Stuck case in Redding small base full length 308 die

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fordfan485

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Well I have just had one frustrating hour out in the garage. I was resizing some once fired 7.62 Nato brass. I probably did about 10 , was using imperial sizing wax and it was really tough to get them resized. I thought my bench was going to tip over and had to put a lot of my weight into the press but none of them got stuck. Anyways I dunno why I waited till the 10th one but I then checked the headspace with my case gauge and noticed I was setting the shoulder too far back. So I adjust the die run a new case thru the die and rechecked in the gauge;didn't have the shoulder set back enough this time. Made another small adjustment , relubed the case put and ran the same case back thru the die, well that was when the case got stuck, I guess I should have known better to force that thing in since it ended up taking all of my body weight, but hey I am new at this, these are the first cases I have ever resized. Good thing I had a stuck case removal kit. So I drill the primer pocket and flash hole and as I am pulling the drill out the bit breaks in the stuck case. :cuss: Eventually I got the bit out. I thread the hole and insert the cap screw and start to tighten. Well that little allen wrench that comes with it did not have a long enough moment arm on it to turn it; so after a couple of turns so I use my vise grips, yea I ended up stripping the threads on the stuck case :cuss: Not sure what I can do now other then send the die back to redding. Any ideas?
 
If you can get the decapping assembly out, you may be able to drive the case out with a brass or steel rod. Drill a hole in a wood block that will pass the case, but support the die.

Never tried it myself, but have heard that it may work.

I'm sure others will post suggestions as well.
 
There's a learning curve to everything. Including proper case lubing.

I doubt the length of the allen wrench was an issue.

Standing on the lever was a significant clue something wasn't right, sizing is an easy one-arm task if things are going well.

It's virtually impossible to get an expander ball out of a stuck case unless you drill out the head and that would then present some difficulty driving the case out with a rod.

Under the circumstances I do suggest you send it to Redding.
 
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I got one stuck in a Lee FL die.

It was leaving scratches so I pulled it and blasted with brake cleaner. I forgot to reestablishing the surface with and lube. They say you can hammer the decap pin to get the case out but it didn't work for me. Ended up mushrooming the top of the pin.

I sent it to a friend and bought a new one. He got it out using some sort of hydraulic ram. It needed slow pressure.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat
 
I'd send it to redding, or you can buy another larger tap and bolt and drill the hole larger and re-tap, and figure out the right combination of washers to use as spacers.

Sending it to redding will be cheaper and less hassle, probably.

I feel your pain... I've stuck an embarrassingly high percentage of my limited number of rifle reloads. Which is one of the reasons why I have a limited number of rifle reloads. The process sucks, IMO. :)

No WAY knocking the cases out would have ever worked in my case. That thing may as well have been welded in there.
 
I know your pain, I resized a bunch of 308 which was all machine gun brass.
I found the only thing that worked was vegetable oil as a lube.
 
That's a good idea.

Although there will not be a next time as.the only die I could find at the time was an rcbs....threaded rod.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat
 
I've stuck a couple in Lee dies -- all my fault, of course -- and luckily have been able to hammer them out or pull them out. That collet system for the decap pin is quite slick.

I can't remember exactly how it typically goes, but I guess if it is the body that is stuck in the die (not the expander plug in the neck) you can remove the pin entirely and insert a good sized rod and pound on it since the remaining hole will be the size of the bullet, not the decap pin.

Send it back in.
 
What size tap did the kit come with ? When I stuck a piece of LC 308, I was able to remove it by using a 1/4-20 bolt. If your already at that size I'd try something sleightly larger. Every other method failed. I broke the expander ball tring to drive the decap pin. At least after the ball broke, the decap pin fell out of the case and was no longer in the way. Good luck with it.
 
I dunna know, I've never stuck a case in several decades of reloading, knock on wood. But anyway, at this point in time, it might be in your best interest, and for frustration sake, to just send it to the big boys?
GS
 
I was resizing some once fired 7.62 Nato brass. I probably did about 10 , was using imperial sizing wax and it was really tough to get them resized. I thought my bench was going to tip over and had to put a lot of my weight into the press...
Click to expand...

I feel for you, fordfan485. I was on the receiving end of some of that machinegun fired 7.62x51 brass one time. What a beach it was, and I swore I would never accept, let alone pay for, any 7.62x51 once-fired brass again unless the headstamp said "Match", "NM", or "LR".

Don
 
I got a 270 Win case stuck in a sizing die once.

I took the de-capping rod out and used a screw driver to drive the brass case out. It was NOT easy to do but I was able to save the die.

