Safety issue: stuck, live rounds
Guys, should you ever run across a live round stuck in the chamber, that won't come out no-way, no-how, approach with caution. When it seems like the only option is to hammer it out with a rod, consider this:
I have one first-hand story, and another story I consider credible, of rounds detonating as a result of this practice, resulting in death. In the first, a benchrest shooter had a tight round that would not chamber. He removed the bolt and began tapping the cartridge out with a rod, his wife holding the rifle at the back. The round fired and she was killed by the case.
Today I had an AR come in (5.56) with a 5.45X39 round solidly wedged into the chamber. I had actually stated in an article that I didn't think this would be too big of a deal, but it was really, really in there. I had to make a special tool and pull it out with a slide hammer.
Point is, they had tried to rod it out and hammered it all so hard the the bullet naturally telescoped into the case, and the tapped hole in the end of the rod then telescoped over the bullet, splitting the rod. That was some serious hammering. Not too much of a stretch to picture the powder getting so compacted that it would set off the primer. These guys had put some Liquid Wrench in there, which I though was a logical thing to try. I wonder if that might just have kept somebody off the operating table or marble slab by killing the primer/powder.
Long story short, yes, I have tapped out a few stuck, loaded rounds from AR15's. But I do it gingerly, with the ejection port down, nobody in line with either end of the barrel, glasses on, and preferably with a piece of body armor over the receiver. If I ever have one that doesn't come out with a few gentle taps, and nothing else works, I think I'll just bury it.