Live 300wm stuck in chamber! Really stuck!

[Holeshot]

Anyone got tips for removing a live round from the chamber of a rifle?

I have a pretty much new remington 700 5r in 300wm.

I went to the range today with some reloads I put together just to get some trigger time.

I had about 15 cases that a friend gave me after shooting his 300. I forgot these were not fired from my gun and how the "fire forming" has shaped them to his chamber. I loaded 50 rounds of matching cases with these mixed in and only neck sized. Big mistake #1.

Everything was going fine until I had one act a little stiff while closing the bolt. I reopened the bolt and tried to close it with a little more speed(not a lot of force). Big mistake #2

Well the bolt did not close. It closed about 1/4 of the way if that.

I tried to re open the action and it was stuck. Knowing remington extractors are weak at best in extracting stuck cases/rounds I set the rifle on the butt and gently tapped on the bolt handle with a mallet. This of course caused the extractor to release and the bolt came open with no round.

I decided to stop right there because the only cleaning rod I had at the range was an old gnarly aluminum one and no bore guide. Not wanting to damage the crown I took the rifle home to use a wood dowel or a carbon rod. I started thinking about the dowel splintering and wedging in places and making it worse. So I pointed the muzzle in a safe direction and began tapping with my carbon rod. No go. Not even a budge to my surprise. Now I'm getting worried. I have heard urban legends about the powder becoming so compressed it could set off the primer.

I said to heck with it. I just needs one good whack and it will come flying out and all is well. I got my old one piece aluminum rod and a rubber mallet. I hit it pretty hard probably 10 times. Still nothing. I got out a 24oz framing hammer and hit it as hard as I dared(firm half swings) grimacing with every hit. Still stuck.

I have now passed my comfort zone of hitting a live round in a chamber. I was thinking if I drove the bullet in to the case far enough I could pour oil down the barrel to kill the powder but with a 220gr smk and 73gr of H1000 I dont think there is enough room. Not sure on this.

In fact i'm not sure on anything from this point on.

I have heard freezing the barreled action may work?

Any help would be appreciated. I am in uncharted and uncomfortable(safety?) territory now.

And yes I am an idiot for forgetting I had mixed brass and even more of an idiot for forcing a sticking bolt.

Mods please move this if it should be in a different section.

 

[Victory]

Freezing would make it tougher to remove I would think.

If it was my rifle, I would put some oil down the barrel and let it sit long enough to penetrate, then the cleaning rod and mallet would come back out. Ive never had a stuck case that couldn't be remedied with that.

Good luck.

 

[AIAW]

I would have been very uncomfortable from the beginning hammering on the live round! If it was me, I would remove the barrel from the action and work at it from the chamber-side. It's just too dangerous to try to attack it from the muzzle like that.

I have heard (not practiced) that you can get the Office Duster compressed air cans, turn them upside down where the liquid will squirt instead of the gas and "shrink" the brass out of the chamber sometimes. Liquid nitrogen would be ideal. It will still require force, like channel-lock pliers, to pull the case out.

Just don't use any sort of heat on it!

 

[Cascade_Sherpa]

If you have some Kroil you could pour some down the barrel and let it sit over night or at least several hours...then retry your original attempts with the carbon cleaning rod. Do you have a good gunsmith local to you that could help?

 

[AIAW]

Freezing would make it tougher to remove I would think.

If it was my rifle, I would put some oil down the barrel and let it sit long enough to penetrate, then the cleaning rod and mallet would come back out. Ive never had a stuck case that couldn't be remedied with that.

Good luck.

Yeah oil would work too I suppose if it sat for a while. Sometimes stuck brass will make a ridiculous seal though too.

 

[blcouch]

It's late and I'm loopy so I'll throw some crazy ones out there:

Tiny drill bit turned by hand into exposed part of case, maybe next to primer? If I were to try it I'd do it SLOW and use oil.

Muzzle loading unload-screw tipped rod to pull bullet out of casing through muzzle, outside and to the side of course. Matchking may let you get a good bite.

I don't remember if you said you tried a big flathead screwdriver on case head, padded on action. May work

Pblaster or Kroil from chamber end and maybe fill barrel with some as well?

I don't know enough about bolt guns to know where the vent hole ends up but is that a possible route for something?

They make a freeze spray specifically for metals that is widely available. Spraying that on the chamber end may help.

 

[briang7511]

When this happened to me I was able to pull the bolt all the way back off the round and remove it from the action so there was no contact possible with firing pin and primer. Then I pointed the barrel up and let the rod drop maybe 8 to 12 inches onto the round while supporting the barrel from the side. I also put a rag inside the chamber to stop the round or the rod from hitting anything. If it did go off I was not in the way of the round or holding the rod. the weight of the rod dropping onto the round cleared it fairly easy.

 

[Ljutic SS]

If it was my rifle I would pull the barrel off the receiver.

 

[MikeeBooshay]

If it was my rifle I would pull the barrel off the receiver.

Safest method suggested.

No more beating on the bullet either, it can and may go boom - it will not be pretty. If you are lucky, the action and barrel won't be split, no one get hurt. If you are unlucky....

Take it to the local smith, bolt out. Remove the scope also, the stress of unscrewing a barrel has wasted a scope or two. He'll put it in a barrel vise, and use the action wrench to unscrew the barrel, letting him pry the rim out of the barrel. Problem solved.

Problem will stay solved if you review your reloading practices. We've all done bone head things, learn from them. Don't repeat them.

 

[Holeshot]

Safest method suggested.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I think I am going to try a combination of the kroil for a week or so and then a screwdriver. If it doesn't come out easily I will just take it to a Smith. In my town there is basically one real gun Smith and I'm not sure how good he is. Anyone know a Smith within said 50-100 miles of central indiana?

No more beating on the bullet either, it can and may go boom - it will not be pretty. If you are lucky, the action and barrel won't be split, no one get hurt. If you are unlucky....

Take it to the local smith, bolt out. Remove the scope also, the stress of unscrewing a barrel has wasted a scope or two. He'll put it in a barrel vise, and use the action wrench to unscrew the barrel, letting him pry the rim out of the barrel. Problem solved.

Problem will stay solved if you review your reloading practices. We've all done bone head things, learn from them. Don't repeat them.

Thanks again!

 

[Holeshot]

Wow that got messed up. Sorry guys.

 

[MAGUA]

Get yourself a one piece solid brass rod from a hardware store . I have safely removed many live rounds with ease this way without ever having to have the barrel spun off.