My first stuck case..mucho fun!

[EBR Works]

After about 4 months and about 2000 rounds of mixed calibers loaded, today was the day, my first stuck case. I wasn't paying attention to the increased resistance which should have alerted me to the fact that I hadn't sprayed my cases adequately with Hornady One Shot. This lube, properly used, has never let me down. It was a .223 in an RCBS die in my Hornady LNL. In trying to get the case out I pulled the rim right off. Great!

I was now wondering if I would be able to complete the 400 rounds I need for Appleseed next weekend.

I found the RCBS stuck case tools still in the sealed bag that I purchased knowing that I would need them eventually. Well....the RCBS tools worked great but I can see how this might be troublesome for some that don't have access to the variety of shop tools that I have. I had to shim the extraction bolt since it was too long for .223. After about 30 minutes of fiddling, the case finally came out clean with no damage to the die or decapping assembly. Having the right tools made all the difference, as usual.

[American_pride]

I got lucky my first stuck case was in my Dillon case trimming die. Removed trimmer, inserted punch, and started pounding. Came right out with 3-4 good hits.

[Ugly Dwarf]

The last time (not the first - yes, propper lube is essential) I stuck a case in my .300 Wby die, I bought the redding stuck case extractor. It comes with the drill bit, tap, bolt and sleeve thingy (I think that's the technical term for the thing that slips over the stuck case and gives the bolt something to pull against). The allen wrench included in the kit was the wrong size for the bolt, but I have the right size at my bench so that isn't an issue.

I thought I'd learned my lesson about case lube and that I wouldn't need the stuck case extractor. It turns out that was a lesson to be learned again a couple weeks ago when I was setting up some .223 dies ("I'm not loading today, why would I need to lube the brass... Dang!!!"). Sure enough, the Redding tool did the trick - Drill out the primer hole (go all the way through, don't try to make due with just the primer pocket space), tap and go.

In addition to including the right allen wrench, it would have been nice if they included a T-Handle for the tap... again, I was able to make due with the tools I keep at my reloading bench.

[NotSoFast]

Ever notice how the reloading manuals don't pay much attention to this sort of thing? It sure would be nice to have even some general guidelines when we have a problem.