Stuck my first case

[edfardos]

So I finally didit, after 1000's of rounds, i stuck a 30'06 case in the sizing die and stripped the rim off. I tried the tap/die/screw/socket trick, but the threads stripped out the flashole. I managed to get the decapping mandrel out of the top of the die, leaving just the expander ball inside the brass. After a lot of failed attempts i jammed an appropriately sized alen wrench through the top of the die and started pounding on the top of the expander ball, which eventually pushed the stuck brass out of the die.

The expander ball did not fare well. The very top of it was flared outward and i had to drill the thread hole just a bit to get the mandrel to rethread. I took the flare off the top of the ball with a dremel, being careful to leave some of the precision surface untouched around the circumference. After some sanding and polishing, it looked pretty darn good, but the precision surface presumably expanded a couple thousands (.308" total). I ran some brass through the die, and it was really tough to pull the expander ball through the neck, so I slowly reduced the diameter of the ball by chucking it in a drill and turning it down with some sand paper. At .306" it felt normal again when I sized brass, and normal when i seated bullets.

So having said all that, is .306" the right diameter for a 30'06 expander ball? I'm really into target shooting, so I want to make sure I have the right neck tension. I put a new die on order while mucking with this, but it'd be nice to have two fully working RCBS 30'06 sizing dies.

curiously,
-edfardos

 

[DeletedMember275]

RCBS die? The one time I stuck a case and couldn't get it out, I boxed it up and sent it to RCBS and they removed it for free.

I would just buy a new expander plug, personally, if any doubt exists about diameter.

 

[gerryb158]

30:06, oh yeah, if it's going to get stuck that one will do it! I've sent dies (30:06) back to RCBS and Redding with totally destroyed cases in them and received great service in return. There are special tools to remove stuck cases, but what-the-heck, it only happens once-in-a-while! Right? Gerry

 

[cellar701]

When it's happened to me and I stripped the threads out of the primer/flash hole I just go to the next larger tap/screw/socket and start over again, (using the proper drill size of course). I've found there's lots of room to go larger, and in my experience the next size up usually pops it right out. I normally use stacks of washers which slide over the base of the stuck case, but a socket or something similar appropriate to the length of screw you are using works too!

 

[Tommy Kelly]

I have a stuck case remover that was bought in 1968 through the years it has been used a few times parts have been misplaced and replaced with regular bolts and a stack of washers that has never failed me yet I have always managed to get the case out then take a dremel tool and cut it into to get the expander ball out without any damage so far. Just lucky I guess.

 

[Mobuck]

I've stuck a lot of 223 cases looking for a lube that will work w/o leaving residue. BTW There isn't one(that I've found anyway). That's why I use LEE dies for 223. Simply loosen the wedge nut that holds the decap punch and hammer on the decapper until the case comes out. I've had the RCBS stuck case remover fail and had to go to a larger thread. Actually, once I just threaded the shell base and used a punch through the case mouth on a 308 case a guy had really stuck.

 

[Sam Summey]

If you want to stick a .223 case use Hornady sprayon case lube. Spray it on wait a few minutes and ram the sucker home guaranteed to stick!

Now if you don't want one to stick use a lube pad with RCBS water soluable lube roll 6-10 cases on the pad dip the neck in graphite or molybdenum disulfide size away. Don't have to use too much of the case lube either too much leaves shoulder dents.

 

[mattsbox99]

I agree whole heartedly Sam!

Hornady case lube is total junk and doesn't even come close to RCBS Case Slick 2.

I only use Imperial Die Wax now though, I've never even had a remotely stuck case with that stuff, and it lasts forever. I'm going on 4 years with this tin and its about 1/4 gone.



With hornady lube, I got a .204 case stuck, and it was impossible for me to get out. I sent the die back to RCBS and they removed it. Now being extra careful, they very next case got stuck. Back to RCBS, coming back this time with a copy of the instructions highlighted that I needed to use case lube. Duh. I picked up the Imperial Die Wax and no more stuck cases.

 

[Sgt Garcia]

I’ve use Hornady one shot case lube for full length sizing everything from 22 hornet thru 458 Win Mag without problems. Works well if you follow directions.

Dennis.

 

[edfardos]

Just to follow up, and possibly close this thread, I ended up purchasing a new rcbs 30-06 die even tho I was able to repair the expander ball on the jammed die. Like I said earlier, the repeated hammering of the old expander ball gave it a big .3085" diameter and I sanded it down to .306". The brand new rcbs die that just arrived in the mail had an expander ball of .305" diameter. I made up 20 rounds using the new die, but since I was focused on neck tension, I noticed that i could shorten the overall length of the completed cartridge by simply dropping it on the bench a couple times, with the tip down (drop it about one inch), which shortened the round by .01". I'm also using boat tails, which means there's less friction surface, and I also use graphite inside my necks (draw a pencil line around the inside of every other cartridge, which makes for a smooth expander/seating process).

Is there an objective measurement for proper neck tension? do most rounds get shorter if you lightly tap the tip of the bullet on the bench. I wasn't able to push the bullet in our out with finger strength fwiw. Also using an kinetic bullet-puller required about four half-effort swings.

got me curious about proper neck tension now,
-edfardos

 

[Sam Summey]

Worse stickers are .223 Rem for me. My dis-enchantment with Hornady product happened while resizing about 2000 pieces of brass. I experienced about 10-20 stuck cases. That was 10 times more stuck cases than I had had in the prior 45 years of reloading.

 

[Rick Courtright]

got me curious about proper neck tension now,

Hi,

There MAY be an objective measurement for neck tension, but all I've seen are "bump test" kinds of suggestions.

You're gonna see folks say proper neck tension alone is sufficient for most uses. Others are gonna say rounds HAVE to be crimped. Personally, I'm a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy and have looked carefully at factory rounds of the calibers I load. The factory rounds all seemed to be crimped, and I'm not ashamed to admit they know a whole lot more about making ammo than I could ever hope to, so I follow their lead and crimp everything.

Does it HAVE to be done? I'm not gonna say for sure, but I HAVE had a couple of hunting rounds (rifle) sink in under recoil in a box mag before I started crimping. And I've tested uncrimped and crimped rounds--rifle and pistol--over the chrono. Crimped rounds were more consistent almost across the board.

But that's "in MY gun," so I crimp, using a Lee Factory Crimp Die... only testing, of YOUR loads, in YOUR gun, will tell you whether it's gonna be beneficial for YOU!

Rick C

 

[mattsbox99]

I've never crimped a rifle round, however the Lee FCD is the only way to do it. You can't crush a neck and you can't damage a bullet with it.