Had to take one to the gunsmith....

[Esq.]

Was out shooting last weekend with a rifle I recently acquired. I had maybe 150 rounds through it before this session. It is a used Stag M4...I bought it cheap at the bottom of the "crash" a year or so ago.....

I shot 5 rounds through it and wanted to go look at the group. Dropped the mag and went to unload the round in the chamber- charging handle wouldn't budge....Huh, well maybe I can just shoot it....Nope hammer won't fall- gun is probably slightly out of battery. Hmm....I work the charging handle pretty hard- nothing. I even try to "mortar" it open....this succeeds in tearing off part of the rim of the case but at least now I can get the action open and take a look....Case is stuck fast.

I take the rifle home, and try tapping the round loose with a cleaning rod- nothing, though I manage to knock the bullet back into the case- some progress....So, I remove upper and fill the bore with oil and let it sit for a day. Then I flip it over and pour oil into the back of the chamber- two thoughts- 1. I need to "kill" that live round 2. MAYBE some of it will soak into the chamber and help dislodge the round....

This morning I tried to knock it loose again.....Nothing.

Took it to the local gunsmith and he's going to probably pull the barrel and then drill and tap the case head and get it pulled.

Several things- rifle had functioned well and shot very accurately for the previous 150 rounds, no issues at all. The ammo was some old PMC that I found in a range bag, been needing to shoot it up....very old ammo but brass cased and M193 spec. I'm not obsessive about cleaning but I know that there is no pitting in the chamber and the rifle only had maybe 50 rounds on it since the chamber had been brushed....

Never seen anything like this, real pita!

[jsbhike]

You might want to share this video with him and I wouldn't count on soaking in oil getting in the round.

[Esq.]

You might want to share this video with him and I wouldn't count on soaking in oil getting in the round.

I had seen that video and probably should have tried that first! I am pretty certain the primer is dead because I felt the bullet drop into the case and powder ran out of the barrel at one point. Then I filled the barrel with oil. If that primer is still alive...well, PMC makes hella stout primers! Smith called me this afternoon, said in 43 years of working on Black Rifles he had NEVER seen anything like this in terms of how hard it was stuck! He pulled the barrel, tried a few things and now has it soaking for a couple of days in his solvent tank! See what happens...

[markm]

Primers are very hard to kill. I remember those halfwits on ARF trying to dispose of primers for various reasons (as if they had some high risk disposal on their hands). And much of the primer killing lore DID NOT work.

We've got stuff like that out with a plastic mallet and a old cleaning rod.

[jsbhike]

Primers are very hard to kill. I remember those halfwits on ARF trying to dispose of primers for various reasons (as if they had some high risk disposal on their hands). And much of the primer killing lore DID NOT work.

We've got stuff like that out with a plastic mallet and a old cleaning rod.

Yeah I have seen similar info on primers. I would very much bet on still live.

Did you happen to pick up your empties? I am wondering if the neck on the one before got ripped off and left in the chamber for the stuck one to drive in to.

Short of some horribly out of spec case (I seem to recall him thinking brass that had been intended for a bolt gun getting in to the mix without the body being sized) the ripped off neck scenario is the only other thing I can think of.

The reloading bench mentioned a gunsmith bending a heavy duty steel rod trying to drive his stuck round out.

From what I can recall when I bought my .30 Tipton carbon fiber rod, being able to take a pounding that would trash aluminum or steel rods was one of the selling points, but I don't know if that carries over to smaller diameter rods.

[Esq.]

Primers are very hard to kill. I remember those halfwits on ARF trying to dispose of primers for various reasons (as if they had some high risk disposal on their hands). And much of the primer killing lore DID NOT work.

We've got stuff like that out with a plastic mallet and a old cleaning rod.

I used a steel Mosin cleaning rod and a ball peen hammer. No joy.

I did police my brass and I did not see any with missing necks. I have seen that happen though. I used to get all the brass off a local Leo range and over the years found quite a few live rounds "sleeved" with half a casing ..

[tehpwnag3]

I remember when Johnny's video came out, he said that he didn't full-length resize and that was mistake. Factory ammo should be small base but, I guess, who knows?

If/when you get that case out, it would be interesting to see some measurement data of a chamber cast.

[MistWolf]

Pounding on a rod is the least efficient way to remove a stuck case. All the energy is wasted flexing and vibrating the rod, softening the shock effect needed to dislodge the case. The best way to remove a stuck case is to take a brass rod as long and heavy as you can find and toss it down the barrel. Keep tossing it down the barrel until the case comes out. This transfers more moment and shock to the case than pounding and the rod doesn't bend with repeated use.

If a brass rod cannot be obtained, use a one piece steel rod. Rods with a heavy weight at one end (assuming the rod is long enough) will increase chances of unsticking the case.