Head case separation - how to remove stuck cartridge?

[coloradokevin]

For the first time in my 30 years of shooting I've experienced a head-case separation with one of my rifles. The offending piece of brass is a Lapua .260 Remington case, and it was being fired in my Accuracy International AX rifle when it came apart.

The rifle appears to be fine, and I actually didn't even have any idea that it had happened until I tried to cycle the next round. Anyway, the back of the case pretty much fell out of the rifle, but everything forward of the case head is still in the chamber.

I'm not really sure what I need to do to remove this piece, as it has no place for the extractor to grab, and doesn't have anything I can tap on with a cleaning rod. Unless you looked closely you wouldn't even realize it was there!

Any ideas?

 

[rcmodel]

Run a new & sharp .30 cal bore brush in it from the chamber end, just a little way past the chamber.
Then jerk it back out.

The reversed brush bristles should snag onto the case mouth and pull it out.

rc

 

[Jim K]

It may have been a fluke of some kind, or the ammunition, but the usual cause of case head separation is excess headspace. I suggest having the rifle checked over before doing more shooting.

As to a headless case in the chamber, rcmodel's fix usually works fine. If it doesn't, a trick I used quite often was to find the appropriate size tap and CAREFULLY turn it into the case so it engages the brass but does NOT cut through it. Then the case can be pulled out backward, or a cleaning rod inserted from the muzzle and the tap and case pushed out.

Headless case extractors (aka broken shell extractors) are available, but Brownells has them only in calibers .308 and .223, the military calibers. That is because the problem occurs mostly in machineguns.

Jim

 

[MEHavey]

Kevin, how many times had the brass been fired/re-sized?

 

[rcmodel]

Yea , time to start inspecting cases for a stretch ring inside where yours broke with an L-bent wire or paperclip.

You can easily feel the stretch ring before the case separates.

Extra headspace causes it.
Either through a fault of the r,file?

Or you are pushing the shoulders back too far when you re-size them??

rc

 

[swampcrawler]

I had that happen to me with an 8mm-06 mauser. I tried the brush and couldn't get it. I ended up plugging the bore just ahead of the case mouth and pouring in molten sulfur (or cerosafe... basically pour a chamber cast). Case came out with generous influence of a rod and mallet.

 

[coloradokevin]

Yea , time to start inspecting cases for a stretch ring inside where yours broke with an L-bent wire or paperclip.

You can easily feel the stretch ring before the case separates.

Extra headspace causes it.
Either through a fault of the r,file?

Or you are pushing the shoulders back too far when you re-size them??

I'm hoping this is simply being caused by pushing the shoulders back too far. During the life of this brass I switched from one reloading press to another, and may not have been careful enough in the setup of my sizing die.

As you may recall, I had an issue not too long ago where some other brass in this gun was showing signs of incipient head case separation. I retired about 100 pieces of brass at that time, and took some measurements on those cases. Off the top of my head I seem to recall that I was pushing the shoulder back about 0.008" upon resizing at that time. I'm not sure if that's enough shoulder bump to cause this issue within 5 firings or not, but at least it provides a data point to start with.

The ammo I fired this time was already loaded when I realized the problem with the other brass. This brass was one firing newer, but had been sized in a similar manner. I figured it was probably good-to-go based on the fact that it was newer, but obviously this case gave out.

The real question for me (after I figure out how to fix this issue) is whether the root cause is an excessive headspace issue in the rifle, or if it was caused by the sizing of the brass. Any thoughts based on the data I provided above?


EDITED TO ADD:

I do use the bent paperclip technique as a normal part of my reloading procedures, and check a random sample of about 15 of every 50 pieces each time I load. I didn't notice any issues when I loaded the brass that caused this problem the other day, but could certainly feel the depression in the brass that I previously retired due to seeing the incipient head case separation ring. So, for all practical purposes I really didn't have any outward signs that this brass was about to fail on me… which is slightly concerning.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, pushing the shoulders back .008" is definitely way too much.

Adjust the die so a fired and sized case will just allow the bolt to close with slight resistance on it.

I doubt that will be more then .001" - .002" shoulder bump.

rc

 

[coloradokevin]

Yeah, I haven't sized any brass since I first realized I was pushing the shoulder back too much, but I've been intending to adjust the die before I do (unfortunately I had a whole bunch of ammo sized/loaded when I realized the problem in the first place).

One thing that I thought was a bit strange in this instance was that my head case separation looked really "clean". I've never had one of these happen to me before, but in most of the pictures I've seen in the past the failed case looked rather ragged. This case almost looked as if I had cut it in half with a Dremel. Is that in any way significant in this diagnosis?

 

[rcmodel]

No, thats exactly what they look like.

The stretch ring forms inside the case until the only remaining wall is paper thin.

When it breaks, it breaks clean as a whistle.

rc

 

[shooter1niner]

" ECHO " makes broken or ruptured cartridge extractors. I believe Brownells may sell them. They are relatively inexpensive and I usually carry one for the rifle I have if I'm far from home.

Neck size and leave that shoulder alone...

 

[rcmodel]

I don't know of anyone making one in .260 Rem though.

rc

 

[coloradokevin]

Yeah, I haven't been able to find one for a .260 Rem.

