stuck live shell in chamber HELP

[WestKentucky]

Alright guys I was shooting a bit Sunday afternoon, and one of the guns was my remington 700 .270win. I was shooting reloads which the gun absolutely loves, and was shooting really well. About 30 shells in, I had a shell that was hard to close the bolt on, so I stopped, backed it out, checked chamber, checked the case, all looked good. Tried it again, still didn't try to force it, but no luck. Bolt stopped at about 1/2 way down. When I lifted the bolt to remove the case it was TIGHT. I don't mean I had to pull on the bolt to open it, I was smacking it with the palm of my hand to OPEN the bolt. I ended up ripping off the rim with the extractor.

So that ended the remington shooting for the day, no biggie I still had a couple other guns to shoot. I pulled the bolt out of the gun and figured that probably as soon as I whacked it with a brass cleaning rod it would come out and I would tear it down and scrap the case. Life got in the way until tonight. I got my 1/8" cleaning rod, assembled it and ran it down the bore. Thunk...didn't move. I got slowly more and more aggressive with the rod, then the rod and a brass hammer, then the rod in the gun dropping it from about 4" onto a 2x4 until I bent my rod, and now I'm kinda nervous to keep getting more aggressive with it because I don't want to wedge anything in place.

My next step (i think, unless you guys have other suggestions) is to aquire a 1/4" brass rod and go for broke. Beat the snot out of it until I knock the shell out. Keep in mind this is a live shell I'm beating on from the bullet end. I'm certain the bullet is driven back into the case by now, so it's a very compressed charge of IMR 4350 on a live primer.

Where do I go from here?

 

[edwardware]

I believe the usual advice is to drop the action from the stock, fill the barrel with a light oil (Kroil, etc) and stand it in the corner overnight. It will hopefully be leaking oil past the cartridge in the morning, hence removing the stock.

The brass rod should tap the cartridge out in the morning. Even better if you can make a piston (leather washers on a rod) to use hydraulic pressure to push it out.

You can't hit the projectile hard enough to detonate the primer, but you could potentially strike the primer in the action as the case comes out and falls through the bolt-way. Stuff a rag through the action to catch the cartridge when it does come loose.

 

[WestKentucky]

I had already considered the hydraulic setup, and plan to do something of the sort tomorrow. As this point in time I have ripped it apart down to a barrelled action. Trigger, magazine, scope, rings, and all associated hardware are in a box waiting for reassembly. This is the first time ever that this trigger has been removed from the action. In the 16 years I have owned this gun this is by far the most I have had it apart. It's a shame I don't have a good trigger and better glass to install since it's torn down already. I also can't help but think that if I'm not successful with removing the stuck shell that it might just be time to call Shilen.

 

[dirtengineer]

If the bullet is pushed in, there are several liquids that can be used to contaminate the powder and primer. That would take the pucker factor down a notch.

 

[WestKentucky]

Wd40 is in the barrel followed by a whole bunch of remoil.

 

[rcmodel]

Get at least a 1/4" brass rod and tap it out.
CAREFULLY!!

BTW: The WD-40 & Rem-Oil in there now is more dangerous then the powder & primer were.

Compressed air & oil is what make diesel engines fire & run!!

If you hit it hard enough to compress it, don't stand in back of it!!

rc

 

[243winxb]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=572186 When you drive round out, make sure the primer has a soft landing. Good luck.

 

[joem1945]

Dump a bunch of Kroil down the barrel and let stand overnight. You need a solid brass rod as cleaning rods are weak. Stuff a rag in the rec and hit the brass rod with a steel hammer, 10- 12 oz (1 good wack) should do it.

 

[Sunray]

Your 1/8" cleaning rod is too thin(too thin to be a cleaning rod too, but that's another question. snicker.). Put the rifle in a padded vise, get a 1/4"(that's 27 thou bigger than the bullet diameter, 108 thou under the case mouth diameter.) brass rod, remove the bolt and tap it out with a plastic mallet. No snot beating. Just a moderately hard whack.
No oil is necessary. And there is nothing there that will hit the primer hard enough to set it off.

 

[WestKentucky]

Case is out. Was stuck about 1/4 inch above the web. Looks like maybe I short stroked the full length size.

When I came home today at lunch (14 hours after disassembling and filling with oil) I dumped the oil out. I bought an aluminum rod since nowhere in town stocks brass rod. Cost me 4 bucks. I put the rod down the bore and tap tap tap, still stuck. I pulled the rod out and had a few grains of nice, oily powder stuck to the bottom so I felt more comfortable about getting rough with it. Laid a 2x4 on the concrete sidewalk, put the pointy back of the action on the board and the rod down the bore. Tap tap tap to make sure I'm back inside the case body, then start some more solid hits with the 3 pound maul. Took a whole lot to move it, but it did come out. Chamber looks clean.

Now time to inspect, reassemble, and zero the rifle in time for deer season. I do have other rifles, but this one has been through a lot with me, and it has a few more deer to take before it gets a day off during modern gun season.

 

[MEHavey]

Normally short-stroking the FL die will just leave the case long, not produce a jam-fit cartridge base dimension.
Had this case been fired in that rifle before ? (or some other rifle)

 

[judgedelta]

You might consider getting yourself a couple of brass rods the next time you're by a decent hardware store. I've got a small one for .223 and a larger for. 308. I drilled out chailsaw file handles and glued to them. You can get a pretty good bit of impact by raising it up and "throwing" it down the bore. I wouldn't use anything (like a cheap .22 cal cleaning rod) that could get stuck between the bullet and the barrel wall...

 

[45_auto]

Put the rifle in a padded vise, get a 1/4"(that's 27 thou bigger than the bullet diameter, 108 thou under the case mouth diameter.) brass rod

You Limeys have some funny rulers. Or maybe that metric stuff has gone to your head.

Over here on this side of the pond, a 1/4" cleaning rod is .250" in diameter, which is 27 thou smaller than the bullet diameter.

If a 1/4" rod is .108 under the case mouth diameter, wouldn't that mean that your case mouth is .250 + .108 = .358 in diameter? I suspect that would be a little loose on the .277 bullets as well as hard to chamber.

 

[MEHavey]

You Limeys have some funny rulers. ...a 1/4" cleaning rod is .250" in diameter,
which is 27 thou smaller than the bullet diameter.

Gawd you're picky.
I bet you also advocate a Steve Martin Drunk Background Check before being allowed in the tools section of a hardware store.



.

 

[WestKentucky]

Normally short-stroking the FL die will just leave the case long, not produce a jam-fit cartridge base dimension.
Had this case been fired in that rifle before ? (or some other rifle)

In another rifle for first fire, but 2 more (the last 2) loads in this rifle.

 

[WestKentucky]

I did reassemble the rifle, inspected it as carefully as possible during the assembly process, and tightened up a few screws which had shaken loose over the last 16 years. It did assemble well, and it chambered every single remaining shell in that batch of reloads. It shot about 30 of those this evening with zero issues. I was suprised at how well the scope came back as well. From zero through teardown including removing bases, and then reassembly, the POI only moved 1 inch low and 3 inches left at 150 yards. I got it nailed back down with 6 3 shot groups. I put the gun in the shade, open, shot my contender for a bit and then loaded 2 in the rifle. One ripped out the side of the 1" ring at 2 oclock, the other cut fully inside the ring at 11 o clock. It's ready for whitetail.

 

[rcmodel]

Good deal!

Glad to hear it turned out well.

Coulda been far worse if you had of stuck the cleaning rod in next to the bullet tip.

Now.
Don't do that again with a cleaning rod!!!

rc