I believe drilling out the bottom of the brass could also work. I would also use a heat gun to expand the die and you could also try to get some lube between the case and die that might help getting it out.

I just bought some Imperial sizing wax and it appears to work well. Normally, I use a generic spray gun lube that I buy at Depo.
 
Maybe when resizing 7.62 machinegun-fired brass it is better to size it twice: once through a standard die and then again through a small-base die? Sizing too much brass at once stresses the equipment, the case, and the human.
 
Maybe when resizing 7.62 machinegun-fired brass it is better to size it twice: once through a standard die and then again through a small-base die? Sizing too much brass at once stresses the equipment, the case, and the human.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense. However, when I found myself having problems with the SB die, I switched to a standard FL sizing die to no avail. The web area of the brass was simply blown WAY out of spec. I finally used a .30-06 sizing die which only interacted with the web area of the 7.62x51 brass, and after that ran it thru a standard FL .308 sizing die. Never again!

Don
 
Maye they need to be roll sized first? Then ran through a standard die.
 
I stripped the threads out of the case with a 1/4in bolt one time, and used a 5/16 tap and the correct size drill to get it out. That tap and drill stays in my stuck case remover kit now. Lightman
 
Thanks for all the tips, ended up contacting Redding. They will remove the stuck case, polish and ultrasonically clean the die and replace any internal parts if needed. Also if I include 5 sample cases with the die, Redding will test the die prior to returning it to me along with the sample cases. The typical repair time for a stuck case is 1 to 1 1/2 weeks in house. All I have to do is send $6 for return shipping. Not a bad deal.

Anyways I picked up a regular full length sizing die kit so that i could finish my batch I was working on. This time I made sure to apply the lube to the bottom of the case not in just the shoulder area( pretty sure this is why I got it stuck before). Man it was smooth as butter resizing the cases after that, almost no effort at all to run the press and my bench didn't want to tip over. :D Once I got on a roll I resized, trimed, chamfered and debured 25 cases.

Attached is a picture of the stuck case
 

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Accurate resizing . . . . the way to do it right.

fordfan485 ......

Most shooters assume that if they push the shoulder back farther, it will ensure reliable chambering. This is rarely correct, and Small Base dies are almost never a good idea. I work with handloaders every single day, and here are four important facts to consider:

1.) Measure the chamber clearance (at the shoulder) that your handloads have in YOUR particular chamber. Then, you can set your FL die height accurately. Anything else is an approximation or guesswork at resizing.

2.) Pushing your shoulder back too far makes your cases stretch too much when they're fired. This stretching thins your brass, and it causes case head separations.

3.) Small Base dies are very tight fitting, and their repetitive use usually swages brass back over the web (solid part of the case). At that point, your cases can't even be forced into the die.

4.) Neck sizing is never a good solution, because you still need to bump the shoulder back for your handloads to fit reliably. That shows your brass is not always getting resized enough. Remember that the body of your case is tapered, and it needs resizing too. Failing to chamber is not an acceptable option.
 
Innovative, thanks for the tips. Reason I was using a small base die is because I was told it was recommended to do so when reloading for a M1A with a National Match Chamber. The reasoning I guess is that you are less likely to have a slam fire or out of battery fire.
 
fordfan485 ........

Using a SB die is usually a poor way to solve the problem.

It's far better to measure the clearance (at the shoulder) that your handloads have in YOUR particular chamber. Then set your FL die height accordingly. A semi auto does well with about -.003" clearance.

If your chamber is cut properly, and you have that clearance (and no more), you'll never have a problem getting your handloads to chamber perfectly. Your cases will last a lot longer, and your resizing operation will also go much easier.
 
In 30+ years of reloading for 3 M1As, 5 Garands, and countless ARs, SKS, AKs, etc., Ive never had to use a SB sizer. I must have gotten lucky and didnt aquire a rifle with an out of spec chamber, too tight of headspace, etc.. I only know of one Gent in my Service rifle league who uses one (out of +/- 70 guys). And yes, the dicussion has come up more than once, between the members. Are small base dies really needed? Hmmmmm....
Lube your cases well and use a standard FL sizing die. Just MHO.
 
Case life can be shortened by using a small base SB die, and it happens in an unexpected way.

If a SB die is tight for your particular chamber (and they are designed to be that tight), they often plow brass rearward over the case web (solid part of the case).

After repeated reloadings, case diameter increases until becomes too large at the web, and solid brass can not be resized - no matter what. This often causes a case to not fit inside the same SB die without sticking.
 
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