Steel cased round stuck in AR-15 chamber

[Comrade Mike]

Do an over night kroil soak. If that doesn't work cook the round off. Wet phone books on both ends of the barrel and a good face shield. Once it detonates apply heat to the remaining steel case and use a broken she'll extractor. Be safe.

Do so at your own risk, don't sue me, informational purposes only.

 

[nulook45]

Take a punch and knock a hole in the side of the case and pry it out
if you rip the head off use a stuck shell removal tool and get it out then finish pushing the cleaning rod . Personaly if soaking in oil and doin this didnt work I would take a hack saw and chop it up in pieces and toss it. Sarco has barrels for 75 to 100$ just replace the think it will cost more in labor then its worth .

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

RC's got it right.

A couple issues here:

1. I wouldn't recommend returning the barrel as-is to the owner, with a live round stuck in it. I'd discuss this with the owner and cook that round off like RC said. That, in itself, won't do any further damage to the barrel than it's already sustained, but it will render it safe by eliminating the live round in it.

2. The barrel is very likely a lost cause...even if it turns out not to be damaged after removing everything, the labor cost alone is likely going to rapidly exceed the cost of a new barrel. And if the barrel is damaged in the repair efforts, which seems likely, then it will be wasted money as well.


Too bad the guy didn't just bring it in with the stuck round. Recovery from that would have been easy-peasy...cook off the round, remove the case, press the bullet out. Ah, well...live and learn, right?

 

[kwg020]

Put it in a deep freezer over night. The barrel has to be real cold. When you get it out hold the end that has the round stuck in it so it will expand faster than the rest of the barrel and then try to knock it out. There is a short window when the parts will be at their maximum distance from each other and will most likely come out. I do this with my resizing dies when I stick a case.
kwg

 

[rcmodel]

This appears to be a live round stuck in the chamber, with the threaded hollow end of an aluminum cleaning rod driven forcefully over the bullet tip until it expanded over the bullet point and swaged itself into the rifling tighter then a gnats south end.

Freezing it will just make it cold, nothing more.

I still say the first thing to do is cook off the round safely.
And then either the case will be out of the way, or you can safely drill & tap the primer pocket and use a stuck case remover to pull it..

From there?

You still have the bullet & cleaning rod to deal with.

But it is at least now safe to have your way with it by drilling it out, or throwing it in the scrap metal, or whatever.


rc

 

[Jim K]

I assume the round can't be fully seated so it isn't possible to lock a bolt into the barrel and tap the firing pin.

Jim

 

[Larcus]

grease might work

If you can come up with the right fittings to use, a grease gun might push it out, or a barrel full of grease, a tight fitting rod and a hammer. I did this on a pellet gun one time.
Larcus

 

[Drail]

This is why I would never run any steel cased ammo in a gun that operates by direct impingement like an AR (especially if the case was coated with lacquer - that stuff makes a really great adhesive as you have found)

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I would strongly caution against recommending the customer cook the round off himself. You are opening yourself up to some serious liability by doing so. If you gunsmith for a shop, you are covered under their liability policy but giving advice to a customer to do gunsmith level work is asking for it!

 

[Slamfire]

I am most concerned about the effects of primer/powder ignition. I would want to have that primer and powder charge ignite first. Then, I would look at removing the barrel extension, to gain access to the breech end.

Once the extension is removed, what about drilling and tapping through the primer hole? You could get a screw through the middle of the case and pull on that from the breech end.

 

[mnrivrat]

try to "persuade" the offending cleaning rod to continue its journey towards the chamber

Won't work . (period)

The cleaning rod is jammed between the bore and the taper of the bullet. Trying to push the rod toward the chamber will just make it that much tighter.

It is also the reason why the barrel is likely already toast with a big scar in the rifling.

Cook it off like RC suggested - Then if the case is still stuck use a case remover like the ones used for extracting cases stuck in reloading dies.

 

[thewillweeks]

Another option you might have (might have mind you) is to trigger the primer with force from a distance. I've seen people do this as a stunt on youtube, ding the primer with an airgun from a distance to set something off. I don't have personal experience with that, just seen people do it online so it's a thought.

 

[JimPGov]

I've dealt with this before. Dump out the eds red. Pour in kroil the gunsmiths friend. You can than usually pull it out.
Stand the barrel up right , overnight . When yo see the kroil dripping past the casing your good to go. Normally that is. Jp

 

[W.E.G.]

Somebody should machine a nipple that can be installed on the threaded muzzle, so that a compressed-air connection can be established.

