to ignite. If so, then I would say that it is dangerous to pound on something flammable and which has a tight seal.

Maybe. Could be that there is powder in the flash hole and with a hammer you transmit enough force to crush the primer pellet. A modern primer is more impervious to oil than some think. Whichever, Darwin award stuff. Nitrocellulose particularly put up as a powder is pretty insensitive. Put a few grains on an anvil and whack at it.

Then there's the fire plunger which was an alternative to flint and steel. Tinder goes in the bottom of a closed tube, close fitting plunger cylinder inserted, and given a whack. "Close fitting" makes them tricky to make though.

I would probably submerge the whole thing under water before drilling a hole in it with an aircraft drill. I have seen some get hot and go off when I thought I was being plenty careful. I also agree that the primer- seated tightly, is pretty impervious to oils etc.

As for dieseling, if you put a few drops in and compress it tightly it might diesel. If you put an ounce in the barrel it cannot. No way to heat that much oil up with compression. Not sure the best method to seal the bore to effect a hydraulic pressure. Maybe a short, soft lead slug? To use O-rings, you would have to cut some rings in the end of your steel rod and hope the rubber stayed in them and still sealed the grooves. Then again, you might create enough pressure to get it out despite getting a face full of whatever you use for the liquid.

Well this ended about as poorly as I could have feared! http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6542701/Absolutely_furious#Post6542701
Thanks in advance to anyone that reads it and has any suggestions for a fix.

I see, in my original reply, that I neglected to insert the word 'GOOD' between "a" and "gunsmith"...

Sorry you found a butcher... It appears there are far more 'Bubbas' around than I feared..