Casing stuck in chamber, please help

[P.B.Walsh]

So for the 235 year anniversary I went out and shot with a couple of friends, we all had a blast (no pun intended), but I now have a stuck casing in my Remington 700. The casing is steel, so I belive that it just expanded a little too much.

I have tried to pull hard on my bolt, but I fear braking it, also tried tapping it loose with a cleaning rod, no luck there either, any other suggestions?

Thanks,
P.B.Walsh

 

[mnrivrat]

If the bolt will rotate to the unlocked position then use a brass rod just under the bore diameter from the muzzle end, and you can smack it pretty hard. Shoot some penitrating oil down the bore first.

If the bolt will not rotate to the opening position then shoot some good penitrating oil into the bore and where ever else you can, to get some between the case and chamber wall. Let soak and gently check it by tapping on the bolt handle until it rotates to the open position - then proceed with the brass rod.

Or - take it to the local Gunsmith

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Worked perfectly, thank you!

 

[arizona98tj]

The casing is steel, so I belive that it just expanded a little too much.

If you think about it, the case can expand no more than the chamber allows. Any cartridge would be restricted to this same limitation by the chamber dimensions.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Hmm very true, wonder what happened?

 

[ms6852]

Sounds like a high pressure round not loaded properly causing it to expand that much. Make sure the chamber was not damage with some form of scope if possible, just to be on the safe side.

 

[bigedp51]

P.B.Walsh

If you were shooting surplus ammunition with a steel case you should remember that the weapons this ammunition was designed for has a larger military chamber and this isn't the first time someone had a hard time extracting a fired case from a tighter commercial chamber.

Second, if you had any Hoppes or oil in the chamber the extra bolt thrust and case expansion could also cause your problem, remove all oil from your chamber and bore before firing your rifles.

 

[mnrivrat]

I'm not a fan of steel case ammo. A number of things could have caused your stuck case but they are mostly all related to the steel casing.

 

[Shadow 7D]

check your chamber, a poorly done one... with circular milling marks, or a VERY tight (well done) chamber can cause problems with certain ammo, also see if you have a build up, if the ammo was older/ certain manufactures it will be lacquered, which can melt and literally glue a spent case in your gun.

 

[Kliegl]

I'd love to see some numbers on that frictional case thing. Not doubting, since they are the Army and all, but, like the saying goes, In God We Trust, All Others Bring Data.

I'm sure it's valid, I'd just like to know by how much.

 

[christcorp]

check your chamber, a poorly done one... with circular milling marks, or a VERY tight (well done) chamber can cause problems with certain ammo, also see if you have a build up, if the ammo was older/ certain manufactures it will be lacquered, which can melt and literally glue a spent case in your gun.

No it can't. :banghead:

 

[P.B.Walsh]

The ammo was Monarch (cheap stuff from Academy) it was cheap, so I wanted to see how my rifle would do, evidently, not so hot.

 

[mdThanatos]

That's strange, I have used the .308 Monarch stuff through my XS-7 and have had no problems. May have been a bad batch. If you didn't shoot all of it and still have the receipt you should be able to take it back for an exchange, they advertise this at my Academy anyway (just for their brand, i.e. Monarch)

 

[Vern Humphrey]

If you think about it, the case can expand no more than the chamber allows. Any cartridge would be restricted to this same limitation by the chamber dimensions.

Hmm very true, wonder what happened?

The case expanded, but did not spring back. That's why brass is the most common metal for cartridge cases -- it will spring back a bit after expanding.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Oh, yea, mightve been a bad round, we fired about 120 rounds of brass .223 and 20 rounds of steel .223 in my AR, mabey one hiccup. I actually went through almost 30 steel ones in my Remington, just that one got stuck, although, I did have some hard extractions with a few .308 steel cases. Just need to buy brass for the Remington from now on.

Thanks,
P.B.Walsh

 

[bigedp51]

Kliegl

I'd love to see some numbers on that frictional case thing. Not doubting, since they are the Army and all, but, like the saying goes, In God We Trust, All Others Bring Data.

I'm sure it's valid, I'd just like to know by how much.

Kliegl

The British used a different system for measuring chamber pressure and the copper crusher was located at the base of the case in the bolt face. This copper crusher method was called the axial method and the U.S. method had the copper crusher located on the side of the case and was called the radial method. The reason I'm telling you this is because the first warning about lubed cartridges came from the British and we followed suit after we did similar type testing.

The British used two proof pressure test rounds to proof their firearms, one dry round to proof the chamber and barrel and one oiled proof round to test the bolt and receiver. After proofing on the military Enfield rifle the Enfield was checked with headspace gauges and if the headspace increased .003 or more after proofing with the oiled proof test round the rifle failed proof testing. The oiled proof test round was used to seat the locking lugs to the receiver and the bolt head to the bolt body.

"In Britain, a third set of crusher standards were developed, using a "base" crusher. The crusher was a short, thick tube placed behind a piston at the base of the cartridge, and the firing pin passed through the center. The cartridge case was well oiled before firing, to minimize cling to the chamber walls (if not oiled, the indicated pressures were about 25% lower). To prevent case rupture on set back of the base, the crusher was first deformed in a press to a pressure a bit lower than that expected in firing. The units were generally stated in British long tons per square inch, or tsi. Pressures indicated by this method run 10 to 20% below those indicated by radial crushers. Kynamco in England still rates their production cartridges with this method."

http://kwk.us/pressures.html


Below bolt head rotation limits.



Below, damage to Enfield bolt body and bolt head from excess bolt thrust, both the bolt and bolt head had to be replaced for the Enfield to pass headspace testing.



Below from the 1929 British "Textbook of Small Arms".
NOTE: 19 tsi = 46,000 cup and 10 tsi = 24,000 cup, therefore an oil cartridge delivers almost twice as much bolt thrust as a dry cartridge.



Below a good read on bolt thrust.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/pressures-case-strength-back-thrust-2.php