My first stuck case

**Remington788** · October 4th, 2016, 11:05 PM

Last night I decided to prep some .223 cases.
I sprayed some of my lube mix on some cases. This is probably where my problem started. I use a spray bottle with Lee case lube diluted with rubbing alcohol. It has,always worked well for me, but I think I did not mix it well enough and thus I probably just sprayed them with mostly alcohol and not lube.

The first case was a little sticky in the die but not bad. The second one was worse and the case ripped right out of the case holder

I squirted in some oil and tried to push it out by hammering on the de-capping pin. No luck.
I tried to pull the pin out with no luck. It was loose in the case but I couldn't get a grip on it to pull it out. I left it soaking in oil overnight.
So tonight I went out and bought a cheap tap and die set at Harbor Freight. I drilled out the flash hole and tried to push the pin out using a punch set. No luck. By now the tip of the pin was bent.
Tapped the case and, using a ratchet socket and a bunch of washers as a bushing, drove a bolt into the case until the case finally came out.
Once out I was able to get a good enough grip on the pin to pull it out of the case. Sure enough the tip was bent. I put it in the chuck of my drill and worked with pliers to straighten it out. Its now more or less straight and if it does not work, I do have a spare around someplace.

I guess this is another milestone in the life of a hand loader, and I guess I got through it OK but I wonder what I could do better if ( or when) this happens again.

1. Obviously I need to be more careful with the lube.
2. What should I have done to get the pin out ?

**DucatiRon** · October 4th, 2016, 11:45 PM

Buy one of these.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/706...k-case-remover

It's the absolute best. I think the new RCBS version is a copy of this.

It allows you to pull the expander ball and decapping pin out the top of the die and hammer out the stuck round out the bottom with a piece of hardened tool steel rod.

Have used mine over a dozen times and never failed.

Drilling and tapping the flash hole is to time consuming and a waste of work. The Forster remover works in about 2 minutes.

Edit: On a side note. I do not hammer out the stuck round while the die is mounted in the press. I use a 2x4 with a hole drilled in it for the brass to pass through.

**Remington788** · October 4th, 2016, 11:54 PM

That looks a lot easier. Too bad i use Lee dies. It doesn't work with them

**DucatiRon** · October 5th, 2016, 12:14 AM

It does not work with a Lee Collet dies. If you don't mind me asking what and why the hell would you be using a neck sizing only collet for on a .223 ?

Me thinks you may be confused a bit.

**Remington788** · October 5th, 2016, 12:37 AM

Not sure what a collet die is, I use Lee Pacesetter dies. The decap pin is not threaded so it wouldn't work.

Of course, I guess I could fix that with my new tap and die set.

**Bang** · October 5th, 2016, 01:35 PM

I made my own stuck case puller. I drilled and tapped the primer pocket 8-32 (maybe 10-32...you can see what's called for by looking at the diameter of the pocket). Then it's a matter of spanning the edge of the die with a combination of spacers and washers to draw the case out with a steel screw of appropriate size.