stuck case in gun

[dunsho]

i had 3 9mm cases stuck in the barrel. it was stuck so tight that i couldn't cycle the gun. the 1st it happened i called locks gun shop and they told me to sick a pencil and push down, i applied a lot of force before it came out. the 2nd time it wasn't that tight, and the 3rd time stuck case and bullet in the barrel. just cycling the slide pulled the case out and a brass punch got the bullet out.

beside for the 3rd time, wut can cause a case to get stuck? light load? dirty chamber? case not sized right?

i'm kinda nervous shooting my reloads now.

Been loading in a lee pro 1000, i think the bullet feeder wacked out the press, never had a problem until i added it. I'm pretty sure the squib was cause my the bullet feeder droppin the a bullet on the case and caused powder to fall out before i manually place the dropped bullet to get seated. but the stuck case, i don't understand why.

[mjporreca]

pics of your loads might help. But going by what you said the last one sounds like a typical squib that extracted ok. that being said, here are some possibilities and things to check.

Are you crimping the case after seating the bullet? If not it's possible when you are seating the bullet it's not smoothing out the bell. Or it could be making the bell too deep and you are leaving a little rim after the bullet is seating. You'd probably see loading issues too.

A dirty chamber, or horribly dirty brass could cause feed/extraction problems, but I doubt it would be that severe.

Over expansion from very hot rounds, but I would think you'd notice and they probably would extract.

last, a defect in the chamber that is causing the hang up after case expansion.

Just some thoughts, but not a lot to go on. Are other rounds cycling fine, and do you have any issues with other calibers you load?

[dunsho]

I only load 9mm. i don't crimp but the bullet is tight and doesn't move in the case.
Universal at 4.0grn with 115 plated bullet OAL 1.125. I don't think it's overcharged, if anything undercharged.

[hzox221]

Here are a couple of possible causes

1. You are not resizing the case fully. (Case sticking in chamber). If the round was shot previously in an unsupported chamber (GLOCK) then the bottom of the case will be very slightly bludged. Make sure that the resizing die is going the full way down the case as you are reloading.

2. You are not using enough crimp and the bullet is creaping forward (sticking in the barrel), 9mm needs to be crimped. Check your reloads and see if the OAL is consistant. What you described is not a squib, but rather an overlength round.

3. You are not cleaning the cases enough before reloading.

4. Your chamber needs cleaned.

It also could be a mix of the above.

[mjporreca]

don't have my books but that doesn't sound like a hot round.

Have you tried other ammo in the firearm (factory loads)?

[dunsho]

I've used 3lbs of power never had a problem. I will check all the die in my set up.
the gun wasn't dirty, probably 300rds since cleaning.
I've shot 3.5grn loads before, only problem was FTE, I'm tryin to find the lightest load for min amount of recoil. 4.0 grn of universal is should be ok.
the lee's seater and crimp die is 1.

I'm gonna load a few more rd and try em out on thursday. will report.

[Flash]

I've used 3lbs of power never had a problem. I will check all the die in my set up.
the gun wasn't dirty, probably 300rds since cleaning.
I've shot 3.5grn loads before, only problem was FTE, I'm tryin to find the lightest load for min amount of recoil. 4.0 grn of universal is should be ok.
the lee's seater and crimp die is 1.

I'm gonna load a few more rd and try em out on thursday. will report.

CAUTION::::: You may have a split or cracked chamber. I had this very symptom a number of years ago on a Spanish auto. Cases were in TIGHT! Took a real push with a brass rod to dislodge the cases, and like you, I fired three this way before I got the thing figured out.

What kind of gun are you using here? Remove the barrel and look carefully, have a gunbsmith look at it and MAGNAFLUX(tm) the barrel, especially chamber area.

The mechanics of the thing is this: firing expands the case and cause the chamber to expand in the firing process, and the crack opens a little. After firing, the steel chamber then tightens down on the stretched brass case = stuck case.


The third round that "squibbed", leaving the slug in the barrel, might have opened any possible chamber crack enough to vent pressure out.

It is hard to diagnose without knowing and seeing the gun and the cases.

I can only suggest extreme caution, because I got the same symptoms from a cracked chamber. Much more, and I mighta had a real KaBOOM!.

The crack was right where the caliber designation was stamped in the barrel.

Hope this helps. Look it over carefully before more firing.

Flash

[Dextrimental]

You could possibly be flaring your cases a little to much. Back off on the flaring a bit and see if that helps.


Brad

[dunsho]

the gun i m using is a sig pro 2022 i probably have 9k rds thur it, 3-4k rds were from my reloads.
i checked the barrel just now and there are no cracks. I think i've come to the conculsion that the stuck barrel were caused by light loads, probable under 3grn. and the reason for the light loads on the lee pro 1000 can be

1 expander die was not seated properly
2 ram not fully extended
3 bullet feed dropped a bullet on the charged case causing some powder to spill out


thanks for the help. I'm gonna pull all the reload from this batch(200rds).

[Mootness]

Magnaflux uses an electric current to cause cracks that are otherwise invisible to the unaided eye to show. A visual inspection could not be the same.


When you say cases are "stuck" does that mean that they did not extract on their own & they easily pop out, or that you had to encourage them to come out with a hammer or other hitting implement?