One for standard AR15 muzzle threads would be popular.

http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausfeld-MP2847-17-pc-Accessory/dp/B0000CBJKT/ref=zg_bs_3753811_7

 

[J-Bar]

I am not a gunsmith, but this is a fascinating problem and discussion.

Could the exposed part of the case be dissolved or corroded with acid so that the powder in the case could be inactivated? It would have to be done slowly to avoid too much heat from the acid... Maybe one drop a day for a week or so?

I know it's an oddball suggestion...just trying to help with the brainstorming.

 

[Joea132]

To be completely honest, anything but removing the barrel and starting over would not be advisable. Chances are he's already damaged his barrel anyways from trying to monkey the round out of the chamber. I would swap barrels and he done with it.

 

[45_auto]

Somebody should machine a nipple that can be installed on the threaded muzzle, so that a compressed-air connection can be established.
One for standard AR15 muzzle threads would be popular.

Max diameter of a .223 case is .378. That means you've got .112 square inches of area for your pressure to work against.

The air fitting like you posted is rated to a max of 300 PSI.

300 PSI x .112 sq in = 34 pounds of force. Pretty much a waste of time, probably why no one bothers to do it.

 

[Comrade Mike]

I am not a gunsmith, but this is a fascinating problem and discussion.

Could the exposed part of the case be dissolved or corroded with acid so that the powder in the case could be inactivated? It would have to be done slowly to avoid too much heat from the acid... Maybe one drop a day for a week or so?

I know it's an oddball suggestion...just trying to help with the brainstorming.

This would be a bad, labor intensive idea not worth the price of a new barrel.

 

[notaglockfanboy]

Have you thought about hydraulic pressure to get it out?? Fill the barrel with fluid and compress it quickly from the muzzle. Just a thought.

 

[X-Rap]

All salvage options pretty much out value a new barrel. If the adapter could easily be put together a pump from a hydraulic porta power would probably generate enough pressure to expel the round.
As to using a porta band hack saw to cut through the chamber and cartridge, there is no danger from either heat nor spark and if one felt the need, an oil can would alleviate even the worst concerns.
Now trying to "kick" over a torch so as to align with the case head? That would be a trick for the ages.

 

[J-Bar]

This would be a bad, labor intensive idea not worth the price of a new barrel.

I don't know... Painting the case head with a Q-tip dipped in acid and then setting it aside for a day doesn't seem very labor intensive; and the original poster says the client is going to need a new barrel anyway, so all we are trying to do at this point is figuring out a way to defuse the little bomb we are looking at...

 

[vongh]

"Now trying to "kick" over a torch so as to align with the case head? That would be a trick for the ages."

Use a candle, it will take longer. But it will work and give you time to take cover. Don't approach until you hear the pop. (Could take minutes) and make sure everybody in the area knows what you are doing so as not to inadvertently walk by.

 

[orionengnr]

Max diameter of a .223 case is .378. That means you've got .112 square inches of area for your pressure to work against.
The air fitting like you posted is rated to a max of 300 PSI.
300 PSI x .112 sq in = 34 pounds of force. Pretty much a waste of time, probably why no one bothers to do it.

and...

Have you thought about hydraulic pressure to get it out?? Fill the barrel with fluid and compress it quickly from the muzzle. Just a thought.

Even with 3000 psi of hydraulic pressure, that gets us 10X the 34 pounds above. 340 lbs. A bit of force, for sure, but probably nowhere near enough.

Me? I'd go with RC's suggestion. He has somewhat of a history of having a well-thought-out, correct answer. That's why he is so highly regarded around here.

 

[thewillweeks]

Here's one more thought, never seen this done so I'm just thinking here. There's a small portion of shell casing visible and accessible. Get a pipe coupler of appropriate size (1/4in?) that will tightly thread over the visible part, then thread a pipe, thread a "t" on that, and use it as leverage to jerk the shell casing.
Worse case scenario, you rip the back half of the case off, removing the primer and the allowing you to take the powder out. Best case, you yank the whole thing out and then you can deal with the rod issue hopefully. If all the damage is at the back end it would seem to me you might still have a barrel that shoots ok, and just looks ugly. Worth a shot right?

 

[notaglockfanboy]

Even with 3000 psi of hydraulic pressure, that gets us 10X the 34 pounds above. 340 lbs. A bit of force, for sure, but probably nowhere near enough.

I can guarantee that will drive the primer out of any case, thereby defusing that bomb we are trying to disarm. It may not get the whole case out, but defusing it would be a step in the right direction.