I didn't have any luck trying the bore brush technique, but I only had a few minutes to play with it today. Once the better half goes to bed tonight I'll probably get down to business trying to figure this out.

I'm reserving the tap option as a last resort, since it seems most intrusive. But, I suppose it is possible that it will come down to that.

 

[Elkins45]

You need a fat bore brush like a 45 or 50. That way it is grabbing the big fat case wall and not just the neck.

 

[rcmodel]

I wouldn't get too carried away on bore brush size though on a .260 Rem.

You get it stuck in the bore after it gets past the neck and you got bigger fish to fry!!

rc

 

[shooter1niner]

You might be able to use the .264 win mag. case extractor in conjunction with a cleaning rod. Unscrew the "rim part" and insert the body of the extractor into the case neck and tap out with a cleaning rod.

 

[Elkins45]

I wouldn't get too carried away on bore brush size though on a .260 Rem.

You get it stuck in the bore after it gets past the neck and you got bigger fish to fry!!

rc

If it even enters the neck it has gone too far. Just shove it in until it hits the shoulder. It's the body of the case we want to act upon, not the neck. It's purely a matter of surface area to pull on. The case walls offer much more surface to pull against than the neck does. The 260 is based on the 308 case, which has the same .473 head as a 45acp, so use a brush that can grip the inside of a 45 case.

 

[Catpop]

+1 on what swamp crawler said.
Worked many times for me. Last rifle was a 6.5 Ternie? (Italian military). Worked like a charm, rifle chamber shiney and bright as new, and still pumping them out today!
Good Luck, Cat pop

 

[gamestalker]

I gotta say, in addition to a bad piece of brass or one that was loaded beyond it's practical life span, it also sounds as though you may have been running a pretty warm load. I've an extractor fail before, and before I even got to the point of trying to figure out how to remove it, a light tap of the rifle butt on the bench and it fell right out.

But now that it is stuck, I would try a couple different approaches.

First thing I would try is put some dry ice inside of the remaining piece of brass. Let it get real cold, that will cause it to contract. Then before it warms back up at all, stuff a real tight fitting bore brush in it and jerk it out, like RC suggested.

GS

 

[coloradokevin]

I had that happen to me with an 8mm-06 mauser. I tried the brush and couldn't get it. I ended up plugging the bore just ahead of the case mouth and pouring in molten sulfur (or cerosafe... basically pour a chamber cast). Case came out with generous influence of a rod and mallet.

…And the winner is!

Okay, I'll admit that I cheated a bit on this one. The rifle in which the case failed is my most expensive gun, the precision rifle that I use for long range work. I was a bit concerned about getting too aggressive with the rifle.

I ended up bringing the rifle up to Mile High Shooting (Erie, CO), which is where it came from originally. The folks up there are truly top-notch people, and they stand behind their products more than most shops I've worked with. This issue clearly wasn't their fault, but Adam (their gunsmith) still took the time to fix the problem for me.

In this instance he removed the barrel, plugged the neck of the stuck case with a cotton ball, melted some cerosafe into the case, then pushed it out from the muzzle end via a cleaning rod. He was even nice enough to take the time to polish my chamber for me. Like I said, these guys are top-notch

Anyway, thank you guys for all of the suggestions. And, swamp crawler, I must admit that I originally thought this idea was crazy (having never used such a product myself). But, it looks like your answer is exactly what the gunsmith ordered!

 

[Walkalong]

Well, pushing the shoulders back .008" is definitely way too much.

Yep.

In case you haven't seen this, it might help shed some light on the reason why it separated.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=734058

.

 

[coloradokevin]

Yeah, the .008" wasn't intentional, and was mostly caused by human error. I changed reloading presses about mid-brass life for this lot of brass, and wasn't careful enough in my setup of the new press (which evidently required more thoughtful die adjustment).

I actually do check my brass with a paperclip each time (well, I check a significant sample from within each batch). None of the pieces I checked in this batch showed signs of incipient case separation, though some other pieces I have do show those signs. Those particular pieces had already been retired due to visible signs of incipient case separation.

Live and learn. Should have been more careful when I set up the second press. But, at least it isn't an issue of headspace in the rifle.

 

[gamestalker]

I can relate to the changing presses thing, that would certainly explain the .008" of over bump. But I bet you'll never make that mistake again any time soon.

Things happen, and in our potentially high risk hobby, we usually don't make the same mistake twice. Those who do, should probably consider engaging in a different hobby, maybe knitting or paint by number

GS

 

[Gunnerboy]

Find a tap that is just the right size to grab the brass and give it a few turns.. Itll pull straight out then.

 

[mnrivrat]

Swampcrawler had it correct, and by using this method you do not take a chance of scaring the chamber.

1.) Clean the chamber area
2.) Inset a cotton ball or cleaning patch into the bore far enough so it is just forward of the chamber and broken case mouth. Acting as a plug.
3.) Pour in melted chamber casting material until it just about fills the chamber
4.) let cool to solidify the casting material
5.) Drive the plug with the broken case out from the muzzle end. (brass rod)

Removing the barrel is not necessary. A small shaped /formed funnel can be used to guide the molten material into the chamber.